Warehouse workers to take action

Hundreds of Coles warehouse workers in Truganina, in Melbourne’s outer west, have voted to take industrial action.

It’s not hard to work out why. Injury rates at the site are horrific. In warehouses across the country, one in ten workers on average has filed a WorkCover claim. At the Coles shed operated by Linfox in Truganina, the rate of injury is around double this (already appalling) industry standard.

The workers at Truganina get one less paid break per day than the industry norm, adding to the wear and tear their bodies are subject to. They are paid $5 to $6 per hour less than workers in some other Coles sheds.

Job security is also a big issue. Around a third of employees are agency casuals. They can work for years as “casuals”without any right to convert to a permanent job with sick pay, annual leave and some measure of security.

The workers and their union, the National Union of Workers, are trying to win a site-specific agreement to address these issues. The current unsatisfactory agreement covers 3,000 workers – mostly truck drivers represented by the Transport Workers Union – across Linfox’s national network.

The Truganina management is also notorious for relentlessly bullying workers – especially those that dare lodge a WorkCover claim. Late last year, hundreds staged lunchtime protests to declare they wouldn’t cop continued abuse from their bosses. Site management was forced to move or stand down a couple of the worst bullies. But Linfox also lashed out at the workers, standing down two union delegates who spoke publicly about the issue.

The delegates are back, and the workers are determined to take action to improve conditions.

Keep an eye on the NUW and Red Flag websites over coming days and weeks for further details of the industrial action, and to find out how you can support Coles/Linfox workers at Truganina.