Signing could see years of protest and recrimination end
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) has signed a deal with the biggest of its “greedy retailers” targets — Coles.
The formerly bad blood goes back at least to the start of the decade and gained prominence in 2011, whent the TWU cited a margins squeeze for Linfox outsourcing Coles work to subcontractors and ditching employee drivers.
Now, under a memorandum of understanding (MOU), Coles and the TWU have signed two statements of principles — on “safety and fairness for transport workers in the Coles supply chain” and for “on demand workers”.
The first statement includes five principles to ensure safety and fairness for transport workers within the Coles supply chain.
TWU take
“The five principles will underpin a Charter between Coles and the TWU,” the union says.
The on-demand statement of principles “recognises that workers in the on-demand economy are involved in a rapidly changing workplace environment, but this doesn’t mean artificial terms for workers should limit their access to appropriate entitlements such as leave, proper payment, superannuation, safe working conditions and representation”.
The deal was formalised at the TWU national council meeting in Adelaide by Coles MD John Durkan and TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon.
“This is a major positive for all transport workers – whether in traditional industries or the on-demand economy. Coles and the TWU are saying through these principles that there is no higher priority than safety and fairness in the Coles supply chain and the on-demand economy,” Sheldon says.
“This indicates to the community what can be achieved with good corporate citizens on board.”
Coles focus
For his part, Durkan focuses on the on-demand challenge.
“Our business, and the businesses of our thousands of Australian suppliers, rely on the skill and the efforts of the workers in our supply chain,” he says.
“As our business evolves to meet the constantly-changing needs of our customers, we are also increasingly engaged with the on-demand economy.
“The people who work in these sectors make an invaluable contribution not just economically, but to the community as a whole.
“We are proud to make this commitment that their safety and fair treatment will always be a top priority for Coles.”
Points of principle
The transport workers principles are:
- The Coles supply chain promotes safety for transport workers: Each supply chain link — from top to bottom — has a role in ensuring a safe and healthy workforce and must, to the extent of its influence and responsibility, be accountable for safe outcomes from transport workers
- Supply chain work should be transparent: Knowing what work is performed, by which companies and under what conditions, are pre-requisites to ensuring that no worker falls through the cracks
- All supply chain workers should be treated fairly and have the opportunity to contribute to a collective voice: Coles and the TWU have always valued the right of workers to be treated fairly and to have their collective voice heard. The ability to stand up and speak out is especially important in such a dangerous industry
- Education, training and consultation will enhance safety and rights: Coles and the TWU have a shared interest in ongoing systematic worker and management education and training and supply chain consultation to improve safety and sustainability
- Initiatives to raise industry standards should be supported: Coles and the TWU will continue to work together to pursue industry initiatives to improve work practices and seek to eliminate arrangement that provide incentives for, or encourage operators and workers to, engage in unsafe practices.
The on-demand statement preface acknowledges technology-driven workplace evolution but looks to ensure that such workers “are not compromised in terms of safety, fairness and engagement as the gig economy evolves”.
The five principles for them are:
- On demand workers should not be prohibited from accessing the same rights as other workers: On demand operations often label workers something other than employees. Ensuring appropriate rights for on demand workers are in place should not depend on artificial labels applied to them that would limit their access to appropriate payments, leave entitlements, superannuation, safe working conditions and representation
- All parties involved in the provision of goods and services have a role in ensuring a healthy workforce and industry: Each link in the supply chains and contact networks — including those whose goods are bein delivered those in the middle who are allocating the work and the end provider — must to the extent of their influence, be accountable for safe and fair outcomes for workers in the industry
- Transport is a career — not just a task: In addition to safe and fair conditions, transport related work should provide the opportunity for sustainable patterns of engagement and advancement to ensure transport remains a feasible career option, not simply an one-off ‘gig’
- On demand workers must have the opportunity to contribute to a collective voice: Innovative forms of work should not preclude on demand workers the opportunity to access a fundamental and universally acknowledged means of raising and maintaining standards of safety and fairness — collectively organising with other workers and stakeholders through their union. On demand workers are already actively shaping this emerging industry and will ensure that transport continues to be sustainable, positive and profitable. It is important that they have an opportunity to voice their views and needs and have these heard
- Appropriate resources should be allocated to ensure worker and industry standards are maintained: Training, education, auditing and enforcement, health initiatives, skills development and recognition, and appropriate company standards ranking systems must all be adequately resourced to give on demand workers access to a safe, fair and engaging work environment.
That leaves Aldi
With pressure on Woolworths long since ceased and the Coles deal now signed, the union will be able to focus more heavily on Aldi on the retailers front.
Two days ago, it was able to engage Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus in an Adelaide intersection sit-down protest against the retailer.