Supermarket shelves have been cleared at Victorian, NSW and ACT Woolworths stores – as shoppers are warned the situation is ‘only going to get worse’ ahead of the Christmas rush

Supermarket shelves have been cleared in some Woolworths stores across the country as hundreds of key workers strike for better wages and working conditions.

More than 1,500 warehouse distribution workers in Victoria and NSW have paused resources for a week to improve pay and safety in light of Woolworth’s new ‘Framework’ performance measurement system.

The United Workers Union (UWU) claims the operating system is pushing staff to sacrifice safety standards to work faster.

The impact of the strike was seen in stores across NSW, Victoria and the ACT, with only a handful of items on bare shelves, while others appeared to be completely empty.

Signs reading ‘temporary supply disruption’ have remained in place.

“We are currently experiencing supply issues due to industrial action at our distribution centres,” the sign read.

‘We understand this is frustrating. We are working hard to resolve this and replenish stock as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.’

The UWU said there were ‘gaping holes in household and frozen food’ – and promised the number of empty shelves would only increase the longer the strike lasted.

The impact of the strike was seen in stores across NSW, Victoria and the ACT with only a handful of items on bare shelves, while others appeared to be completely empty.

The UWU said there were ‘gaping holes in household and frozen food’ – and promised the number of empty shelves would only increase the longer the strike lasted

It was a grim echo of the worst days of the pandemic, when panic buying, staff shortages and supply chain problems left entire aisles empty.

Previously, Woolworths highlighted that all stores were still receiving regular stock deliveries, but some were receiving their goods less frequently than previously planned.

The union claimed the strike had a huge impact, with ‘gaping holes’ in the shelves that normally hold household and frozen products.

The grocer admitted that some Victorian, NSW and ACT stores were experiencing “restricted stock flow” but added that extensive contingency plans were minimizing the impact on customers.

There were no product limits in place, apart from eggs, which had been rationed for some time following outbreaks of bird flu in NSW and Victoria.

A Woolworths spokeswoman said the company was working hard to resolve the pay dispute.

“We value our team and are committed to reaching an agreement as quickly as possible so they can take advantage of their new pay rates before Christmas,” she said.

‘We have already made several offers with competitive wages that are above industry standards, above local market rates, above inflation and well above remuneration.’

More than 1,500 warehouse distribution workers in Victoria and NSW have taken a week-long tool shutdown to improve pay and safety in light of Woolworth’s new ‘Framework’ performance measurement system

But union president Jo Schofield warned the strike would continue until Woolworths showed more care for its staff.

“We’ll be gone as long as it takes. “It’s a fundamental principle for people to come to work, do their work and work hard… and go home safely,” she said.

“That’s why we’re out, and we’ll be out until Woolworths gets that message loud and clear.”

Union organizer Dario Mujkic said this 7News warned that the empty shelves “will get worse as long as these guys aren’t working.”

‘They are determined to stay here as long as necessary. Woolworths is quite a large company that is used to getting its own way, so sometimes it takes a bit of pressure to move them,” he said.

His colleague Rebecca Kovacs told the program she felt they were being ‘constantly monitored at work’ under the ‘framework’ system.

“There’s a lot of pressure, you can’t go to the toilet without thinking ‘oh my god, they’re going to be watching me, I’m going to be talked to about having a cavity,'” she said.

Union member Rebecca Kovacs told 7News she felt like they were being “constantly monitored at work” under the “framework” system

Meanwhile, at a rally outside a distribution center in Sydney’s west, workers held up signs with slogans such as ‘we are not robots’.

The message was a reference to the ‘framework’ which allots them a certain amount of time for a task and then ranks their performance out of 100, something they say puts unnecessary pressure on them and has a negative effect on wellbeing.

On Friday, ACTU union head Sally McManus took part in a meeting for Woolworths warehouse workers, where she criticized the profit-hungry supermarket giant.

“Everyone has seen that supermarkets have already introduced new technology, that they have self-checkouts, and what happened there?”, she addressed the crowd. .

‘Have people seen a drop in the price of the things they buy at the supermarket? Certainly not.

“All of these things are ultimately just used to increase their profits, and their profits cannot be increased for the safety of Australian workers.”

Woolworths and Coles, which together control about two-thirds of Australia’s supermarket market, have been in the crosshairs of politicians and the consumer watchdog over concerns they were profiteering during a cost-of-living crisis.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recently completed a public inquiry into supermarket pricing practices and supplier relationships, and will issue a final report in February.