Update : “People Power Union” today established a YouTube channel with four videos of several Baiada employees who express opposition to the strike and the NUW.
If Tory PR flack Jason Aldworth says it’s OK, and if a Coles company hack says he’s comfortable with it, who am I to argue?
More meat, less fat, Baiada Poultry, well you can’t beat that!
Inside Baiada, dire picture of health, safety, Ben Schneiders, The Age, November 21, 2011.
See also : Company cries foul, as chicken fight gets dirty, Simon Lauder, The World Today (ABC), November 21, 2011.
Coles faces consumer backlash on “killer” chickens
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
18 November 2011
***PRESS RELEASE***
MORE THAN A THOUSAND SHOPPERS JOIN CONSUMER BACKLASH AGAINST COLES SUPERMARKETS OVER “KILLER” CHICKEN PRODUCER
Popular campaign on Change.org calls on supermarket giant Coles to stop buying chickens from controversial producer; petition cites exploitation of workers, unsafe conditions and gruesome decapitation of young husband.
MELBOURNE – In just 24 hours, more than 1000 Australians have joined an explosive campaign on Change.org calling on supermarket giant Coles to live up to its own ethical sourcing policy and stop buying chicken from a company accused of exploiting its largely migrant workforce.
Young mum Jade Cruse started the petition on Change.org after learning about the gruesome decapitation death of Indian migrant Sarel Singh at the Baiada Select Poultry chicken factory, west of Melbourne, in August last year.
Jade said Sarel’s death was the second fatality in six years and the latest in a string of incidents at the controversial chicken producer that prompted her to take action. Baiada – which has annual revenues of more than $1 billion – is involved in a major dispute with workers after allegations of unsafe working conditions, bullying, sexual harassment, and cash-in-hand contracts below minimum wage.
“I always shop at Coles and so do the rest of my family,” said Jade, a mother of one from Reservoir. “It is my understanding that Coles guarantee that all of their suppliers adhere to their ethical sourcing policy, which ensures workers have basic wages, health and safety standards in their factories.
“I’m not going back into a Coles store until they put some meat into their ethical sourcing policy – guaranteeing that when I buy a chicken, or any other product from Coles, it isn’t produced by workers being exploited for profits.”
Change.org is the world’s fastest growing platform for social change, empowering millions of people to start, join and win campaigns on issues they care about in their community.
“The consumer backlash we have seen against Coles in the less than 24 hours since Jade launched her campaign is remarkable,” said Change.org Australian Director Nick Allardice. “Change.org is about empowering anyone, anywhere to demand action on the issues that matter to them, and it has been incredible to watch Jade’s campaign take off.”
Live signature totals from Jade Cruse’s campaign on Change.org:
http://www.change.org/petitions/stop-buying-chicken-from-killer-factory-with-below-minimum-wage-workers
Journalists interested in contacting Coles public relations staff should try:
Jon Church, Head of Communications, Coles
[email protected]
03 9829 4008 or 0419 748 653
For more information on Change.org, please visit:
http://www.change.org/about
Change.org is the world’s fastest-growing platform for social change — growing by more than 500,000 new members a month, and empowering millions of people to start, join, and win campaigns for social change in their community, city and country.
When I watched that video on The Age’s website, the compulsory advertisement was for Red Rooter! LOL.
Poor little chicken. We had a small poultry at our backyard my father use it for gambling actually chicken fight each other, but look at them now skinned and headless.
Troy Stratos