Auckland Fresh Collective supermarket workers to strike during Christmas rush

Monday, 21 December 2020

The Commerce Commission is carrying out an inquiry into prices and a lack of competition in NZ's supermarkets. (First published November 2020)

Fresh Collective staff in Auckland are taking strike action during the Christmas rush, demanding a pay rise.

The grocery store is a boutique brand owned by Foodstuffs NZ, which also owns New World and Pak ‘n Save.

First Union spokeswoman Tali Williams said Fresh Collective staff in Mount Albert had been offered 10 cents above the minimum wage next year of $20.

Williams said it was unfair that workers at the store, which provided premium service, were being paid less than counterparts at Pak ‘n Save, where staff were earning $21.15 an hour.

* First Union call for retail employers to follow AMP Capital's 'leadership'

* Union releases list of employers allegedly making staff work overtime for free

“These workers have had a harder 2020 than most people, they risked their own health by working through the pandemic making sure their community had food supplies,” Williams said.

Fresh Collective staff in Auckland plan to strike for a pay rise.

“Their employer should value their work as much as the Fresh Collective customers do, or at least as much as their competitor supermarkets value their workers.”

Fresh Collective Alberton owner James Cardno said he was “disappointed” by the strike action ahead of a busy trading period.

“Fresh Collective Alberton is a small, sub-brand New World store, with a team size and competitive remuneration which reflects the store’s turnover and catchment it serves,” Cardno said.

“We are not a New World nor your average supermarket, we have a small team of less than 40 people in a small store that was once a Four Square.”

Cardno said no one on his team was on minimum wage and store management had wages increased by up to 10 per cent over the last three years.

“Some store employees’ wages increase after 12 months of employment, for both assistant and supervisor positions, which are both well above average rates for similar positions at other retailers that are bigger in size and turnover,” he said.

He said the union’s comparison of Fresh Collective Alberton to larger supermarkets in proximity was “flawed”.

“My store is located near some large supermarkets which have the potential to pay higher hourly rates largely because they are bigger businesses and have significantly higher turnover.”

The first strike was planned for Monday between 1pm and 2pm on New North Rd.

The Commerce Commission is reviewing competition in the supermarket sector, in a year-long “market study” looking at prices, choice, quality and innovation, the margins and profitability of grocery retailers, and whether there are outcomes that are not consistent with those expected in a competitive market.