Australia Apple Store workers go on strike over conditions and pay

AppleInsider

Union members in Apple Stores across Australia are now on strike and calling for Apple to return to negotiations.

Strikers at Apple's Brisbane store in October 2022. Source: Cameron Atfield, Sydney Morning Herald

As previously announced, workers in Australia's Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU), left their Apple Store posts from 15:00 local time on Friday, December 23 (23:00 ET on Thursday, December 22.) They plan to stay out over Christmas Eve, traditionally a peak sales time for all retailers.

According to Reuters, at the center of the dispute is an agreement dating from 2014 which reportedly denies workers "weekends, consecutive days off, set rosters, set days of work, 12-hour breaks between shifts, [and] overtime rates."

"The 2014 agreement is one such agreement which pushed workers below the legal minimum," representatives from RAFFWU told Reuters.

Apple has declined to comment.

The new walkout is claimed to be only the second national strike in Australian retail history. The first was again Apple Store workers, who previously went on strike in October 2022.

Read on AppleInsider

wozwoz

I don't get it: if you don't like working for Apple, go work somewhere else. Why inconvenience so many innocent people: just collective bully behaviour. Fire them, and find people who are interested to do the job.

genovelle

This is why I have a hard time supporting unions. It’s why the thought of having to deal with employees again makes me run for the hills. Commission with a small base salary or commission only and good benefits is the way to go. Don’t want to work when I need you most because we are busy then, no worries, someone else will be making twice your pay for showing up. Or structure the pay like hospitals. Weekend and night shifts pay significantly more. Then hire people for those shifts and allow them to have priority pick for weekday shifts. 

genovelle

"weekends, consecutive days off, set rosters, set days of work, 12-hour breaks between shifts, [and] overtime rates."

My goodness. It’s retail. The industry is at the mercy of consumer behavior and evenings after work and weekends when people are off is when people come to buy. Maybe they should make a big part of their pay a version of profit sharing. They get a share of profits from the hours they are working, based on store volume, how many customers they assisted, how may reviews they received, and their ratings from their customer’s reviews. Work busier times, more often and make customers happy and you make significantly more money. 

entropys

That is one impressive beard on the dude on the right.

The red flags are a bit of a worry. Suggests the workers are being stirred up by far left types in a breakaway union.  It isn’t as though Australia doesn’t already have strict IR laws with a minimum wage for starters, And awards for various categories of workers, like… retail. An Apple employee would get the same wage and entitlements for their age as someone working in a dress shop. 

And a deal for weekend work is very common as it simplifies payroll and helps simplify rostering. All the workers would get paid above the Award hourly rate but then don’t get penalty loading (overtime) on Sundays for example. All of the major retailers have such deals, and overall the worker who works more than just Sunday is better off. These Apple employees would already be above the Award.

I suspect what this dispute is really about is a turf war between the RAFFWU and the much larger Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) which represents the vast majority of retail employees and has regularly set up deals with larger retailers for above award wages in exchange for dropping penalty rates. The RAFFWU is just using the Apple employees as high profile pawns.

These SDA deals can also mean that small businesses can find it hard to compete for workers who go for the corporate retailers wages and conditions.

PS: in the seventies, it was practically traditional that Australian unions would go on strike just before Christmas.

edited December 2022

hedware

You mindless Americans would be happy if Apple employees were on slave labour conditions of employment. Then America has form in slavery. 

laytech

This just the start of the strikes about to hit Australia, with the new labour IR reforms, industries in all sectors are going to suffer.

higher wages I am all for but the unions have no clue on what is fair and balanced. 

Labour has got Australia into a right mess. No one can see it yet but in 12-24 months it will come home to roost.

rudeboyrudy

Hedware said:

You mindless Americans would be happy if Apple employees were on slave labour conditions of employment. Then America has form in slavery. 

too much booze over the holiday weekend? 

macxpress

I'd just close the store down....Customers can now just shop on the online store. 

macxpress

Hedware said:

You mindless Americans would be happy if Apple employees were on slave labour conditions of employment. Then America has form in slavery. 

They're already paid more than a typical retail position. They get full health insurance or at least the opportunity to whether your part or full time. They can great benefits overall and discounts on Apple products. WTF more do you want? This is still retail in the end. It's not a corporate position. 

If you don't like your job and the way you're treated then go someplace else. When Apple has trouble finding people to work in their stores then they'll see a problem and change. IDK the true numbers but for every 1 person leaving there's probably 10 waiting to take their spot. 

hedware

What’s with the full health insurance? All Australians get health cover from the Australian universal health care system. Apple Australia pays no health insurance to its employees. It’s Australia; not America with its employer paid medical cover. If you don’t know that then you don’t know if they are paid more than a typical retail position. Obviously you also don’t know that tethered is not overwhelming interest by people wanting a job at Apple.
macxpress said:

Hedware said:

You mindless Americans would be happy if Apple employees were on slave labour conditions of employment. Then America has form in slavery. 

They're already paid more than a typical retail position. They get full health insurance or at least the opportunity to whether your part or full time. They can great benefits overall and discounts on Apple products. WTF more do you want? This is still retail in the end. It's not a corporate position. 

If you don't like your job and the way you're treated then go someplace else. When Apple has trouble finding people to work in their stores then they'll see a problem and change. IDK the true numbers but for every 1 person leaving there's probably 10 waiting to take their spot.