Once completed, the phased closure will leave Bega with five facilities in Victoria – in Tatura, Morwell, Chelsea, Koroit and Port Melbourne.
Strathmerton, population 1072, has 49 locals employed at the Bega facility as of the most recent census, or about 10 per cent of the working-age population. People in the surrounding towns of Shepparton, Yarrawonga, Cobram, Echuca and Numurkah also rely on the plant for income.
In a statement on Wednesday, Graeme Edmonson, administrator of Moira Shire, said the council would work closely with the community to understand the full impacts of Bega’s decision.
“We will also be calling on both the state and federal governments for immediate and long-term support during this transition period. This includes securing economic transition funding, providing retraining and redeployment opportunities for impacted employees, and working to attract investment that will help create new local job opportunities,” he said.
“Our goal is clear: local jobs created to replace local jobs lost.”
Of the workers affected, The Age understands that 260 of them are United Workers Union-affiliated and 10 are with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union.
Strathmerton is also known for its Cactus-themed fun parkCredit: Visit Victoria
The UWU’s national dairy co-ordinator Neil Smith said Bega had “questions to answer”.
“In the latest enterprise bargaining agreement negotiations, workers won a community consultation clause,” Smith said.
“So far, the company has not kept their end of the bargain and the union expects genuine consultation with the Strathmerton community to occur in good faith.”
A Bega spokesperson said: “Employees will be offered redeployment opportunities, or redundancy packages where redeployment isn’t possible, as well as access to outplacement and financial advisor services.”
“We are also planning to run activities such as a job fair to facilitate this transition for our people,” they said.
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