Coles’ approach stands in stark contrast to its rival Woolworths, which recently set aside $50 million to help transition its employees.
Workers at Smeaton Grange recently narrowly voted against a Coles agreement offer for the sixth time. This was despite the company putting forward a $1000 sign-on payment as an enticement for support.
United Workers Union members (the main union covering Coles workers) are urgently calling on the union to activate a strike fund to help them and their families survive against Coles’ blatant attempt to starve them out.
One Smeaton Grange warehouse worker told a rally against gas in Sydney on February 5: “Giant corporations like HSBC, JP Morgan, Citigroup and National Nominees, which own Coles, are the same mob which own the Big Four [banks]. They also have money entrenched in the gas industry.