"Noticing fewer groceries on the shelves at Woolworths? Here’s what you need to know", 2 December 2024

More than 1,500 Woolworths warehouse workers have been on strike since 21 November, seeking better pay and safety on the job.

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The United Workers Union (UWU) is demanding a wage rise for workers. It also wants Woolies to scrap a productivity framework imposed on workers.

The union also wants the company to scrap a “Coaching and Productivity Framework” introduced at some sites in late 2023, which aimed to enforce an “efficiency rate” of 100%.

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Workers told the Guardian the framework was a “bullying” tactic, and putting safety at risk. “It’s just pressure, pressure, pressure,” one said. It was paused after worker pushback, but there are fears it will be reintroduced.

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Woolworths has pushed back against UWU demands, and claimed the wages it wants are well above inflation during a time of “cost-of-living pressures” for customers.

On Sunday, Woolworths announced it would reopen its Primary Connect Melbourne South Regional Distribution Centre due to stock issues, leading workers to maintain a picket line Monday.

The reopening has not gone ahead so far.

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