Major supermarkets have started rationing milk sales to avoid Covid-style panic buying, as the impacts of a major dairy workers’ strike begin to hit consumers.
Stores in Melbourne’s southeast were limiting customers to two bottles of milk each, including the Murrumbeena IGA, after 1550 workers at Fonterra, Saputo, Lactalis and Peters factories walked out.
Supplies of Woolworths house brand milk and cream, as well as Western Star butter, Peters ice cream and some popular cheeses and yoghurts could also be affected.
Some Woolworths stores carried notices warning of “product shortages in our Woolworths milk range” due to “supply disruptions”
“The limit on milk is 2 units per customer. Thank you for your understanding during the milk shortage,” reads a sign on the door of a refrigerator at the Murrumbeena IGA.
Major supermarkets have started rationing milk sales to avoid Covid-style panic buying, as the impacts of a major milk workers’ strike begin to hit consumers.
Supplies of Woolworths house brand milk and cream, as well as Western Star butter, Peters ice cream and some popular cheeses and yoghurts could also be affected.
Store owner Karen Meredith told the Sun Herald it was “absolutely slammed” on Wednesday morning, with shoppers buying three two-litre bottles each.
“We were trapped with the toilet paper problem during Covid, so we thought it was reasonable to just impose a limit,” she said.
Lindsay Carroll of the National Retail Association urged consumers to remain calm and courteous to supermarket workers during the strike.
“The effects of the strikes have already spread to the retail sector, with businesses posting ‘no more dairy’ signs and growing frustration over shortages.
Andrew Curtis, chief executive of Dairy Farmers Victoria, promised Australian families should still be able to find enough milk for their “Weeties and lattes”.
Workers striking for better wages include 150 fuel truck drivers and 1,400 dairy factory workers from four major producers.
In some cases, Victorian dairy farmers were forced to dump 14,000 liters of milk – worth $10,000 – as Saputo tanker drivers, who were complying with the Workers’ Union-led strike transport, refused to make their usual pickups.
The drivers’ strike is over a new company bargaining agreement. They want higher salaries and are also said to be unhappy with start times.
Dairy factory workers were unhappy with wage increases of between 2.5 and 3 percent, while the union is demanding at least 5 percent.
“It’s time to pay a living wage to the workers who put products on the shelves and give us some respect back,” said United Workers Union delegate Dan Brown.
Dairy workers unhappy with low pay rises while tanker drivers want better conditions
Supplies of several popular dairy products, particularly milk, are expected to be insufficient by Thursday.
Andrew Curtis, chief executive of Dairy Farmers Victoria, has promised Australian families should still be able to find enough milk for their ‘Weeties and lattes’
“Today we know we have the support of 1,400 other people. We all came together to fight for a fair and reasonable wage increase,” another worker on the picket line said in a video posted online.
Photos of strikers flooded social media, with some posting banners displaying messages imitating popular brands produced by their factories, including “MaxiCon – dairy workers on strike” and “My low wages”.
“Workers are tired of being exploited by big dairy companies! Time is up: workers need a fair wage offer,” the UWU said in an article on X.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Coles and Woolworths for comment.
