Australia: Drivers who deliver Tooheys beer will take their protest to the company's central Sydney office

Fifty seven owner-drivers last week blockaded Tooheys's Lidcombe brewery over proposed new contracts that would cut their wages and rates by up to 42 per cent. They were ordered back to work by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC), which is attempting to conciliate the dispute, The Age posted June 26.

The new pay conditions are a result of a change of Tooheys's delivery contractors from Toll Holdings to Linfox, which will take over beer deliveries from July 31.

The Transport Workers' Union (TWU) says Linfox has now offered the drivers new contracts that go some of the way to rectify the original pay cuts.

But a TWU spokeswoman says the revised contracts do not address the issue of goodwill, which recognises the large amounts of money invested by the drivers in their vehicles.

Drivers will call on Linfox to recognise that goodwill, either as part of their pay or in a payment at the end of their contract, during a protest outside the George Street headquarters of Lion Nathan, which owns Tooheys.

"The contract is a workable pay rate. However, the pay rate doesn't include the goodwill," the TWU spokeswoman said.

"They've got large debts to repay, which they have accumulated through buying the trucks and having to maintain them, so as you can understand, it's a huge loss to these drivers not to have their goodwill recognised."

The TWU, Tooheys, Linfox and Toll Holding were meeting the IRC for a report-back session where each party will outline the progress of the negotiations.

The NSW government has backed the drivers' claim, as has the union representing catering at NSW Parliament house, the Public Service Union (PSA).

The PSA has banned sale of Tooheys's products at the parliamentary bar, restaurants or bottle shop until the dispute is resolved.

Lion Nathan spokesman James Tait said the company was hoping for a speedy resolution to the dispute via the NSW IRC.

He said the company was actively trying to facilitate an agreement between Linfox and the drivers regarding the goodwill payment - an approach that had proved successful in improving the drivers' rate of pay.

"We're still actively involved in trying to foster a solution on the goodwill issue," Mr Tait said. "We've been clear throughout this process that we want the drivers to be paid a fair market rate that allows them to run a decent business with a decent return on their investment. (But) we don't really believe it is appropriate to have a negotiation on these issues through the media."

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