The Dandenong South distribution centre accounts for more than 40 per cent of the four sites’ total output, and management have repeatedly called workers there to put them “under pressure”, the worker said.
The UWU has held a 24-hour picket line outside the Dandenong South centre since its closure, demanding an increase to workers’ pay, and for Woolworths to review a framework that they claim creates “unsafe systems of work”.
Woolworth workers on a picket line outside the company’s distribution centre in Dandenong South on Monday.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
The framework included a “pick rate” for workers, which dictated how many items they needed to pick within a specific time frame, UWU official Andy Giles said.
If workers failed to meet the pick rate day in, day out, they were disciplined, he said.
“If you’re getting called in by your supervisors, and they’re telling you that you’re not doing enough, that pressure is real,” Giles said.
“People are going to take shortcuts, they’re going to cut corners, they’re going to work speeds that are not safe.
Empty shelves at a Woolworths Metro store in Melbourne on Sunday amid distribution centre worker strikes.Credit: April Lombardo
“They’ve got heavy machinery, there’s equipment, there are forklifts, there are all sorts of things. You cannot mix machines and people and put that pressure [on them].
“We’ve heard the rumours, but the site remains shut. It’s been shut since the 21st, and nobody has come. There’s been no bus that’s come.”
Woolworths said the UWU was asking for an immediate pay rise of more than 25 per cent and increases of 15 per cent in years two and three – “materially above inflation”.
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association endorsed an offer from Woolworths Group last week.
The strike action by workers at Woolworths’ distribution centre in Dandenong South is entering its 12th day.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Giles said the pay arrangements differentiated between the four Woolworths distribution centres, and the union wanted those paid less than $38 an hour to be bumped up to at least that rate.
A partner distribution centre has also been on strike since November 21.
While Victorians are experiencing the brunt of stock shortages on shelves as the industrial action continues, stores in NSW and the ACT are also affected.
Woolworths has said resuming operations at the centre would bolster supplies of food and essentials including nappies, toilet paper and drinks in Victorian supermarkets.
The retailer met union members at 9am on Monday, but there was no resolution at that time
At a press conference at 4pm on Monday, UWU national secretary Tim Kennedy said negotiations between the union and the supermarket giant were ongoing.
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“It’s our intention and our aim to reach an agreement as quickly as possible and have workers be able to go back to work on fair and just terms,” he said.
“Our workers don’t want to be out on strike and not being paid. They’re there to try and get an agreement.”
Kennedy said Woolworths shelves could be replenished “very quickly” if the supermarket giant addressed staff concerns.
“The reality is, shoppers have already decided they’re going to shop at other supermarkets to get what they need. There’s no shortages anywhere else,” Kennedy said.
“Woolworths can fix this by simply sitting down and listening to what the workers’ legitimate concerns are and meeting them.
“These are not radical proposals being sought. If they did that, then all warehouses open again, people are back to work, and shelves are full.”
Woolworths workers have been on strike for 12 days and counting.Credit: Luis Ascui
A Woolworths spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience of “frustrating” store shortages, and said negotiations with the union were continuing.
“We’ve been working tirelessly to reopen our Melbourne South Regional Distribution Centre so we can improve the amount of essential grocery items on our shelves for our Victorian customers,” the Woolworths spokesperson said.
“We continue to seek to negotiate with the United Workers Union and have requested that they allow safe passage for our team wishing to return to work and for vehicles today at [the centre].
“This will ensure we can operate the site safely and supply much-needed essential food and grocery products to our Victorian customers and communities.”
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Activist and Victorian Socialists federal Senate candidate Jordan van den Lamb,– known as purplepingers online – issued a call-out to followers on social media on Sunday, urging them to attend Monday’s action in Dandenong South.
Party member Ryan Stanton said activists, students and trade union members were among those who turned out with the party to support Monday’s protest.
“Woolworths is one of the main drivers behind the cost-of-living crisis,” Stanton said.
“They’ve been price gouging … but what a lot of people don’t know is that they’re also doing their best to make working lives harder for the workers who actually pick the stock that goes to the stores.”
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