The SDA – South Australia’s largest union – has lodged a groundbreaking application at the Fair Work Commission to break down barriers to bargaining at Chemist Warehouse.
The SDA is pursuing a Single Interest Employer Authorisation, seeking to negotiate a collective Agreement at 16 Chemist Warehouse stores across metropolitan Adelaide.
This application is an Australian-first. It’s the first application for bargaining under the Federal Labor Government’s multi-employer bargaining laws in the retail or pharmacy sectors.
The Albanese Government’s new bargaining laws were introduced to allow more workers in low paid sectors to bargain together.
There is not a single enterprise agreement in Australia covering retail pharmacy workers.
If successful, our application will give at least 335 Chemist Warehouse workers across 16 sites the power to bargain. It will open the door to expand bargaining to the pharmacy sector across Australia for the first time.
Chemist Warehouse operates a complex franchise-based business model, which makes it difficult for its entire workforce to bargain together.
While these employers are controlled by entities linked to the founding Verrocchi and Gance families, they are structured as separate legal entities.
While Chemist Warehouse brings in $5 billion worth of sales, its workforce earns the bare minimum required in the pharmacy retail sector and are covered by the Pharmacy Industry Award.
If successful, the SDA will be seeking to secure wages that reflect skills and pharmacy-specific responsibilities and address high rates of casualisation and insecure work.
Quotes attributable to SDA Secretary Josh Peak:
“This is a groundbreaking application for workers in the retail pharmacy sector.”
“It could help lead to improved wages for all retail workers at Chemist Warehouse.”
“It’s great to see South Australian workers leading the way and standing together in this groundbreaking application.”
“Chemist Warehouse is the dominant player in the pharmacy sector but the wages it pays its workforce do not reflect this.”
“Workers at the nation’s most profitable pharmacy retailer do not earn even one cent more than the minimum.”
“We believe the employees of the country’s largest pharmacy conglomerate should be able to bargain together.”
“Pharmacy retail is one of the lowest paid industries and is comprised largely of young and female workers, this application is an opportunity to address this and get their wages moving.”
If successful, our application will give at least 335 Chemist Warehouse workers across 16 sites the power to bargain. It will open the door to expand bargaining to the pharmacy sector across Australia for the first time.