"Trouble down the mill": dispute at Little Creatures brewery Geelong

Vanguard December 2012 p. 12
by Alex M.

During October a picket line formed at the gates to one of Geelong’s old woollen mills.

The Valley Mill, which once produced some of the finest quality worsted cloth, has over the previous twelve months or so been made over into a brewery.

The brewery will produce Little Creatures beer, one of the brands of Little World brewers which began in Fremantle in 2000. Little World brewers has since grown, establishing a site in Healesville, Victoria in 2009 (White Rabbit brewery), and purchasing the Valley Mill site in late 2010 with a view to establishing an east coast hub for its products.

However, like much of Australian production, Little Creatures has been bought out by a foreign multinational. Little World brewers is now owned by Lion, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese brewing giant Kirin. Lion – formerly Lion Nathan – was taken over by Kirin in 2009.

Background to the dispute

The old mill buildings have been extensively fitted out. Local companies and local workers were engaged, and it was only in the latter stages of the fit-out that health and safety issues were raised by the AMWU.

A German company, Krones, one of the leading manufacturers of glass and plastic bottling lines for beverages, subcontracted the installation of the technical brewing equipment for the Little Creatures brewery to the Perth based TFG Group.

The TFG Group refused to negotiate with the union about appointing health and safety reps. Access to the worksite was denied to AMWU officials, with the gates locked and security staff hired to keep ‘undesirables’ out.

The Geelong Trades Hall Council swung into action, with the Council secretary Tim Gooden calling for community action: ‘We are calling on the entire community to help stand up for local jobs’ he said.

A Facebook page was created called ‘Grubby Creatures Brewing’ which has kept up a running commentary on the dispute from a distinctly working class perspective.

A picket line, which was in place for a few days in October when the dispute first flared up eventually dispersed, due to pending legal action. The picket was back in place last week (mid November) and a Victorian Supreme Court injunction against the picket was granted on Friday 16^th November.

Despite this, the dispute looks as if it has the potential to drag on. The workers and community groups who are fighting this battle deserve to have our backing. Go to ‘Grubby Creatures Brewing’ on Facebook for more information and to show your support.