Workers have used powers in the federal government’s new industrial relations laws to bring supermarket giant Coles to the bargaining table almost three years after their last pay deal lapsed.
Retail unions wrote to Coles in December requesting wage negotiations following the passage last month of the Secure Jobs, Better Pay laws, which unilaterally empower workers to seek updates of expired enterprise agreements.
Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) secretary Josh Cullinan, who wrote to Coles separately to rival retail union the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA), also raised the spectre of industrial action, saying it had helped workers achieve better terms in pay deals in recent years.
“We’ve already had the discussion with our members to say industrial action is the only way they’re going to get the agreement that they will deserve, and that is something they will explore in the next few months,” said Cullinan, adding “one store with 20 or 30 people striking” would have an amplified impact.
A Coles spokesperson confirmed the company had received a formal request to start negotiations for a new enterprise agreement and was “committed to working collaboratively … throughout the process of renewing our agreements this year”.
Comment has been sought from SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer.
The previous enterprise agreement expired in April 2020 and an attempt by the RAFFWU to force Coles to the bargaining table the following year – by taking a petition of 2000 employees to the Fair Work Commission – failed.
But a provision in the government’s IR package passed on December 1 does away with the need for the majority of a workforce to vote to restart bargaining if an employer doesn’t agree.
Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said the government had promised its Secure Jobs, Better Pay laws would bring people back to the bargaining table “and that’s exactly what’s happening”.
“After 10 years where people were pushed into their corners, employers and unions are coming back to the table to find ways to reach agreements,” Burke said.
Both Burke and Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus last year predicted some businesses would want to restart lapsed enterprise deals to avoid being caught up in changes allowing multi-employer bargaining under the new legislation.
Coles rival Woolworths, whose workplace agreement for its supermarket staff expires this month, began negotiating a new deal with the SDA early last month.
In a circular to 125,000 staff notifying them of the negotiations, Woolworths management said the new legislation “will not change our approach to enterprise bargaining”.
“We have a long history of bargaining in good faith with our team and will continue to listen to your feedback as part of our process,” they said.
Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci has previously said multi-employer bargaining was not appropriate for big retailers.
Extracted from The Sydney Morning Herald
