Workers at Farro Fresh’s seven boutique Auckland supermarkets, who serve some of the wealthiest Aucklanders, are among the very lowest-paid in the industry, and FIRST Union members at the chain are pushing back against the company’s offer of a pay increase that is less than the rate of inflation and the proposed introduction of a new 90-day trial period in next year’s Collective Agreement with staff.

Nicholas Mayne, FIRST Union organiser, said that Farro’s current "take it or leave it" offer to union members would mean the majority of Farro employees would be earning between the minimum wage and $24.20 per hour.

"With the Government only increasing the minimum wage this year by 2% and household living costs growing by 6.2%, it’s crucial that employers and employees negotiate pay increases that keep workers out of poverty," said Mr Mayne.

"Progressive employers, as Farro claims to be, should benchmark their pay against ethical standards like the living wage, not the minimum wage."

Farro Fresh is also attempting to introduce a 90-day trial period into their employment practices.

"Farro already has a high turnover of employees because their pay and conditions do not incentivise workers to stay," said Mr Mayne. "Eliminating new employees who do not fit the ‘values’ Farro Fresh wants will not improve anything if those workers prefer other retailers with better terms and conditions."

Mr Mayne said that under the new leadership of CEO Craig Williams, bargaining has taken on an adversarial tone since day one.

"The company has rejected every negotiating point raised by staff, while non-union members are being privately offered 50c pay increases in an attempt to strong-arm union members into accepting a regressive parity," said Mr Mayne.

Recent events have escalated tensions. Following delays by the employer to agree to mediated bargaining meetings, the union notified Farro of the intention to hold report back meetings where members voted in favour of four strike ballots. Farro was notified of three successful strike ballots on June 17th. In response, Farro threatened staff with suspension for participating in strike action and pressured them to sign a new procedural document called "The Way We Work".

"Farro Fresh’s attempt to gag union members by threatening suspension is intended to intimidate," said Mr Mayne. "Their "Way We Work" policy claims ‘honest and open communications,’ yet workers are being silenced for attempting to discuss their experiences and pay rates."

FIRST Union delegates are due to attend a mediation session with Farro Fresh at the end of June, but Mr Mayne says staff are disappointed by company’s unwillingness to consider the wider market rate for supermarket workers and their lack of urgency in resolving fruitless pay negotiations. In the meantime, FIRST Union representatives will be hosting ad-hoc leafleting campaigns outside Farro Fresh stores so that the public can consider the treatment of workers before doing their grocery shopping.

"They may not be able to compete on price with the supermarket duopoly, but they can certainly live up to their own claims of being a progressive employer that cares for the wellbeing of their staff," said Mr Mayne.

"It’s disheartening to see a values-driven company support a low-wage economy. Staff deserve better, and so do Farro Fresh’s customers."

Additional information:

FIRST Union released a survey and report on the supermarket and grocery retail sector this week that showed:

• Nearly three-quarters of the survey’s 1,514 respondents - 74.4 percent - said that their wages were not sufficient to cover their regular living expenses, and 61.9 percent of respondents felt that their wage increases over the last two years had not kept pace with the rising cost of living.
• Only 21 percent of respondents said that if they received an unexpected $500 expense tomorrow, they could pay it. 53.7 percent said they could not, and 25.3 percent said they were unsure.
• 90.8 percent of respondents said their stores were understaffed, either "sometimes" (36.2 percent) "regularly" (30 percent) or "continuously" (24.7 percent). 39 percent of workers identified understaffing as the "single most important workplace issue for supermarket workers"; the most popular response to this question.
• 69 percent of supermarket workers have considered leaving their workplace over the last two years.
• The most common reason for considering leaving was generally to look for another job in a different industry (56.8 percent), while 22.5 percent had considered another job at a different supermarket. More than a fifth of respondents had considered emigrating to Australia, while 5.8 percent had considered emigrating to another country.
• 55.5 percent of respondents believed that things were going to get worse for supermarket workers in the next year, with 36.6 percent thinking things will stay the same and less than 10% expecting things to improve

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