A public boycott of Streets ice-cream has ended after the company's employees forged an agreement for better working conditions with its multinational owners.
The workers at the factory at Minto, in Sydney's south-west, voted to ratify an in-principle agreement at a meeting on Wednesday, which ended the boycott of the brand's popular ice-creams.
"This is an enormous victory for fairness. We are pleased that Australians can get back to enjoying these iconic Australian-made ice-creams," Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) NSW secretary Steve Murphy said in a statement.
Earlier this year, AMWU warned factory workers they faced a pay cut of up to 46 per cent of their wage if their agreement was terminated and they fell back onto the award.
The AMWU last month launched a national summer boycott of Paddle Pop, Magnum and Golden Gaytime ice creams in response to multinational Unilever, which owns Streets, making an application in the Fair Work Commission to terminate the current enterprise agreement.
The movement sparked widespread support with more than 1.5 million Australians all over the country using the online hashtag #StreetsFreeSummer and boycotting the purchase of Streets ice-creams.
Unilever agreed to withdraw the application to terminate their enterprise agreement on Wednesday evening.
The workers will still need to formally ratify the agreement next week, following the seven-day notice period required under the Fair Work Act.
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus said the Streets dispute was one example of a surge in international companies using the Fair Work Tribunal to terminate enterprise agreements.
She called for more action to protect workers' wages and conditions.
"We need to change the rules so that no more workers have to face the nuclear option of their agreement being terminated," she said. "The system is broken and we need to give power to working people and protect their basic rights."
Fairfax Media has contacted Unilever for comment.
