SDA negotiates another victory for young Australian workers

Big W will be joining the ranks of Swedish home wares retailer Ikea to abolish junior rates for 20-year-olds.

The agreement negotiated by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employment Association (SDA) was lodged with Fair Work Australia last week.

This agreement means that discounted junior rates will no longer apply to 20-year-olds, who previously were receiving only 90 per cent of the adult equivalent.

Also negotiated was a 9.9 percent wage increase for all Big W workers over three years.

For the first year of the agreement it delivers a 3.4 per cent increase, 3.5 per cent in the second year and 3 per cent in the final year.

“To be getting what is essentially an across-the-board 3.5 per cent increase in wages for three years at a time when we’re slowly emerging from the worse downturn since the depression is a very good result and superior to comparable employers such as Kmart,” said SDA national secretary Joe de Bruyn.

The negotiations also include:

• Upgrading the classification of principal workers on the back dock to a retail specialist associate
• Introduction of a two hour notice requirement if the employer decides to cancel a casual shift
• Allowing the employer to request employees take annual leave if balance is in excess of eight weeks
• The abolition of discounted junior wages, successful negotiated earlier this year by the SDA is a positive step for young workers in Australia