‘Stop all time wasting’: Woolworths workers tracked and timed under new efficiency crackdown

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...workers who are responsible for keeping shelves stocked claim they are increasingly being pushed to comply with unrealistic and risky standards.

Late last year, [Woolworths] introduced a new framework to enforce an efficiency rate for picking of 100%. Workers who weren’t meeting the standard would be put into a coaching program. Some were directed to “stop all time wasting and non-productive behaviors”, according to warning letters seen by Guardian Australia. Failure to improve could lead to disciplinary action and even loss of employment. One worker described it as a “bullying” tactic.

Tim, who is over 60, said he was pushed to improve his rating. He got it to more than 80%, then 90%, then 100%, he said, but in his effort to work harder, faster, he was injured.

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A spokesperson for Primary Connect, Woolworths’ supply chain arm, said its coaching framework helped “to ensure a fair approach to the standards is applied to any personal circumstances or abilities”.

“As the country’s largest private sector employer, we are committed to ensuring that our workplaces are safe and productive for our teams and customers,” she said.

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... Guardian Australia spoke to a dozen current and former workers for Woolworths and Primary Connect, who claim the standards are unfair and putting their safety at risk. All requested anonymity for fear of losing their jobs.

This year, Woolworths workers told the United Workers Union (UWU) that safety “could be jeopardised if pressure is placed on workers to work faster”.

According to the union’s submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s supermarkets inquiry, the standards don’t adequately take into account “gap times” – moments when a task cannot be completed because there is congestion in an aisle, a product is missing, or a spillage.

....Others say the times don’t adequately take into account the need for longer bathroom breaks, variations in physical ability or worker fatigue throughout the day ...

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After strong worker pushback, the framework was “paused” before it was rolled out to all sites – but workers are concerned it will be reintroduced.

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There are fears the new enforcement of standards and workplace surveillance could be a way to push some workers out. In recent years, Woolworths has announced plans to close three warehouses in Sydney and Melbourne and replace them with two new sites with more automation – a move that will see hundreds of job losses.

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