SPC rebutts “overly generous” pay claims

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ScreenHunter_88 Sep. 05 08.32

By Leith van Onselen

SPC Ardmona has backed-up Liberal backbencher, Sharman Stone’s, claim that the Prime Minister and Treasurer are “lying” about SPC Ardmona’s “overly generous” workplace agreements, which the Government has used to justify not providing the company with $25 million in co-investment funds so that it can modernise and re-tool its plant. From The Australian:

…the fruit processing company today said allowances for workers accounted for just 0.1 per cent of its business costs in 2013.

It also demolished claims its workers received nine weeks annual leave, saying they received 20 days a year.

SPC Ardmona managing director Peter Kelly said: “Our employees are aware of the critical and urgent need to transform our business and the majority have responded in practical and financial ways to lift productivity to help secure our long term in future in the Goulburn Valley.”

He said since 2011, 32 per cent of positions at the Shepparton-based cannery had been made redundant.

This included the shedding of 73 maintenance and trade jobs, which were outsourced in 2013.

“We are doing our best to reduce all costs across the business, however the serious problems that have beset SPCA have not been because of labour costs and certainly not from the allowances, a fact borne out by the Productivity Commission’s recent analysis,” Mr Kelly said in a statement.

SPC Ardmona has also issued the below Media Release debunking the Coalition’s assertion that its enterprise agreement is overly generous:

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.