A UNION official says staff at Woolworths’ Barnawartha North distribution warehouse would forgo wage increases to protect new workers’ wages.
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The National Union of Workers will meet Woolworths management today to begin negotiations on a new enterprise bargaining agreement with the company.
Union North East organiser Neil Smith said members were keen to avoid a repeat of their last negotiating period in late 2013.
He said industrial action then had led to up to 350 staff going on strike.
“Last time the company came after new employees’ wages,” Mr Smith said yesterday at the launch of the union’s campaign.
“What we’re hoping is that they don’t do that again.”
Mr Smith said hundreds of the union’s members voted unanimously on Friday on a log of claims to protect existing conditions.
“They resolved that they won’t take a pay rise at the expense of future workers,” he said.
“In a nutshell we’re just hoping that Woolworths approaches the negotiations responsibly and don’t try to cut the current conditions.”
Mr Smith said the fear last time round was that new workers’ wages would be cut by $4 an hour.
“That was the big thing about protecting what we’ve got,” he said.
“All the people who come through this workplace are our kids, our grandkids, they’re our next-door neighbour’s kids.”
Mr Smith said the agreement was due to expire on August 31.
“Our members have all pledged that they will stand together to protect the future workers,” he said.
“Our claim at the moment says the current agreement should form the basis of the new agreement as a starting point.”
Mr Smith said this was about protecting conditions for future generations of workers at the site.
“I think this site is a little bit different because it’s a regional community,” he said.
“We know these future workers. It’s a tightknit community and the money goes into our football clubs, our schools, our local butchers.
“That’s why it’s really important to these regional members.”