A small victory for Woolworths amid industrial action from its distribution

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Woolworths has had a small victory today against the union that is supporting strike action at its distribution centres. 15-hundred workers are still off the job leaving shelves bare and throwing the supermarket's supply chain into chaos.

Transcript

00:00The picket lines have made headlines now.

00:07The Fair Work Commission has found these protests outside Woolworths hubs are unlawful and hurting

00:13negotiations between the union and the company.

00:16I think the problem is that Woolworths are used to just saying it's our way or the highway,

00:21whether that's to farmers, suppliers or customers.

00:25The decision is a win for the supermarket giant as strikes in its distribution centres

00:32drag on now into a third week.

00:35They're throwing the supermarket supply chain into chaos with some shelves sitting half

00:40empty.

00:41And now farmers are saying that they're having orders cancelled by the supermarket giant

00:46as its customers head into other retailers.

00:50Woolworths legal team successfully argued the picket lines are stopping staff that aren't

00:54striking from going into work, with their legal counsel calling them obstructive, unfair

01:00and a metaphorical gun.

01:03It's an obvious pressure point for Woolworths who are struggling, he said.

01:07Woolworths case in the Fair Work Commission was seen as novel and rare.

01:12Legal experts say the decision is likely to be appealed.

01:16It does expose some of the flaws in the way the Fair Work Act protects workers' rights

01:21in this respect.

01:23Any order made by Fair Work that could move on the picket lines won't actually end the

01:30strikes.

01:31A strike will not end until there's a fair agreement.

01:34So the point of the Fair Work Commission is really it delays resolution.

01:39Woolworths has already revealed it's lost $50 million in sales due to this action.

01:45Every day this drags on, it loses millions more.

01:52For more UN videos visit www.un.org

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