Woolies to reopen distribution centre to combat bare shelves caused ...
Shoppers confronted with empty shelves at Woolworths stores across Victoria have been told to expect supplies to return to normal from Monday, when the retailer says it will reopen one of five distribution centres disrupted by industrial action.
More than 1500 workers went on an indefinite strike 11 days ago, closing distribution centres connected to the supermarket chain. Four are in Victoria and one is in New South Wales.
Bare shelves in a Woolworths store in Hawthorn on Saturday night.
Bare shelves have been seen in Woolworths stores across the state in recent days. Customers have posted on social media that stores in Truganina, Cranbourne North, Docklands, Richmond, Brunswick, Hastings and Shepparton have been affected.
At the weekend, The Age visited Woolworths stores across Melbourne and found empty shelves in all. Shoppers complained that confectionery, soft drinks, paper towels, frozen fruit and bread remained in short supply in some stores at the weekend.
A Woolworths spokeswoman said the retailer intended to reopen the Melbourne South Regional Distribution Centre in Dandenong South on Monday, improving availability of items such as nappies, toilet paper and drinks.
“We know that there have been shortages on our shelves in some Woolworths stores and that this is really frustrating for our customers,” she said.
Empty shelves on Sunday at a Woolworths Metro store in Melbourne’s CBD.Credit:
“We’ve been working tirelessly to reopen our Melbourne South Regional Distribution Centre so we can improve the amount of essential grocery items on our shelves for our Victorian customers.”
However, the decision to reopen the Dandenong South site at 6am leaves open the potential for the dispute to escalate. Negotiations are due to recommence at 9am between the supermarket chain and the United Workers Union.
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The UWU has called for a pay increase to $38 an hour for all staff as well as equal wages across distribution centres.
Woolworths said it had contacted almost three-quarters of the workers at the Dandenong South centre and that 72 per cent had said they wanted to return to work and be paid before Christmas. The company said this represented about half of those working at the site.
“We continue to seek to negotiate with the United Workers Union and have requested that they allow safe passage for our team wishing to return to work and for vehicles tomorrow at [the distribution centre],” the spokeswoman said.
UWU national secretary Tim Kennedy said Woolworths was showing “bad faith and nothing more” by attempting to reopen the centre.
“Woolworths should focus on negotiating a fair outcome rather than escalating industrial conflict,” he said.
“This is already an incredibly profitable and productive company. There’s no excuse for Woolworths not to move on the framework, pay workers fairly, and end this strike.
“We are seeing bare shelves across the eastern seaboard now. We warned that this would happen if five warehouses took strike action. Woolworths knows how to fix this, and now is the time as families start their Christmas preparations.”
ACTU secretary Sally McManus visited a picket line on Friday and said workers at Woolworths warehouses deserved better wages and conditions.
“If Woolworths wants to rebuild trust with the public, they need to start with their workforce,” she said. “We can all see that measures, such as self-checkouts, just increase profits.”
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