Former Woolworths boss Roger Corbett blasts the unions for inflicting maximum damage to the retailer

Roger Corbett has blasted the UWU for inflicting maximum damage on the community and the federal government for allowing it with new IR rules.

One of Woolworths most successful chief executives, Roger Corbett, says the strike at the supermarket’s warehouses is “irresponsible and terribly damaging” to the community just before Christmas, deliberately timed by the union to wreak maximum damage and a direct result of Labor’s industrial relations policy.

Mr Corbett said Australia had been dragged back to the pre-Bob Hawke era of the 1980s, as industrial turmoil and strike action ran amok, something directly connected to the changes to industrial relations by the Labor federal governments.

The former supermarket supremo, who led Woolworths from 1999 to 2006 and transformed the supermarket into a national retail powerhouse, said the strikes staged by the United Workers Union were designed to inflict maximum damage on Woolworths and the Australian community, exploiting the Christmas trading period to strengthen their negotiating position.

“It is pretty devastating industrial activity for the unions to take this action right at Christmas time, it is terribly damaging for the community … it couldn’t be any worse time for industrial action to be taken, to damage their employer,” Mr Corbett told The Australian on Friday.

Roger Corbett was CEO of Woolworths from 1999 to 2006.

“Action taken like this, irresponsible action, designed to do maximum damage to the company, you could call it (taking) advantage of maximum leverage.”

Mr Corbett then aimed his attention to the Labor government and its policy settings, which he believes set in train the strike action at Woolworths warehouses, which has seen food and grocery deliveries disrupted and hundreds of Woolworths stores plagued by empty shelves.

“It is a direct result of the Labor governments freeing the industrial relations arrangements of Australia, and they have taken Australia back to almost the pre-Hawke days. And this is a direct result of the Labor government’s, in my view, irresponsible action in regard to industrial law.

“Now it’s damaging, it is damaging the customers, and it’s damaging the thousands of people whose superannuation is in Woolworths shares.”

Industrial relations changes have been defended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese but infuriated corporate Australia, which warned the changes will take the nation backwards.

The changes include the right to disconnect, the return of industry-wide bargaining, a crackdown on labour hire, and greater bargaining power for unions in non-unionised workplaces.

Woolworths workers on a picket line at the Dandenong South distribution centre. Picture: David Crosling

Picket lines were set up after the UWU commenced indefinite strike action at four Woolworths distribution sites on November 21, with the strike action costing Woolworths more than $50m in lost sales, eroding its first-half earnings.

Woolworths says the UWU is seeking pay increases at these sites in excess of 25 per cent over three years, materially above ­inflation, at a time when ­Woolworths is working to keep food and groceries affordable for customers facing ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

Woolworths and the UWU appeared on Friday before the Fair Work Commission.

Mr Corbett said former industrial relations laws did provide a mechanism for sensible negotiations, but this had now been lost and Australia was paying the price through industrial turmoil.

“Sensible negotiations, sensible and balanced industrial relations activity within the act that was in place is quite responsible. However, this steps well across the line, and it is thoroughly, in my view, irresponsible, and it’s a direct result of the Labor Party change of rules.”

On Thursday Wesfarmers chief executive Rob Scott, whose Perth-based conglomerate once owned Coles and currently owns retailers including Bunnings and Kmart, warned that rising supply chain costs from excessive wage rise demands and union activity would feed inflation and hurt Australian families “at the worst possible time”.

Speaking to The Australian on Thursday, Mr Scott reflected on the weeks-long picket lines and strikes orchestrated by the UWU, seeing it as part of a worrying trend in Australia that now threatened to worsen cost-of-living pressures for consumers.

“It is really concerning seeing industrial action like this.

“And you know, ultimately the consequence of these actions is that it’s going to increase the costs of supply chains,” Mr Scott warned.

“It increases the costs of products for consumers at the worst possible time. So the inflationary and cost pressures of these actions are going to hit families.”