More than 1500 workers from warehouses across Victoria and NSW are on strike to demand safety in response to Woolworths’ performance KPIs. Lineage, a cold storage warehouse supplying Woolworths stores also began indefinite strike action.
The United Workers’ Union says that the Woolworths’ Framework is a high-risk approach by management at pushing workers to work faster and could undermine safety in this very dangerous industry, with UWU members calling for the “Coaching and Productivity Framework” to be permanently scrapped.
When the punitive Framework was rolled out by Woolworths at the beginning of 2024 UWU members filed more than 2200 individual disputes with the Fair Work Commission to protest the new system, with no positive outcome from those disputes. The Framework has introduced disciplinary action if warehouse workers failed to achieve a 100% score for every task they completed, every day.
The use of algorithms in this way to impose unsafe, unsustainable and unfair work rates on employees is an example of the encroachment of technology on workplace systems, essentially treating workers like robots. Workers do not want to feel pressured to cut corners and to work unsafely in fear of losing their jobs.
As outlined in the VTHC submission to the recent Victorian parliamentary inquiry into workplace surveillance, employers are increasingly using surveillance in the workplace leading to work intensification, increased stress and fear, and impeding the ability for workers to exercise their workplace rights.
UWU National Secretary Tim Kennedy says “Workers are not robots and should not be treated like robots. But this is exactly what Woolworths is seeking to do for thousands of workers across their warehouses.
“United Workers Union continues to negotiate with Woolworths on behalf of our members and we are pleased to see that after 12 days on strike and thousands of protests, the company has shown signs of finally understanding how important this issue is to workers.
“We have seen Woolworths threaten escalating industrial conflict, and the importation of aggressive US-style industrial relations tactics is regrettable.
“But today’s negotiations show Woolworths the way they should be resolving this issue – by talking with and listening to their workers.
“We are hopeful of a breakthrough because our workers deserve to be safe at work.”
You can support Woolworths strike workers by donating here: Chuffed - UWU - Support Woolworths Strikers
Read more: United Workers' Union - Latest in Woolworth Strike Talks