Photo: Supplied / Woolworths
Customer care workers at Woolworths are on strike until midnight on Wednesday, in protest of the removal of working-from-home privileges and a mandatory one weekend day off.
It's the third strike by Workers First Union members in the customer care team in the past fortnight, the union says, following four rounds of negotiations for better pay and conditions in the past two months.
These workers are responsible for assisting with online ordering and logistics, customer complaints and refunds, and queries about 'Everyday Rewards', Park said.
Workers First organiser Elle Sun-Min Park said members were asking for higher wages, and pushing back against attempts to remove existing entitlements such as one weekend day off per week, and the ability to work from home.
Some staff were hired as remote workers following the pandemic, she said, and had now moved out of the city.
They were also protesting a requirement to be available, on-call, for 12 hours per working day, while only being paid for eight, she said.
Some 105 staff were involved in the strike action, and the union expected it would cause delays for customer enquiries, particularly this close to Christmas.
Mark Wolfenden, director of ecommerce and digital for Woolworths, said the union informed them last night that a number of their contact centre team had decided to go on strike on Wednesday.
"We are disappointed the union has chosen to do this today, our busiest day of the year for our customers and our team," he said.
"It's also disappointing that the union have decided to bargain in the media, rather than come back to the table to secure a deal for their members, especially as there is an offer on the table which is fair and reasonable."
He said the current ask from the union would mean "significantly increased costs to run the contact centre".
Statements about staff being forced back into the office were untrue, he said, "and we will continue to support flexible working arrangements which are designed to best serve our customers and their needs. We will also continue to pay team for all the hours they work."
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