Unions torn on four-day work week agreement for thousands of Woolworths staff

Workers at Woolworths supermarkets will vote on a new enterprise agreement allowing them to work four days a week. (Clint Jasper)

Around 14,000 Woolworths retail workers could work four days a week, after a key union backed more flexible rostering across the sector.

Shop Distributive and Allied Employers Association NSW secretary, Bernie Smith, said delegates supported a four-day week proposal in the new Woolworths enterprise agreement.

“The proposal was overwhelmingly endorsed by our workplace delegates,” he said.

“A proposal will be out for a few weeks for members to consider and ask questions, then the proposal is subject to a vote by the members to approve it.”

The proposal would see staff work up to four weekend shifts over a four-week roster cycle.

Workers would be able to complete their 38-hour five-day working week over four days by completing four 9.5-hour shifts instead.

The enterprise agreement covers around 130,000 retail workers, but only 14,000 full-time Woolworths retail employees would be eligible to apply for the four-day working week.

Woolworths has declined to comment until after the agreement is put to a vote.

Last year Bunnings became Australia’s first major retailer to trial a four-day work week.

Unions at odds over scope of agreement

The Australian Workers Union and the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) have not yet signed off on the agreement.

RAFFWU secretary, Josh Cullinan, said his union was rejecting some key elements in the proposal.

He said there was a very small number of full-time workers who would be able to take up the offer.

“The proposal around a four-day week is entirely smoke and mirrors,” he said.

“There is no fundamental right for a worker to have a four-day week.”

Mr Cullinan said the wording in the proposal doesn’t mean the flexibility is automatically offered.

“All this does is provide that Woolies might agree in the future to have a four-day week,” he said.

He also said the proposed enterprise agreement won’t help the vast majority of its part-time workers.

“It will continue to see part-time workers at Woolworths have rosters changed without agreement,” he said.

“So a mum working a seven-hour shift on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, can be given 14-day notice and be required to change those days to five hours a day on the other four days of the week.

“They won’t have time to get childcare, or work those shifts, they may lose their jobs.”

The vote is expected to be completed by mid-June.

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