FIRST Union is pleased to announce retailer Kmart has stepped in where The Warehouse has failed, it has promised priority placement of 60 Red Shed workers at 14 of its stores nationwide.

Following requests from the Union, Kmart has given the nod this morning for the creation of an application process for these workers. It says while the candidates will need to go through the normal recruitment process it will prioritise 60 positions for former Warehouse staff.

This follows The Warehouse announcing a proposed restructure that could affect 769 roles, with 180 job losses.

FIRST Union organiser Kate Davis says she’s excited and very happy at least half of the workers will get a fair go.

“We are thrilled that Kmart has recognised the value of these workers, they are hard workers with years, some even decades of experience behind them - many are career retail workers.”

Ms Davis says some workers are older workers who have been with The Warehouse for a long time, and some are migrant workers who are facing additional visa costs should they be made redundant.

“Through no fault of their own they are caught up in a horrible new culture that has intensified with a team of executives who hold Walmart morals over Kiwi values. For Kmart to come in and offer a priority application process for these workers is just great. We are very thankful.”

FIRST Union is requesting other retailers experiencing growth in what is a healthy New Zealand retail market to also come forward should they require more staff.

“We have a group of very experienced, hard-working employees who are about to be looking for work. If your business requires additional staff, give us a call.”

Ms Davis adds a survey undertaken by the Union received 1,500 responses in just four days from both members and the wider general public.

“The survey shows 95% of respondents value seeing familiar faces from their local communities at The Warehouse, it also shows 90% of people prefer to pay for their items with a real live checkout person! And 60% of respondents feel The Warehouse has become less community oriented in the last five years. It’s heading in the wrong direction, if it goes through with this proposal there’s no going back.”

Comments from responders:

“Everything is about money, money, money, Less staff more stress placed on those working, when out shift is ended we can’t wait to get out of there, I use to love my job, this is my 16th year @ the warehouse, not loving it as much.”

“I have seen that it is profit over people. That we have lower levels of staff available on the shop floor which leads to customers getting frustrated because no one turns up to help and it’s because they are helping someone else and can't get to a phone to let the front staff know. When there is lack of staff because they are not being replaced so there is more stress on the people left behind and definitely more work for the staff with the same expectations on work load. People get sick more often because of stress and still no replacement. And now to have people losing jobs and the restructuring, it seems like it's a ploy to pay for the self-service tills.”

Kmart has potential opportunities for candidates in Whangarei, Auckland, Hamilton Tauranga, Rotorua, Napier/Hastings, Palmerston North, Wellington, Richmond, Christchurch, Queenstown, Dunedin, Invercargill, and Blenheim.

ENDS

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