Saturday, 7 December 2024 - 4.30pm: Woolworths’ Melbourne South Regional Distribution Centre (MSRDC) will re-open as soon as this evening after the company’s new enterprise agreement offers were endorsed by the United Workers Union (UWU) at four Distribution Centres across Victoria and NSW this afternoon. The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) had endorsed the offer at MSRDC.

The Melbourne Liquor Distribution Centre, Wodonga Regional Distribution Centre and Erskine Park Distribution Centre are also expected to re-open soon and all four sites will be stood back up to full capacity as soon as possible.

All four sites have been subject to indefinite strike action since November 21st which has impacted supply of essential grocery products to Woolworths customers across Victoria, ACT and parts of NSW.

Votes on the new deals will be put to teams at these sites as soon as possible.

Comments from Amanda Bardwell, Woolworths Group CEO:

"We are pleased to have endorsed offers for new terms and conditions and a competitive wage for our team at our four Distribution Centres that have been subject to indefinite industrial action over recent weeks.

"With just over two weeks to go until Christmas, we’re now focused on getting products out of the Distribution Centres and restocking the empty shelves customers have experienced in the past fortnight.

"Turning back ‘on’ such a large part of our supply chain will mean it will take some time for our stores to look their best and we’ll be ramping up as much as we can to get products to the stores where they’re needed most.

"We would once again like to apologise to our customers. We know how frustrating it has been to shop in store and online with us in recent weeks in Victoria, the ACT and parts of NSW. 

"We thank all of them sincerely for their understanding and patience.

"We would also like to thank all of the teams across Woolworths Group who have worked tirelessly to minimise the disruption as much as possible and take care of our customers. 

"In particular we thank our teams in unaffected distribution centres who have helped maintain levels of supply while the four sites were closed. We also thank our store teams, who are at the heart of our business and have done their very best for our customers in very difficult circumstances."

ENDS