Unions seek 4-day work weeks for Woolworths retail staff

Thousands of retail employees at supermarket giant Woolworths may soon be eligible for a four-day work week in a new proposal that's being debated by unions in Australia.

Under the proposal, some 14,000 full-time Woolworths retail employees - out of its 130,000 retail workers - will be able to accomplish their 38-hour work weeks within four days by working 9.5-hour shifts, ABC News reported.

Bernie Smith, Shop Distributive and Allied Employers Association NSW secretary, said their workplace delegates "overwhelmingly endorsed" the proposal.

"A proposal will be out for a few weeks for members to consider and ask questions, then the proposal is subject to a vote by the members to approve it," Smith told ABC News.

Hesitations about 4-day proposal

But other unions remain on the fence about the proposal, according to the report, as the Australian Workers Union and the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) have yet to sign off on it.

Josh Cullinan, RAFFWU secretary, said the wording in the proposal does not guarantee that flexibility is automatically offered.

He also pointed out that only a small portion of retail workers will benefit from the proposal, adding that it won't help part-time employees of the supermarket giant.

"It will continue to see part-time workers at Woolworths have rosters changed without agreement," the RAFFWU secretary said as quoted by ABC News.

According to the report, voting is expected to be completed by mid-June. If it succeeds, Woolworths becomes the second major retailer after Bunnings to implement a four-day work week.

Last year, Bunnings trialled a four-day work week for its full-time employees as part of an agreement with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, SBS reported.

It follows recent four-day work week trials of various organisations in Australia, which gave the model a 9.2 score out of 10.

And as the arrangement gains further ground, some 40% of Australians are starting to believe that a four-day work week will become a reality in the next five years, according to a Hays report.