It may be harder to get household essentials like bread, butter, toilet paper, milk and eggs at Woolworths’ stores in the leadup to Christmas if planned strike action from Woolies’ staff goes ahead.
SBS is reporting members of the United Workers Union (UWU) voted Tuesday to take ‘indefinite strike action’ at four Woolworths warehouses in NSW and Victoria towards the end of next week unless they can reach a deal with the supermarket giant.
UWU is asking for a change in the company’s performance management program, which they believe is unsafe, equal pay for workers doing similar tasks and a wage rise above the rate of inflation.
Between 1500 and 1700 workers will be involved in the potential strikes in warehouses in western Sydney, western Melbourne, south-east Melbourne and on the NSW/Victorian border.
It’s important to note that just because only warehouses in NSW/VIC are potentially affected, these warehouses distribute all around the country, so any product shortages could be nationwide.
A spokesperson for Woolworths told SBS they had contingency plans in place should the strike go ahead.
“In the case that industrial action does escalate, we have contingency plans in place to ensure minimal disruption to customers, including building up stock in stores and utilising our other distribution centres,” they said.
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