Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott calls for a winding back of IR laws amid ‘aggressive’ strike

Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott has demanded the nation’s industrial relations regime be rolled back amid a rise in strike actions he warns will hurt already-stretched households and feed inflation.

The chief of Australia’s biggest conglomerate — which owns Kmart, Target, Bunnings and Officeworks — is concerned about the surge in industrial actions across the country, which includes the ongoing strike by Woolworths warehouse workers in Victoria.

“We are seeing more industrial action around the country, and we’re seeing more aggressive industrial action,” he told The Nightly on Thursday.

“The problem with that is that ultimately, it will increase the cost and complexity of the supply chain.

“What that means is unfortunately, families will end up bearing the burden of those additional costs and it will add to the inflationary challenges we have at the moment.”

When asked if the Government needed to wind back IR laws that have emboldened unions, Mr Scott said there was an “opportunity to reset the arrangements from an industrial relations point of view to create more of a win-win arrangement that will lead to more sustainable wage growth and more efficient ways of working”.

The new laws made sweeping changes to the collective bargaining system, including expanding multi-employer bargaining to make it easier for workers from different employers to band together for a bigger pay rise.

It has already infuriated business and mining groups such as the Chamber of Minerals and Energy WA, Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA and Minerals Council of Australia.

“That is the only way that we can deliver more high-paying, secure jobs in the future,” Mr Scott said on Thursday.

“At the moment, we are seeing a very restrictive, onerous, inflexible, industrial relations framework evolving.”

Woolworths employees who are members of the United Workers Union walked off the job indefinitely on November 21 after protracted negotiations for a new enterprise bargaining agreement ended in a stalemate.

Union members argued that while Woolworths’ profits continued to increase, wages had stagnated, contributing to the “growing wealth inequality” across the country.

Woolworths this week said the UWU was seeking pay increases in excess of 25 per cent over three years. This was “materially above inflation, at a time when Woolworths Group is actively working to keep food and groceries affordable for customers facing ongoing cost-of-living pressures”.

The strike action has already left shelves empty in the all-important lead up to Christmas, costing the supermarket giant $50 million in lost food sales.

The industrial action is also limiting the availability of items such as nappies, toilet paper and drinks. No product limits are in place apart from eggs, which have been rationed for months following bird flu outbreaks in NSW and Victoria.

A unionist on the picket line has previously threatened the industrial action would “intensify” unless their demands were met.

Mr Scott’s comments on Thursday also comes as Australia’s economy clings to life via government spending, as growth nears the slowest pace in decades and consumers snap shut their wallets.

National accounts by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this week revealed the economy grew by just 0.8 per cent in the 12 months to September, piling on the pressure in Canberra as a Federal election looms.

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said the “numbers are a nightmare”.

Commenting on consumer sentiment, Mr Scott said customers remained value-conscious.