A union representing Australian employees of Apple voted to strike due to lack of progress on wage negotiations, reports Reuters.
The one-hour strike planned for Oct. 18 will involve about 150 of Apple’s 4,000 Australian employees who are represented by the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU), restricting most customer services in at least three of the company’s 22 stores in the country, the union said.
In August Apple was accused of trying to ram through a new workplace agreement that would see staff work up to 60 hours a week without overtime while obstructing union consultation with workers, slammed as potentially unlawful by representatives, according to SmartCompany, a website that is the “voice of Australian entrepreneurship, publishing breaking news, must-read analysis and hearty advice.”
The article says that, following communication breakdowns, the Australian Services Union (ASU) and the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) are taking their bargaining stoush to the Fair Work Commission on Friday, alleging Apple had breached good faith bargaining principles.
The unions claim Apple, which has 4,000 staff members in Australia, obstructed their attempts to speak to union members on site about wage negotiations, while also rejecting a request to extend the consultation deadline to August 19.
“We will be seeking good faith bargaining orders against Apple,” SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer told SmartMoney. “Staff were only given a copy of the draft enterprise agreement on August 3.”
In a statement, Apple told the publication it hasn’t set any deadlines.“We will continue to hold regular meetings to share and encourage feedback,” a spokesperson told SmartMoney. “Supporting and retaining the best team members enables us to deliver innovative products and services, and we are pleased to offer very strong compensation for our teams across the country, including annual stock grants.”
