Western Australia Senator Fatima Payman attended the United Workers Union (UWU) picket line in Dandenong South, at 5am on December 5, to show her solidarity with their fight for respect at work.
She told Green Left that there are “an incredible bunch of delegates and union members who are calling on Woolworths to come to the table and pay their fair share”.
She also called on the corporation to “grant dignity and respect to the workers”.
The UWU workers are fighting for safer warehouses, fair pay and the same rights at every site. The wage claim for the Woolworths Melbourne South Distribution Centre and Woolworths Melbourne Fresh Distribution Centre is $38 an hour.
Former Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci received a retirement package of $26 million — roughly the cost of wage claims for all four warehouse sheds.
UWU members are protesting Woolworth’s productivity plan, “the framework”, which compels workers to keep up to a speed metric known as a “pick rate”.
“Stop putting profits over people and look at the health risks that these workers are subjected to,” Payman said.
“As a proud union member myself, it’s great to be here in solidarity with all these union members. “I’d like to give a shout out to Green Left too, for your support and solidarity. We’re going to keep fighting this good fight and we won’t back down until Woolies pays up.”
Workers at the Dandenong location said a warehouse in Hume, that closed in 2015, once the largest warehouse supplying Woolworths in Victoria had some of the best working conditions and wages. Workers were paid more than $40 per hour and there was no “framework” that imposed unrealistic expectations on staff.
Woolworths closed the Hume warehouse, affecting more than 700 jobs, and opened a semi-automated replacement warehouse in Dandenong. As the automated system failed, the workforce increased, but conditions and pay went down.
Meanwhile, Woolworths' application in the Fair Work Commission to stop the picket is due on December 6.
[You can show your support to the United Workers Union workers at their picket, from 5.30am over the weekend, at 2 Portlink Drive, Dandenong South. Please donate to their strike fund here.]