The future of Heinz workers from rural Victoria and Wagga Wagga remains uncertain after a meeting on Tuesday failed to shed any more light on the company’s plans to axe nearly 200 jobs.

AMWU Food and Confectionery Division organiser, Jason Hefford, said workers who attended an unpaid meeting at the Girgarre site, 40kms from Shepparton in northern Victoria, left angry and frustrated.

“On Friday the company told the workers they would look after them. Come Tuesday and they arrived to be told that Heinz won’t be accepting any of their proposals.”

Workers have asked Heinz to consider a plan that allows long-term casuals to be offered redundancies, job transfers where possible to a Heinz site in Echuca, and the option for all workers to take redundancy packages early if they have other job options to go to.

“The company has said no to everything except the possibility of transfers to Echuca. Some of our members would like to move on, they’ve been offered other work - now they’re being told that they won’t receive their entitlements if they do,” he said.

“They’ve been left in the dark, without much of an idea of what their future is. Heinz has said they will come back with an offer for our members – so we’re now left waiting.”

The closure of Girgarre, and the partial closure of Heinz sites in Wagga and Brisbane, was announced 24 hours after the company revealed a global net profit of $223.9 million for the last quarter.