Staff at Woolworths supermarkets in Dunedin say they receive daily abuse from customers and understaffing has made them feel unsafe.
Union members across Woolworths Dunedin Central, South Dunedin, Mailer St and Andersons Bay stores participated in a two-hour strike yesterday to protest pay, staffing and safety issues.
The strike marked the supermarket brand’s first ever national withdrawal of labour with thousands of workers across the country taking part.
Despite bargaining attempts with Woolworths, First Union representative Angus Wilson said the company had not come to the table with an offer that gave their members — who had been essential staff during the Covid-19 pandemic — a livable wage.
Mr Wilson said he was incredibly impressed by the turnout in Dunedin yesterday and called it “a historic moment”.
“Despite the weather … these guys are not dampened at all, in fact they’re even more excited.”
Union members gathered outside Woolworths South Dunedin were seen holding signs that read “Woolies rebranded staff backhanded” and “essential workers essentially forgotten”.
Woolworths Andersons Bay assistant customer service manager Pepi Campbell said striking was “absolutely exhilarating”.
Being a Woolworths employee was stressful, she said.
Abuse from customers occurred “daily” and on Monday there had been two incidents where security cameras needed to be used.
“We don’t have enough safe staffing levels for us to feel safe on the floor.”
Woolworths South Dunedin checkout supervisor Callum Walker said going on strike was “a bit nerve-racking” but overall exciting.
“A lot of us are really fed-up with how things are going, we don’t have enough staff to keep up.
“Even on a normal day, we’re lucky if we can actually get everything done.”
Everyone was constantly burnt out and workers were all sick of it, he said.
Mr Walker said he would be lucky to get through a day without a customer berating or abusing him, and said staff at the Dunedin Central supermarket needed to call the police “at least once a week”.
Meanwhile, concerns were floated on social media that the Woolworths Oamaru supermarket had been left “staffless” in the wake of the strike.
A Woolworths New Zealand spokeswoman said that ensuring their team was paid fairly “had always been a priority for us” and they had brought a strong offer to the table in their discussions with First Union.
This included a wage rate increase between 6.8% and 10.1% over two years, as well as a 19% increase agreed upon in 2022.
Woolworths also offered a range of benefits and since 2022 had improved sick leave benefits, increased bereavement and primary caregiver leave, expanded unsocial hours allowance and improved their employee discount.
A $45 million investment was also under way to make their stores safer, including safety cameras in all stores, trolley locks, fog cannons and double-entry gates.
They were also looking at introducing duress alarms for those working in isolated areas.
“In the current challenging economic environment, our customers need us to provide affordable food.
“We have to balance increasing costs in our business so we can provide more value for our customers.”
Woolworths would continue to engage with First Union in good faith, the spokeswoman said.
