DHL warehouse workers in New South Wales and Victoria will take strike action today in the form of a four-hour stoppage across 23 different warehouses impacting major brands and medical facilities.
The workers are members of the United Workers Union (UWU) and have been trying to negotiate new workplace agreements since March.
Strikes will impact big brands including Mattel, Nike, Shark Ninja, Australia Post, Samsung. The Union has reached out to DHL to make a plan to ensure that life-saving medicines will not be disrupted by industrial action.
Workers at DHL earn below industry standards. They want wage increases that take into account steep rising cost of living pressures. The wage claim for workers in NSW is 7% each year for a three-year agreement and in Victoria, where wages are lower again, 10% each year for three years.
A recent Fair Work decision urged DHL to seek professional IR advice after granting nine protected action ballots to UWU members, with the Commissioner warning DHL that taking adverse action against workers taking part in protected action carries “serious implications”. See related coverage here.
Comment attributable to UWU National Secretary Tim Kennedy:
“This is a cost-of-living strike, workers at DHL sites are earning below industry standards working very hard to make ends meet. We all know everything is going up. Wages must keep pace.
“Workers want the same pay for the same work. The rate of pay for new starters can’t go backwards while the cost of living is going up.
“This strike is also about respect. Workers are demanding that a very large global third-party logistics company such as DHL respect their union. Unfortunately, we have seen anti-union tactics at play over the course of negotiations, tactics that undermine the right to be union and undermine workers’ ability to negotiate fair wages and conditions.
“Local DHL management need to take a good hard look at themselves. DHL is a company that has 50% worker representation on its global Supervisory Board advising their Board of Management.
“Respecting the role the union is a normal thing to do. UWU members are united in defending their right to be union without bullying or interference.”
Comment attributable to DHL warehouse workers (anonymised to protect people for fear of retribution from the company for speaking out):
“The cost of living has exploded: everything has gone up, petrol, mortgage, bills, food prices and workers are really struggling. But DHL is doing well, they’ve really profited over the pandemic. We know they could afford to give us a wage increase that meets the cost of living now and it’s not too much to ask, it’s what we as workers need for our lives and for our families.”
“Since the start of these negotiations management has really made us feel like we are troublemakers. Now, instead of negotiating with us, they are just trying to bribe us to take the current offer with a sign on bonus that they’ll take away if we don’t vote yes. It’s just disrespectful and shows it isn’t about what DHL can afford, but about them trying to tell us workers what to do.”
“Members feel bullied and harassed. Being told over and over again that the offer is good and that its their final offer, despite the majority of membership saying it isn’t good enough and never feeling like the company listens to us. During negotiations, we are often made to feel like idiots, like we don’t know what we are talking about. Members just want to be heard, but the company doesn’t want to listen.”
“How can they justify lower new starter rates when cost of living is going up, it just seems greedy. A new starter rate would mean varying rates of pay for the same job. It can cause friction between people who do the same role for different pay rates, that isn’t fair. It constantly feels like we are going backwards.”
ENDS