As at December 6, 250 workers at the Erskine Park Woolworths warehouse, north west of Sydney, had been on strike for 17 days, after Woolworths refused to negotiate a fair enterprise agreement (EBA).
The warehouse is one of three operated by Woolworths in NSW.
Workers have been under pressure to cut corners on health and safety, and work faster as part of a system known as “the framework” which Woolworths introduced in October and measures how fast they are able to pack products.
鶹ý spoke to several workers, all members of the United Workers Union, about why they were taking protected industrial action and what they wanted in their new agreement.
A long-term worker said “Woolworths wants to codify their unsafe work pressure. They’ve been hammering us with the new EBA. This productivity framework is used to bully and micromanage workers, especially older workers they want to bully out of the workforce, or face being ‘managed out the door’.
“The framework measures staff productivity in a way that is pressuring us to move faster for unreasonably long periods. This is leading to accidents and injuries, including forklift collisions.
“One worker was killed in Minchinbury warehouse in June last year because of this pressure”, one picketer said.
“We know what putting this ‘framework’ into the EBA means. So, we are striking to get it off the table. We’ve had it up to here with management.”
Despite Woolworths CEO Amanda Bardwell claiming that the grocery giant had experienced a tougher year, the company still announced profits of $1.7 billion in August. Some workers are on as little as $29 an hour.
Workers were hopeful of a fair resolution but were also prepared for an ongoing fight.
The Fair Work Commission ruled in favour of Woolworths, ordering the UWU back to work on December 6.
The next day, however, UWU members discussed and accepted a new revised offer from the corporation, which included that the “framework” not be tied to any disciplinary action against workers.