CARMEL RICKARD: Woolworths' shifty labour practices
Extended shopping hours are often taken for granted by consumers, but they have had a very real — often negative — effect on workers
Next time you shop at Woolworths after hours or on a Sunday, you might like to think about the worker problems that have been going on behind the scenes, and in particular the brutal battle over the future of full-time staff. Until 2002 the retailer’s staff were all full-timers working 45 hours a week. But in that year the company began a far-reaching change, only employing workers on a flexi-time basis for 40 hours a week. Ten years later, there were 16,400 flexi-timers and just 590 full-time staff left.Why the switch? According to Woolies’ analysis, changed shopping patterns made it essential, with customers visiting stores in the evenings and over weekends. And then there were the significant cost savings of a flexi-time workforce. If all 590 remaining full-timers converted to flexi-time, for example, the company would have saved R24m/year. But these new market realities created equity problems: most full-time staff earned more than those on flexi-time, even though flexi-time was...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.