A FIRE that destroyed a Melbourne chicken plant that supplied nearly a third of the Victorian market has jeopardised the jobs of more than 1000 workers.
Monday's fire at Ingham Chicken in Somerville, on the Mornington Peninsula, was a disaster, National Union of Workers assistant secretary Esmond Curnow said.
Mr Curnow said the union feared many hundreds of people would be left without work.
"They will get a full week's pay this week but after that we need some information quickly," he said.
"We are desperate to talk with the company before Friday so we are able to report to members on Friday what the future holds, which doesn't appear great.
"We want an indication of whether the plant will be rebuilt or started up somewhere else.
"We have 525 members there. If it had been 500 car workers at Ford or Toyota, there would have been headlines for days."
The Ingham chicken processing plant is Victoria's biggest, with 120,000 birds killed there each day.
Its destruction will also affect suppliers, distributors and small businesses that service the company.
The cause of the fire is being investigated but it is to have started in cardboard storage room on Monday afternoon as Melbourne sweltered in 40C-plus temperatures.
The company's board has been holding crisis meetings since the fire.
Ingham group services director John Hexton said: "We are still working through the implications and are supporting the workers as best we can. There is an information hotline for them."
The company is believed to be bringing in chickens from its Adelaide plant to supply customers in Victoria.
Mr Curnow said Ingham Enterprises did not expect problems with any redundancies or entitlements.
"We have spoken to the Victorian and federal governments and involved Centrelink to help and brief people about being fitted out with what they are entitled to in the short term," he said.
"We will ask the Victorian government about fast-tracking any rebuilding there or elsewhere so councils do not mess them around."
