RAFFWU SUES WOOLWORTHS FOR COERCION AND ROSTER ATTACKS BIG W COPS IT AGAIN FROM FAIR WORK COMMISSION For too long Woolworths has refused to genuinely consult workers over major changes, like RT3, the spill and fill of managers or the abolition of overnight work. Woolworths has behaved like we have nothing to contribute in finding the best solutions when it comes to major changes. It fails to benefit from our meaningful contributions and it makes worse decisions because of its approach. In the dead of night on 21 April 2021, Woolworths Store Managers across Victoria and Tasmania issued notices telling workers they would no longer work overnight. Around 1400 workers would move to day and evening fill, costing workers up to $30 000 per year. Our fightback against these attacks involved 100 workers raising disputes. Beneath the attacks was a desire to avoid penalty rates and paid meal breaks. When workers stood together attending their ordinary shifts — because their roster must not change while the disputes remain unresolved — Woolworths Senior Management locked them out, blocking workers from attending work. After three days, Woolworths coercively threatened workers by announcing it would not pay them and threatening disciplinary action against those who were simply relying on their workplace rights. The upheaval targeted workers, without consultation over the major changes, coerced workers, breached their rights and attacked them because they were entitled to penalty rates, paid meal breaks and union representation. It was one of the worst cases of worker coercion in retail and inflicted on essential workers by Australia’s largest private sector employer in the midst of the pandemic. We have painstakingly prepared litigation and, in late 2023, launched Federal Court action against Woolworths for what it did. We are seeking a range of outcomes, including compensation for our members who were coerced when they stood together. With help from SDA and AWU, Woolworths Group at Big W has tried to smash the rights of workers to arbitrate disputes and have rosters not change while a dispute is pursued. We now know that despite repeatedly promising to meeting with RAFFWU and negotiate over wages and other important conditions, Big W secretly cut a deal which cut worker rights, gave no wage increases for a year and paid workers a poultry 11c more than the absolute minimum. In return, Big W promised SDA it would attack RAFFWU member rights and force every new young worker to be subjected to the SDA recruitment agents in their first shift of work. This shameful attack by Big W follows its notorious past of cutting conditions, smashing worker rights and helping recruit for its SDA. We took our case to the Fair Work Commission and on 16 November 2023 the Fair Work Commission agreed Woolworths Group had repeatedly breached the Good Faith Bargaining Requirements. The deal itself is a shocker and should not be inflicted on any workers. In any event, we will continue to press Woolworths Group to guarantee living wages, secure jobs and safer workplaces in all Big W stores. We are also seeking compensation for workers whose roster was changed to avoid penalty rates and paid meal breaks. It is a groundbreaking case. We know that so many roster changes are imposed by the big retailers because they want to avoid penalty rates and other conditions — like breaks. We’re fed up and now we, and our members, are taking on Woolworths in the Federal Court. If you know workers who might be impacted by these changes make sure to encourage them to get involved in RAFFWU! 3 RAFFWU PROVES WOOLWORTHS GROUP BREACHED GOOD FAITH BARGAINING
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