Woolworths 'deeply committed' to reaching deal with striking workers: reports

Woolworths has expressed its commitment to reaching an agreement with striking workers at its distribution centres who are demanding better pay, according to reports.

A spokesperson from Primary Connect - the supply chain business owned by Woolworths - told the media that they "already put forward several offers with competitive pay" that are above industry standards, above local market rates, and well above the Award.

"We value our team and are deeply committed to reaching an agreement as quickly as possible so they can receive the benefit of their new pay rates before Christmas," the spokesperson said as quoted by ABC News.

More than 1,500 Primary Connect workers at four distribution centres in Victoria and New South Wales walked out of their jobs to demand better pay and safer working conditions.

Striking workers' demands

The United Workers' Union (UWU) said the workers are seeking a higher pay hike of 12.5%, up from the 10%, to help them with the rising cost of living.

"Woolworths workers want to be paid equally across the country. They want to be paid the same rate for doing the same work under a national agreement," said UWU national secretary Tim Kennedy as quoted by Yahoo Finance.

The union is also asking the company to stop tracking employees through a productivity framework that reportedly mandates staff to achieve a100% performance target when picking items.

Sharon Eurlings, UWU organiser, claimed that the framework was based on "engineered standards" that did not consider an employee's ability.

"The biggest problem with this framework is because of the punishment that it actually involves," Eurlings said as quoted by CBC. "The company has not shied away from saying that they will actually use the pick rate in order to discipline their members."

Dario Mujkic, union organiser, warned that the strikes will have a "huge impact."

"We know when one warehouse goes on strike, shelves start going empty," Mujkic said as quoted by Yahoo Finance. "It's actually unprecedented, this level of strike action across the Woolworths supply chain."

Woolworths’ response to strikes

But Woolworths defended itself from accusations of employee tracking, noting that scrapping it would give the distribution centre "no way to measure performance or manage productivity."

It also assured that the strike on some of its distribution centres will likely make an impact on Woolworths supermarkets.

"We have extensive contingency plans in place to minimise any ongoing impact to customers, including significantly increasing stock levels in stores serviced by these [distribution centres], and utilising the other 20 [distribution centres] and 8,000 team members in our network to ensure regular deliveries to stores," a Woolworths spokesperson said as quoted by ABC News.