The federal government has stepped in to urge supermarket giant Woolworths and the United Workers Union (UWU) to end a dispute which has led to empty shelves at supermarkets across Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT.
UWU members have taken industrial action and picketed Woolworths distribution centres, preventing stock from being delivered to stores.
The union has concerns about the productivity “framework” Woolworths is proposing for warehouse staff as part of pay negotiations.
The union says the framework, which requires warehouse staff to achieve a 100 per cent performance target when picking up items at speed, is “dangerous, inhumane and unsafe”.
Woolworths has disputed that claim, arguing the framework takes into account personal circumstances and abilities and ensures a “fair approach” to improving productivity.
Woolworths Group said its sales had already been reduced by $50 million since the start of the industrial action, with a further impact to sales expected until the dispute is resolved.
On Tueday, Woolworths filed an urgent application with the Fair Work Commission to stop union members from blocking access to its major distribution centre.
The matter has been listed to be heard on Friday.
Dan Murphy’s affected by stock shortages in lead-up to Christmas
Alcohol retailer Dan Murphy’s has also confirmed it is experiencing stock shortages in some Victorian and NSW stores as a result of the industrial action.
Dan Murphy’s parent company, Endeavour Group, is a customer of Primary Connect, which is the supply chain company operated by Woolworths.
An Endeavour Group spokesperson said the supply chain interruption was “causing some inconvenience” for customers at Dan Murphy’s and BWS stores.
“The degree of impact on stock differs across our stores, with some locations experiencing minimal disruption. While deliveries continue, certain stores may experience a decrease in how often they receive new stock,” they said.
The federal government is urging Woolworths and the union to reach an agreement to end food shortages at supermarkets in the lead-up to Christmas.
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones confirmed Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt was speaking to Woolworths and the union to encourage them to resolve their dispute.
“You’d expect when you’ve got a dispute such as this which has got national significance that you would have the government through the workplace relations minister taking an active role in that and I know Murray Watt is doing exactly that,” he told ABC Radio National.
“I know that he has picked up the phone to both the union and the business to encourage them to get back to the table and encourage them to resolve this dispute.”
Mr Jones said he appreciated that union members had concerns about the deal they had been offered, but he was hopeful the parties could find common ground.
“We urge the parties to get around the table and resolve the issues between them. I know that this matter has been referred to the Fair Work Commission which has the capacity and all the processes available to it to bring parties together to sort through the issues and that’s what we want to see happen,” Mr Jones said.
“We want to see the workers get a fair go, we want them to have their issues dealt with, we want to ensure that business disruption is minimised and most importantly we want to ensure that Australian have access to their groceries over the coming weeks ahead.”
