Coles admits much of its workforce underpaid after SDA deals

Supermarket giant Coles has admitted for the first time that it has underpaid much of its workforce in a cosy deal it struck with the conservative shop assistants union

For two years, Coles has tried to deflect from the findings of a Fairfax Media investigation that revealed massive underpayment at the supermarket.

But in the Fair Work Commission on Thursday its lawyer, Stuart Wood, QC, indicated that much of the Coles workforce – up to 60 per cent – would be better off if they were paid minimum award rates rather than what they are paid from deals struck with the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees Association (SDA).

The admission comes as Coles tries to fight off a huge back-pay claim for tens of thousands of its workers from Brisbane night-fill worker Penny Vickers.

Josh Cullinan, who helped expose the Coles scandal in 2015, said the admission by the supermarket was long overdue.

MORE: Coles admits much of its workforce underpaid after SDA deals