Workers at hundreds of IGA stores across Australia are not being paid minimum Award penalty rates because of dodgy enterprise agreements, some of which are more than a decade old.
IGA has used “zombie” workplace agreements for decades, costing workers a fortune in lost wages and penalty rates.
What’s a zombie agreement? It’s an out-of-date, moribund set of workplace conditions that offers few to no minimum protections for workers.
RAFFWU members at IGA are now working together to terminate these old agreements, negotiate better conditions for themselves and their co-workers, and return millions of dollars to their pay packets.
Without these zombie agreements in place, the higher minimum Award rates apply to workers at IGA. How much more would you be earning on weekends or on weeknights with a proper workplace agreement?
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Fight back with RAFFWU
Our analysis of a large group of RAFFWU members at Morgan’s IGA showed they were losing, on average, over $3400 per year from their pay – more than $65 per week in lost wages. For a full-time worker, penalty rates can be worth over $10, 000 per year.
In May 2017 the Fair Work Commission agreed to terminate this zombie agreement which cut the pay of 350 workers at Morgan’s. From 1 July 2017, these workers went on to earn full Sunday penalty rates, 125% Weeknight rates and 125% Saturday rates. Part-time workers at Morgan’s IGA have guaranteed minimum hours every week and their rostered days can only change after consultation.
This decision was a huge win for RAFFWU members, and a testament to what we can achieve with worker-led organising.
Why join RAFFWU?
We help members figure out how much they are entitled to and get issues fixed.
By working together we can not only take back our penalty rates, we can secure better conditions for the future.
We know that workers only achieve the terms and conditions they deserve through their direct, collective action. We are a grassroots, member-led union, and we will always put the needs of our members first.
To organise your workplace, join the union that fights for you and encourage your co-workers to get involved.
You can also read more about RAFFWU and what we do on our FAQs page.