| WHAT: | Press conference to mark second week of Woolworths strike |
| WHO: | ACTU Secretary Sally McManus, UWU President Jo Schofield and striking workers |
| WHERE: | Erskine Park Distribution Centre, 28 Sarah Andrews Cl, Erskine Park NSW |
| WHEN: | 1pm Friday 29 November |
More than 1500 warehouse workers across Victoria and NSW enter their second week on strike today to improve wages in a cost-of-living crisis and demand safety in the face of Woolworths performance ‘Framework’. Lineage, a cold storage warehouse supplying Woolworths stores also began indefinite strike action five days ago for improved wages and conditions.
After a full week on strike, shelves across Woolworths stores are starting to run bare, with gaping holes in household and frozen goods.
Workers are calling to permanently scrap Woolworths’ “Framework”, which the union says is a high-risk management approach pushing workers to work faster, which could undermine safety in a very dangerous industry.
Workers want wages increases that address decades of wage stagnation and a growing cost-of-living crisis that.
Comments attributable to ACTU Secretary Sally McManus:
“We stand with Woolworths warehouse workers campaigning for safe workplaces and cost-of-living pay rises. These hardworking Australians deserve to enjoy the holiday season with their loved ones without worrying about their wages and conditions.
“If Woolworths wants to rebuild trust with the public, they need to start with their workforce. Imposing unsafe, unfair and unsustainable work rates generated by an algorithm treats workers like robots. We can all see that measures, such as self-checkouts, just increase profits.”
Comments attributable to UWU National Secretary Tim Kennedy:
“We are seeing bare shelves across the eastern seaboard now. We warned that this would happen if five warehouses took strike action. Woolworths knows how to fix this, and now is the time as families start their Christmas preparations.
“Workers do not want to feel pressured to cut corners and work unsafely for fear of losing their job, Woolworths must prioritise the safety and well-being of workers above all else.
“Woolworths are squeezing shoppers at the register and workers on pay and conditions, while making ever increasing profits. This is contributing to growing wealth inequality in Australia.
“Woolworths workers are striking for a cost-of-living wage increase and to be paid the same rate of pay for doing the same work under a national agreement.”
ENDS
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