Supermarket files urgent application with Fair Work Commission

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The worker strikes impacting Woolworths distribution are now affecting stock levels at liquor stores. It comes as the company waits for a hearing with fair work which it hopes will get staff back into its four fulfilment hubs.

Transcript

00:00I've just sat down with Amanda Bardwell, the Chief Executive of Woolworths. She said that

00:08the company certainly wasn't expecting that this strike and the resulting empty shelves

00:14would have dragged on this long. The strike started now around two weeks ago when they

00:21first kicked off. The company that Woolworths owns, that manages these fulfilment centres,

00:27said they weren't expecting major disruptions. Well now, stores especially in Victoria are

00:33absolutely empty of many essential items. You've got shelves empty of nappies, tofu,

00:39frozen goods, bottled drinks. Amanda Bardwell said to me that they are working with truck

00:45deliveries to try and get those stores filled again and they are certainly hoping that this

00:50situation doesn't drag out to Christmas.

00:53We were certainly hopeful that we could reach an agreement with the UWU and that we would

00:58be able to get those products back on the shelves for our customers earlier than we've

01:03been able to. We're working day and night to be able to find a pathway through so that

01:08we can have our team back to work and those products back on the shelves for customers.

01:13So your shelves are currently empty of tofu, nappies, cold drinks. How much worse is it

01:19going to get for your customers?

01:21We're continuing to work really hard to try and manage those product availabilities for

01:26our customers. We've got truck deliveries coming to our stores. We're servicing from

01:31our 20 DCs across the country into Victoria in particular. We do know that our customers

01:38are experiencing shortages in many of those products, those everyday essentials, and we're

01:43incredibly sorry for the disruption that this has caused for our customers in their everyday lives.

01:48Could this drag out to Christmas?

01:50We're certainly hopeful that we can reach an agreement with the UWU. It is three weeks

01:55to Christmas.

01:56The company lodged an application with the Fair Work Commission yesterday and it has

02:00its first hearing on this on Friday. The company is alleging unfair dealings throughout this

02:07wage negotiation with the unions. It's also asking the Fair Work Commission to help it

02:15safe passage for workers who might want to go back to work in its distribution centres.

02:22This has become a really interesting sticking point between the main union here, the UWU,

02:27and Woolworths. The UWU, as early as yesterday, has been claiming that in one of the main

02:33distribution centres here in Melbourne's south east, it has 85% of the workforce unionised

02:39and that democratically all of those workers have agreed not to go to work until they get

02:44the deal that they're hoping for. Well, today Amanda Bardwell, the CEO, disputed that this

02:49union has 85% of that workforce. They say that they do have workers who would like to

02:54go back into that store. Of course, this will ultimately come down to the Fair Work Commission

02:59on Friday. The CEO says they hope to get an answer that day.

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