Apple Store Staff Down Under Vote To Strike

A trade union representing a number of store staff of Apple in Australia have voted to strike, an official stated on Tuesday.

Reuters reported that the dispute between some store staff and Apple itself centred over a lack of progress on wage negotiations.

The strike was agreed to yesterday by members of the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU).

Strike vote

“RAFFWU members have unanimously voted to introduce Protected Industrial Action in the form of bans and stoppages on and from Tuesday 18 October 2022,” the RAFFWU announced.

“Members met and unanimously voted in favour of a raft of actions that only RAFFWU members represented by RAFFWU as their bargaining representative can take,” it said.

On the surface it sounds like Apple stores down under are going to be crippled by industrial action then?

Well not exactly.

Reuters reported that the strike will last one hour on 18 October, and will only involve about 150 of Apple’s 4.000 Australia staffers.

The industrial action will restrict most customer services in at least three of the company’s 22 stores in the country.

It will be the first strike for Apple staff in Australia and comes as Apple increasingly faces trade union pressure, both in the United States and elsewhere.

Wage talks

According to Reuters, Apple had begun a round of union talks by proposing in August a new set of locked-in wage rises and conditions. The RAFFWU and two other unions went to an industrial arbiter in September seeking more time to negotiate, which was granted, the unions and Apple have said.

“We’ve come to the end of that today and we still aren’t anywhere near a satisfactory agreement, so last night members unanimously endorsed that path,” RAFFWU federal secretary Josh Cullinan told Reuters by phone.

“When large groups of workers walk off, that will have an impact,” he reportedly said.

RAFFWU-represented workers in most Australian Apple stores would strike but the impact would be strongest in outlets with more representation, Cullinan admitted.

The three unions reportedly want Apple to guarantee wage increases that reflect inflation – which is tracking around 7 percent in Australia, double the central bank’s target range – and weekends of two consecutive days rather than being split.

Apple reportedly responded by saying its minimum pay rates are 17 percent above the industry minimum and that full-time workers get guaranteed weekends.

“We are committed to providing the best possible experience (for our employees), including very strong compensation and benefits, annual stock grants and comprehensive leave policies, all of which exceed Australian industry standards,” an Apple spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday.