RAFFWU receives many reports from workers about being pressured, coerced, deceived or intimidated into joining the SDA.
The SDA works closely with some of Australia’s largest employers like Hungry Jack’s, KFC, Kmart, Woolworths, Coles and others to ensure that every new young worker is put in front of SDA Recruitment Agents in their first hours of work. The employer will require these workers, including children, to stop work and meet with an SDA Recruitment Agent. In return, SDA negotiated agreements with employers which paid workers much less than industry minimum wages.
This can be an intimidating experience – particularly for vulnerable workers like children, casual workers, migrant workers, those in their first jobs and others. Most parents won’t even know this is being done to their children. Having received many reports we are now standing up to stop the unconscionable conduct.
Common complaints include:
- Not understanding what the SDA was or is, including thinking it is a department of the employer;
- Having your name or other private information given to SDA without your express consent;
- Being told you won’t be protected if injured at work unless you join SDA;
- Being told to complete a special form without knowing what it was;
- Being told the form is not official or is a simple contact form and won’t be processed only to have it used to deduct fees;
- Being told you cannot speak to parents before completing the form;
- Being told your employer encourages or expects you to join SDA;
- Being told to stop work by a manager and to meet with an SDA Recruitment Agent;
- Being led to believe by the SDA Recruitment Agent or a Manager that you must join SDA; and
- Being sold a financial product (such as accident insurance) by someone other than a licenced financial advisor.
Every worker has the right to join a union but it must be genuine consent, free from deception, intimidation, coercion or pressure. RAFFWU will assist workers who complete this form to identify the best ways to be compensated for the outrageous conduct perpetrated by SDA and employers. Workers don’t have to be RAFFWU members to complete this form nor do they need to still be in the job where it happened.
We treat your information as confidential and only use it in accordance with our privacy policy. Our investigation will gather critical information from workers in order to identify the best way to secure compensation and stop this happening to workers in the future. Help us protect the next generation of young workers from being preyed upon. Raise your voice, tell your story, and encourage your co-workers to do the same.
If you include parent details in the form, we will also keep them informed.
Recognising the particular outrage of targeting children in the way SDA and employers have in retail and fast food workplaces, RAFFWU has decided to make membership free for all workers under 18 years of age. This means workers who are not yet 18 will no longer pay fees as RAFFWU members until we rid the sectors of the scourge of predation by SDA and employers of our youngest workers.
RAFFWU receives many other reports of outrageous SDA conduct or statements – such as when workers try to get out of SDA, or when SDA attacks RAFFWU, or when SDA misrepresents workplace rights. You can report these other types of conduct by emailing us at stories@raffwu.org.au – the form below collates experiences of joining SDA.
SDA Conduct Investigation