Hundreds of Woolworths employees stopped work for an hour yesterday (13th October) to tell customers about a pay offer that would freeze some managers' wages for up to five years.
In a social post, Ross Lampert, Organiser, Workers First Union, said the pay offer was 'a slap in the face for people who run Woolworths’ stores.'
“Union members voted 96 percent to reject the company’s offer. Nobody could tolerate a five-year wage freeze, but that’s what’s on offer here,” he said.
The post mentioned that Woolworths’ offer included the following:
- Locks in a two-tiered pay system for people doing the same job
- Freezes pay for up to five years for some managers, and offers pay rises well below inflation to others
- Gives managers no say over the rostering principles that determine their working hours
The two tiers date back to last year’s restructure, when longer-serving managers kept higher wages while newer managers were hired on less, despite doing the same work. The understanding was that this gap would close relatively quickly.
This contradicts what Woolworths has now offered: a three-year deal that would lock the two tiers in, with a 2.2 percent pay gap still remaining at the end.
Managers on the higher tier have already had their pay frozen over the past year, and this offer means that their pay would continue to be frozen for at least the next three years.
Lampert highlighted that workers want reasonable control over their rosters so they can plan their lives outside Woolworths, spend quality time with family, and pursue outside interests.
He added that managers don't take industrial action lightly and that, as this was the company's first strike in its history, it shows how badly this offer has landed.
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