Strikes force mill shutdown at Australia’s largest sugar maker

Australia’s largest sugar producer temporarily halted operations on Wednesday at a mill that began processing cane two days ago, after unions agitating for better pay said workers would lay down tools, the company said. The mill in the Burdekin region is the only one of eight run in Australia by Wilmar Sugar and Renewables that has begun its cane crushing season, with the others due to begin operating by the end of next week. The start of processing at all eight mills was delayed by the pay dispute, which poses an increasing threat to Australian sugar production and exports as it could shorten the crushing season and cause cane to be left unharvested. The cane crushing season on Australia’s hot and humid northeast coast begins in June and runs to around November. “The only sugar mill operating in the Burdekin, Inkerman Mill, has been forced to shut down overnight after union delegates advised that workers plan to stop work at that site, and at least two other sites, for one hour ...