by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A 17-day strike by Woolworths warehouse workers which left supermarket shelves bare across Melbourne has ended.
More than 1500 striking workers across Australia, including those on a picket line outside the main Melbourne South Regional Distribution Centre (MSRDC) at Dandenong South, agreed to a revised EA offer from Woolworths on Saturday 7 December.
It came after a Fair Work Commission interim ruling on Friday barred picket lines at Dandenong South, Mulgrave and two other sites.
As part of the ‘indefinite’ strike, United Workers Union members had taken issue with the EA pay offer as well as an “AI-surveillance” and performance target regime described as the ‘Framework’.
UWU national secretary Tim Kennedy said the workers had “saved Christmas” and soon shelves would be full again.
“But more importantly, they have challenged one of the most significant threats to worker safety and well-being as we enter a new AI-surveillance era of work.
“And they have won.”
Kennedy said it had been a “hard struggle” for striking workers who had forgone pay for 17 days.
“Breaking the link between measuring the speed of workers and automatic discipline if they fall behind is a significant achievement of the workers, and a sign that workers will have a say about how work is regulated as we move from the industrial age to the AI digital age.”
According to the UWU, the revised EA states the Framework can’t be used to automatically disciple workers, offers pay rises between 3.15 per cent and 4.5 per cent, improved redundancy entitlements and penalty rates as well as sign-on bonuses of up to $1500.
Woolworths Group chief executive Amanda Bardwell said the company was focused on restocking empty supermarket shelves.
“Turning back ‘on’ such a large part of our supply chain will mean it will take some time for our stores to look their best and we’ll be ramping up as much as we can to get products to the stores where they’re needed most.
“We are pleased to have endorsed offers for new terms and conditions and a competitive wage for our team at our four Distribution Centres that have been subject to indefinite industrial action over recent weeks.
“We would once again like to apologise to our customers. We know how frustrating it has been to shop in store and online with us in recent weeks in Victoria, the ACT and parts of NSW.”
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, Woolworths claimed the dispute had cost at least $50 million in food sales as of 2 December.
