Woolworths employees call out employer for Australia Day merchandising move

Employees of supermarket giant Woolworths slammed their own employer in the past week for not selling Australia Day merchandise on the public holiday.

The employees aired their grievances on the company's internal forum, which was seen and published by Daily Mail on Thursday.

Some of the leaked grievances called out how the company chose to remove Australia Day merchandise from shelves but decided to still sell items related to other holidays.

"They're bringing in year of the dragon 2024 lunar new year gear, loads of it, but no Aussie stuff," one of the employees said in the message posted by Daily Mail. "Disgusting. Go figure, go work, go broke!!!!"

Another leaked message was directed to Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci, who was accused of "playing politics/activism" while running a business.

"If they want to be an activist, then they should quit their multimillion dollar jobs, and be one," the employee said. "People do not like to be told what to think by corporate Australian and politicians."

Banducci previously defended that they took off Australia Day items, such as flags, themed plates, cups, and sandals, due to a decline in demand over recent years.

The CEO also attributed the decision to the growing sensitivity surrounding the holiday, which has been met by rejection from Indigenous Australians and other groups who tagged the event as "Invasion Day."

Last year, workplace debates surrounding the holiday heavily involved on whether employers should let their employees report to work on Australia Day.

CEO's apology over Australia Day

The backlash from employees came on the heels of Banducci's apology to staff amid reports that they became targets of hurtful behaviour from customers due to the company's Australia Day decision.

"I want to personally apologise to all of you for the way our merchandising decision has been received - and how this has resulted in hurtful and inappropriate reactions directed at you, our team member," Banducci said in the letter as quoted by Sky News.

"I know that many of you have received negative and aggressive comments – and in some cases acts. I am deeply sorry that you are being subjected to that."

The situation comes after Woolworths reported late last year that many of its employees became victims to increasing cases of aggression at work, prompting the organisation to invest in "CCTV upgrades, two-way radio headsets, as well as virtual reality violence and aggression training" to address the problem.