Warehouse staff supplying hundreds of Dan Murphy’s and BWS bottle shops on Australia’s east coast have threatened to strike in the run-up to Christmas.
The indefinite strike will begin from next week at four distribution centers in New South Wales and Victoria, all owned by the Endeavor Group, which also operates 350 pubs under its Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group arm.
ASX-listed Endeavor Group was spun off from Woolworths Group in 2021.
The United Workers Union (UWU) has warned that beer supplies could run out over Christmas if workers do not get their pay rise of at least 10 per cent a year.
UWU national secretary Tim Kennedy said despite the “contingencies” the company has in place, the scale of the strike would ensure disruptions to alcohol supplies.
“There will be a shortage of alcohol if the strike continues,” he said. The Australian.
Primary Connect, which manages Endeavor Group warehouses, is understood to be working to build up stock of products at retail stores and looking at using alternative distribution centres.
“Contrary to what has been stated, we would like to reassure our customers that we do not foresee any material impact on stock availability in stores over the festive season,” an Endeavor Group spokesperson said.
“We are committed to ensuring our customers have access to the products they love during the busy holiday period ahead.”
Alcoholic beverages could be in short supply on Australia’s east coast over the festive season after workers at distribution centers (pictured, customers at Dan Murphy’s in Adelaide)
The four warehouses employ 1,500 people and service hundreds of bottle shops, including many Dan Murphy’s and BWS locations (pictured, a Dan Murphy’s employee in Sydney).
But Kennedy said with 1,500 total workers at the centers it would be extremely difficult to fill the supply chain gap in a short time.
‘It will be on a scale we haven’t really seen before… the network has never had more than one warehouse inactive at a time. “This will be a factor of four on the East Coast at the busiest time of year,” he said.
‘It will be significant. An automated warehouse cannot be replaced due to unforeseen events. You can’t replace five million boxes quickly. There is no capacity in the system.’
Workers are asking for cost-of-living wage increases of 10 percent to 12.5 percent annually, but Kennedy said smaller increases would be considered as long as they were above the country’s inflation rate of 2.8 percent.
Primary Connect has offered pay rises to staff at all four warehouses as part of the negotiations.
It offered staff at the Erskine Park center 12.05 per cent over three years, Melbourne South Regional workers 10 per cent over three years, Melbourne Liquor employees 12.1 per cent over four years and Wondonga staff 7.1 percent over two years.
Beer supplies could dry up over Christmas if workers at liquor distribution centers in Victoria and New South Wales do not get a pay rise of at least 10 per cent a year (stock)
Kennedy said a deal could only be reached if wages were increased by at least 4.5 percent annually along with the removal of a “Training and Productivity Framework” guideline.
The document outlines the speed at which employees’ tasks must be completed, which the union says could be used to reprimand staff who fail to complete them.
Primary Connect defended pay rates at the warehouses, saying many full-time team members earned between $85,000 and $95,000 a year and that the productivity guideline was flexible.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Primary Connect for further comment.