Hundreds of regional supermarket workers in South Australia will share in a $5.5 million backpay windfall following a major settlement between Eudunda Farmers Limited (EFL) and the retail union over widespread underpayments.
As per 7News, the case, one of the state’s largest retail wage disputes, began in 2021 when employees at EFL-owned Foodland supermarkets raised concerns with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA). It started with 64 staff claiming underpayment or misclassification and grew to include more than 500 current and former workers across 23 regional stores.
The average payout is expected to be around $11,000 per worker, although one employee is set to receive more than $145,000, according to the ABC.
Tahlia Troeth, who worked at the Kingston SE Foodland store for five years until 2022, welcomed the outcome.
“This will make a real difference for me and will help me pay off the remainder of my HECS debt,” she said.
“I had no idea the underpayments were this large. I thought it was just a few missed allowances here and there. I’m glad that I, and many other workers, are finally getting the money that we deserved in the first place.”
The SDA claimed EFL misclassified employees, incorrectly calculated overtime and allowances, and breached minimum shift entitlements over a six-year period.
SDA Secretary Josh Peak said the union was proud to deliver long-overdue justice.
“The SDA is proud to have secured $5.5 million in backpay and deliver wage justice for workers at Eudunda Farmers supermarkets,” he said.
“This is one of the largest retail underpayment cases in South Australian history. This is a massive outcome for these workers and will be life-changing for many of them.”
EFL operates 23 supermarkets and retail stores in country South Australia and employs more than 700 staff, mostly based in regional areas. The case applies only to EFL-owned Foodland stores. Other independently operated Foodland-branded supermarkets were not involved.
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