ALDI hit with $150 million lawsuit over unpaid wages
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There’s a lot of hard work that goes on behind the scenes of supermarkets to ensure that our shopping experiences are convenient and affordable.
However, it looks like discount supermarket chain ALDI is the latest target of a lawsuit, this time facing an enormous $150 million claim in unpaid wages it supposedly ‘systematically’ withheld from tens of thousands of its workers across the country.
The allegation came from the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA)—Australia’s largest private trade sector union—who lodged the claim in Federal Court on Friday, 26 October.
The complaint claimed that employees were forced to work up to 30 minutes before the start of their shift without pay.
According to the union, tasks that were undertaken with no payment included emptying bins, checking communication devices, performing safety checks and cashing up the register— activities which they state have become a regular habit for staff across the country.
'We estimate that over 20,000 workers are owed $150 million in back pay, and we’re seeking proper compensation for impacted workers,' said the SDA.
Back in late 2022, the Federal Court determined that ALDI underpaid distribution workers in Sydney by making them start work up to 15 minutes before their shifts.
According to National Secretary Gerard Dwyer, ALDI’s alleged misconduct was ‘fundamentally unlawful and illegal.’
‘ALDI has had its chance to do the right thing and back pay workers after they lost the Federal Court case in NSW,’ Dwyer said.
‘They’ve fumbled the bag and failed to do it right by their workforce; now they have to face the consequences of these breaches… over $100 million has been ripped out of the pockets of workers and their families by this multi-billion-dollar corporation,’ he added.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) revealed in FY 2020-2021 that ALDI increased its revenue from $9.6 billion to $10.7 billion. ALDI also reported that its sales in the last quarter of 2022 increased by 13.2 per cent because consumers opted for the discounter to save money due to higher living costs.
Other major supermarket chains weren’t immune. Woolworths, for instance, was up against over 1,000 criminal charges brought on by Wage Inspectorate Victoria for allegedly failing to pay more than $1 million in long service leave. It was recently reported to have shortchanged workers by nearly $600 million in recent years.
In our previous article, Coles was estimated to owe its employees underpaid wages of $45 million since 2020, as it shortchanged approximately 600 salaried managers, due to the miscalculations of public holiday leave for several years. You can read more about this story here.
In light of these incidents, the government has introduced a bill to criminalise this practice. If this has passed into law, violators who will deliberately underpay their employees will be given a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, and fines of up to $7.8 million.
What do you think of this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
However, it looks like discount supermarket chain ALDI is the latest target of a lawsuit, this time facing an enormous $150 million claim in unpaid wages it supposedly ‘systematically’ withheld from tens of thousands of its workers across the country.
The allegation came from the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA)—Australia’s largest private trade sector union—who lodged the claim in Federal Court on Friday, 26 October.
The complaint claimed that employees were forced to work up to 30 minutes before the start of their shift without pay.
According to the union, tasks that were undertaken with no payment included emptying bins, checking communication devices, performing safety checks and cashing up the register— activities which they state have become a regular habit for staff across the country.
ALDI is facing another lawsuit against the SDA for unpaid wages amounting to $150 million. Credit: Unsplash
'We estimate that over 20,000 workers are owed $150 million in back pay, and we’re seeking proper compensation for impacted workers,' said the SDA.
Back in late 2022, the Federal Court determined that ALDI underpaid distribution workers in Sydney by making them start work up to 15 minutes before their shifts.
According to National Secretary Gerard Dwyer, ALDI’s alleged misconduct was ‘fundamentally unlawful and illegal.’
‘ALDI has had its chance to do the right thing and back pay workers after they lost the Federal Court case in NSW,’ Dwyer said.
‘They’ve fumbled the bag and failed to do it right by their workforce; now they have to face the consequences of these breaches… over $100 million has been ripped out of the pockets of workers and their families by this multi-billion-dollar corporation,’ he added.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) revealed in FY 2020-2021 that ALDI increased its revenue from $9.6 billion to $10.7 billion. ALDI also reported that its sales in the last quarter of 2022 increased by 13.2 per cent because consumers opted for the discounter to save money due to higher living costs.
Other major supermarket chains weren’t immune. Woolworths, for instance, was up against over 1,000 criminal charges brought on by Wage Inspectorate Victoria for allegedly failing to pay more than $1 million in long service leave. It was recently reported to have shortchanged workers by nearly $600 million in recent years.
In our previous article, Coles was estimated to owe its employees underpaid wages of $45 million since 2020, as it shortchanged approximately 600 salaried managers, due to the miscalculations of public holiday leave for several years. You can read more about this story here.
In light of these incidents, the government has introduced a bill to criminalise this practice. If this has passed into law, violators who will deliberately underpay their employees will be given a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, and fines of up to $7.8 million.
What do you think of this story? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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