Woolworths faces lawsuit for allegedly exploiting workers with shift changes
- Replies 17
In a world where the cost of living is constantly on the rise, the last thing any hardworking individual wants is a sudden pay cut.
Unfortunately, this seems to be the reality for around 1400 former night shift employees at Woolworths, who allege they were abruptly moved to day shifts without notice, resulting in a significant pay cut of up to $30,000 for some affected workers.
This has led to a Federal Court action being launched against the supermarket giant Woolworths by the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU).
The RAFFWU is representing workers from over 100 Woolworths supermarkets in Victoria and Tasmania who claim they were forced to change their work hours from overnight to day or evening work in 2021.
The union claimed that Woolworths failed to consult the workers about these changes.
When the workers disputed the changes, they were allegedly threatened with no pay, sent home, and told they must comply with Woolworths' direction to work the new rosters.
The union's court documents suggest that the motivation behind these changes was for Woolworths to avoid paying overnight penalty rates and paid meal breaks to the workers.
The RAFFWU also claimed that threats of no pay against workers are considered 'unlawful coercion' and that the supermarket giant misrepresented one worker's rights to be represented by the RAFFWU.
Lauren Dyer, a RAFFWU delegate at Woolworths Lilydale and a co-applicant in the Federal Court case, expressed her frustration, saying, 'My life was turned upside down by Woolworths Group when they told me my roster was changing because they had abolished overnight work.'
RAFFWU Secretary Josh Cullinan added, 'In the dead of night in April 2021, at the heights of the pandemic, around 1400 workers were dragged into meetings to be told their world was being turned upside down.'
'There was no warning,' he shared.
'The reward for a year of working in the pandemic was for these workers to have massive cuts in their pay and for their overnight work to be switched to day or evening work.'
'This landmark action holds Woolworths Group to account for these attacks on workers.'
'We are seeking proper compensation for all affected workers, including the tens of thousands of dollars a year some workers have lost as a result of the changes.'
In response, Woolworths stated, 'In July 2021, we changed the way we replenish our Victorian and Tasmanian stores, moving the key shelf stocking period from overnight activity to an afternoon/evening shift.'
'This brought our Victorian and Tasmanian stores in line with every other state and territory.'
Woolworths claimed the move was designed to improve stock availability, particularly during evening trading hours, when a growing number of customers choose to shop.
'We knew that this was a change to their rosters, and that’s why there was an extensive consultation period commencing in April 2021 prior to the change to ensure the transition to new rosters was as smooth as possible. This included transition payments for impacted team members.'
'As this matter is now before the Court, it would not be appropriate to comment further.'
This news comes after ALDI was reportedly hit with an enormous claim of $150 million in unpaid wages as it supposedly ‘systematically’ withheld from tens of thousands of its workers across the country.
The allegation came from Australia’s largest private trade sector union, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), 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.
You can read more about this news here.
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Unfortunately, this seems to be the reality for around 1400 former night shift employees at Woolworths, who allege they were abruptly moved to day shifts without notice, resulting in a significant pay cut of up to $30,000 for some affected workers.
This has led to a Federal Court action being launched against the supermarket giant Woolworths by the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU).
The RAFFWU is representing workers from over 100 Woolworths supermarkets in Victoria and Tasmania who claim they were forced to change their work hours from overnight to day or evening work in 2021.
The union claimed that Woolworths failed to consult the workers about these changes.
When the workers disputed the changes, they were allegedly threatened with no pay, sent home, and told they must comply with Woolworths' direction to work the new rosters.
Woolworths was sued by RAFFWU for allegedly exploiting workers. Image source: Shutterstock.
The union's court documents suggest that the motivation behind these changes was for Woolworths to avoid paying overnight penalty rates and paid meal breaks to the workers.
The RAFFWU also claimed that threats of no pay against workers are considered 'unlawful coercion' and that the supermarket giant misrepresented one worker's rights to be represented by the RAFFWU.
Lauren Dyer, a RAFFWU delegate at Woolworths Lilydale and a co-applicant in the Federal Court case, expressed her frustration, saying, 'My life was turned upside down by Woolworths Group when they told me my roster was changing because they had abolished overnight work.'
RAFFWU Secretary Josh Cullinan added, 'In the dead of night in April 2021, at the heights of the pandemic, around 1400 workers were dragged into meetings to be told their world was being turned upside down.'
'There was no warning,' he shared.
'The reward for a year of working in the pandemic was for these workers to have massive cuts in their pay and for their overnight work to be switched to day or evening work.'
'This landmark action holds Woolworths Group to account for these attacks on workers.'
'We are seeking proper compensation for all affected workers, including the tens of thousands of dollars a year some workers have lost as a result of the changes.'
In response, Woolworths stated, 'In July 2021, we changed the way we replenish our Victorian and Tasmanian stores, moving the key shelf stocking period from overnight activity to an afternoon/evening shift.'
'This brought our Victorian and Tasmanian stores in line with every other state and territory.'
Woolworths claimed the move was designed to improve stock availability, particularly during evening trading hours, when a growing number of customers choose to shop.
'We knew that this was a change to their rosters, and that’s why there was an extensive consultation period commencing in April 2021 prior to the change to ensure the transition to new rosters was as smooth as possible. This included transition payments for impacted team members.'
'As this matter is now before the Court, it would not be appropriate to comment further.'
This news comes after ALDI was reportedly hit with an enormous claim of $150 million in unpaid wages as it supposedly ‘systematically’ withheld from tens of thousands of its workers across the country.
The allegation came from Australia’s largest private trade sector union, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), 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.
You can read more about this news here.
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