Nearly 10,000 Woolworths employees vote for initial strike

Nearly 10,000 union employees at Woolworths have voted to take three initial strike actions demanding action on wages and understaffing issues.

FIRST Union announced that more than 95% of its ballot respondents voted to take three initial strike actions, with a smaller group from 10 key Woolworths stores in New Zealand voting for additional action.

"Our members are seeking a living wage, safe staffing minimum standards and fair compensation for giving up family and leisure time to work understaffed night and weekend shifts," said Ross Lampert, FIRST Union national organiser for retail food, in a statement.

The three initial strike actions include a media strike, where employees would not comply with media and social media policies, as well as wearing of a strike sticker on work uniforms.

And for members of 10 specific stores, they would hand out a receipt-style flyers to customers in stores, according to Lampert.

The organiser said the strike comes after nine days of bargaining.

"Woolworths have consistently encouraged the idea that they are a market leader and a business that truly cares about workers, but that has quickly eroded during these bargaining meetings," Lampert said.

Pay demands

According to the FIRST Union, employees are demanding that Woolworths address wages, which are now lagging compared to other retailers despite being one of the highest payers two years ago.

The current starting rate at Woolworths is $24.93 per hour, while Costco is offering $27 per hour and Foodstuffs sites like Pak'N'Save Kilbirnie have a start rate of $26 per hour, the union said.

"We were so proud to have signed an industry-leading deal two years ago and were really disheartened to hear at bargaining that the company has no interest in being a living wage employer again," said Michelle McKenzie, a Duty Supervisor and FIRST Union bargaining team member from the Church Corner store in Christchurch, in a statement.

In response, Woolworths managing director Spencer Sonn said they have to "balance increasing costs and providing value for customers." But he maintained that making sure their teams earn more is a "key priority" for Woolworths.

"Our offer includes a 6.6% increase for our store team on average over two years, and we have a genuine focus on helping our team have long and meaningful careers with us," Sonn told RNZ.

Understaffing issues

The company is also being urged to address alleged understaffing in its outlets after a FIRST Union survey found that 90.8% of supermarket workers believe they are understaffed.

"Understaffed stores are less safe for workers and lead to more abuse and difficulty with customers, as well as making staff more stressed and prone to burnout," Lampert said.

"It means experienced staff don't stick around in their jobs and new arrivals to the workforce are immediately put off by the unreasonable demands placed on supermarket workers."

The organisation is investing over $45 million to make its stores safer, Radio New Zealand reported. This includes installing safety cameras, trolley locks, fog cannons, and double-entry gates, according to Sonn.