‘Significant risk’: SDA union finds some Metcash workers moving up to 200 boxes per hour

A union investigation says there is a dangerous culture of putting efficiency before safety at a major Australian distributor.

Warehouse workers at IGA’s parent company reported 38 safety breaches in a single month, according to an investigation that found staff break workplace rules to meet business goals.

During an unannounced union entry in November, staff at Metcash’s Port Wakefield Rd warehouse revealed some were expected to move up to 200 boxes per hour on to pallets, leading to a “culture in which workers will take risks and do not comply with safe work practices”.

Metcash’s distribution facility on Port Wakefield Rd, Gepps Cross. Picture: Supplied by Metcash

According to a report by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, Metcash employs “engineered standards” that require workers to hit 100 per cent efficiency targets every day – a practice which prompted Woolworths warehouse staff walk off the job for 17 days last month.

One worker said when they tried to follow all safety procedures, their efficiency fell “significantly below … their average percentage”.

“Overall, the current system is arbitrary in nature and does not consider physiological differences between workers including but not limited to age and sex,” the report said

In November, The Advertiser revealed Metcash, which also owns Mitre 10 and Cellarbrations, had been investigated by SafeWork SA, after a worker was struck by a forklift and a gas leak scare among other hazards at its distribution centre.

The SDA said staff reported at least one safety breach per week, but this spiked to 38 incidents or hazards identified during a four-week window in October-November.

Most complaints involved unsafe handling of forklifts and bullying allegations, according to an SDA source.

A picket line at Dandenong South at a distribution centre for Woolworths during the strike this month. Picture: David Crosling

The Advertiser spoke to three workers who each said they observed others taking safety shortcuts, with one saying it was “only a matter of time until a fatal injury”.

“It’s incredibly demanding … At the end of the day, when my pallets are sitting in the driveway ready to go, that’s 20 tons worth of boxes I’ve moved,” one person said.

“I used to turn up to the site in tears, eating Panadol so that I could get through the next ten hours.”

A Metcash spokeswoman said “the safety of our team members is our number one priority”.

“The Gepps Cross distribution centre, opened in 2020, is a state of the art facility with safety at the centre of its design,” she said.

“We pride ourselves on the significant improvements we have made in our key safety measures and are committed to continuous improvement.

“We will continue to offer to engage with, and cooperate fully with, the SDA and SafeWork SA on their enquiries, as we have done so to date.”

She said the company would respond to both organisation’s concerns in January.

Originally published as ‘Significant risk’: SDA union finds some Metcash workers moving up to 200 boxes per hour