Sweet relief as Streets workers end ice cream boycott

There’s good news for ice cream lovers this summer, with Streets factory workers voting to end a public boycott of the brand’s tasty treats.

The workers at the factory in Minto, in Sydney’s south-west, accepted a wage offer from the company’s owners Unilever overnight.

They agreed to endorse an in-principle agreement to end the boycott.

“Christmas has come early for Streets workers and their supporters in the Australian community,” Australian Manufacturing Workers Union  (AMWU) NSW secretary Steve Murphy said in a statement.

“This is an enormous victory for fairness. We are pleased that Australians can get back to enjoying these iconic Australian-made ice creams.”

The agreement sees workers receive a five percent wage increase over three years, among other entitlements.

At the end of last month, more than 140 factory workers voted to run a campaign calling for an official boycott of Streets ice cream over summer, headed up by the AMWU, after Unilever applied to terminate its enterprise agreement with staff.

It would have seen workers lose up to 50 percent of their annual salary.

“The online campaign saw over one and a half million people engage with #streetsfreesummer on Twitter," the AMWU said.

“Streets brand Facebook pages were inundated with complaints and messages from ordinary Australians supporting the workers.”

Unilever said the in-principle agreement is in “everyone’s best interests".