Apple retail workers in Australia plan a second strike

According to a report from Reuters, hundreds of Apple workers in Australia are set to strike again after almost two-thirds of employees rejected a pay and benefits deal.

Results released on Monday show 68% of Apple workers rejected a workplace agreement proposed by management with 87% of Apple’s almost 4,000 Australian workers participating. Reuters says that Members of the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU), one of three involved in negotiations and representing around 200 workers, will meet on Monday night and union representatives say more strikes will “absolutely” be discussed.

Australian retail workers first held a strike on October 18. The one-hour strike involved about 150 of Apple’s 4,000 Australian employees who are represented by the AFFWU, restricting most customer services in at least three of the company’s 22 stores in the country.

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.”