Adelaide Chemist Warehouse workers have secured a major victory today, after a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission dismissed the employers’ appeal against the order compelling Chemist Warehouse franchise employers in South Australia to bargain for an enterprise agreement.
The decision upholds the earlier ruling that made a Single Interest Employer Authorisation with respect to six employers operating Chemist Warehouse pharmacies in South Australia. The Single Interest Employer Authorisation is a bargaining mechanism created under the Albanese Government’s new industrial relations laws that enables workers across multiple employers with common interests to bargain together for one agreement, rather than being split and silenced by fragmented corporate and franchise structures.
The appeal raised issues of broader significance about these newer multi-employer bargaining provisions, and the Australian Council of Trade Union’s intervened to make submissions.
Chemist Warehouse is the dominant player in the pharmacy sector, yet Adelaide workers remain on Award minimums.
The authorisation covers over 300 workers across 13 South Australian stores, including pharmacy assistants and pharmacists, and directly names billionaire owners and principals within the network, including Marcello Verrocchi and the Gance family, among the employers required to bargain.
With today’s Full Bench decision now delivered, the undertaking previously provided by the SDA not to take industrial action pending the appeal outcome has expired.
The SDA is now calling on Chemist Warehouse to get serious about bargaining and to negotiate wages and conditions that reflect the billions of dollars generated by the network.
The outcome has the potential to deliver millions of dollars in additional wages and improved conditions for Adelaide pharmacy workers over the life of the agreement — money that would stay in workers’ pockets and in the local economy, rather than continuing to flow out of South Australia to Australia’s richest billionaire owners based in Melbourne.
The SDA will now pursue further applications across the Chemist Warehouse network to ensure pharmacy workers elsewhere can access the same opportunity to bargain for a fair deal.
Quotes attributable to SDA Secretary Josh Peak:
“Today is a huge win for Adelaide Chemist Warehouse workers. The Full Bench has rejected the employers’ attempt to stop a minimum-wage workforce from having a voice, and it has confirmed workers’ right to bargain collectively.”
“These workers are the face of Chemist Warehouse in Adelaide. They do skilled work, and they deserve better than Award minimums and unpredictable rostering.”
“This can mean millions of dollars in wages and conditions for Adelaide workers over the life of the agreement — money staying here with local workers, not being sent back to some of Australia’s richest billionaires in Melbourne.”
“Chemist Warehouse should stop litigating and start bargaining. Adelaide workers have spoken clearly. Now it’s time for the company to listen and deliver a fair agreement that reflects the wealth this network generates.”
Quote attributable to Sarah, a Pharmacy Assistant at the Chemist Warehouse Elizabeth Store, involved in bargaining:
“Today’s decision gives me real hope. We’ve been clear about what workers need: decent wages, secure hours, and rosters we can plan our lives around. I’m super excited to have the opportunity to bargain for these. I’m beyond proud that so many of us spoke up and supported bargaining, and I’m really hoping Chemist Warehouse now gets serious, comes to the table, and really hears the people on the shop floor each day.”
Media contact: Nick Palmer – 0493 172 832