The Schweppes strategy: using a lockout to end employee industrial action

Schweppes Australia's workers at its bottling plant are now back at work following Fair Work Australia's (FWA) decision to terminate industrial action at the Tullamarine site. However, it has a been dramatic road to get to this point for both Schweppes and its approximately 155 workers, who had been locked out since mid December 2011 in response to industrial action taken by the workers to resist the company's plans to introduce 12 hour shifts.

Industrial action

Schweppes and the workers' bargaining representatives United Voice, commenced negotiating a new enterprise agreement in June 2011. There were a number of claims outstanding, one of which was Schweppes' claim to introduce 12 hour shift patterns, consistent with its other sites and to allow flexibility. The workers were opposed to this configuration because it would lead to less overtime and therefore less pay. As the parties had reached a deadlock, the workers voted to take various forms of