Domino’s Pizza employees have agreed to a new wage deal that includes full penalty rates, the union for retail and fast-food workers says.

The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees (SDA) union says Domino’s drivers and store workers have overwhelmingly voted in favour of the new agreement, which locks in full penalty rates, strong conditions and higher guaranteed hours for part time workers.

The deal will now proceed to the Fair Work Commission for final approval, which will test whether each employee will be better off under the agreement then they would be under the general Fast Food Industry Award.

The SDA and Domino’s are confident that the agreement will deliver employees with better conditions and compensation, with SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer saying that part-time workers can now be guaranteed up to 15 hours per week, subject to their availability – an improvement on the three hours per week guaranteed under the relevant award.

In a workplace environment characterised by casualisation and underemployment, this is an important win for Domino’s part time workers who now have access to a reliable weekly income,” Dwyer said.

The union said the final results of the ballot, which began on January 23 and finished on Wednesday, showed 89 per cent of workers, or 4,822 people, were in favour of the new agreement.

However, Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) secretary Josh Cullinan, who successfully delayed the vote earlier this month in the pursuit of further negotiations, does not believe the current agreement will pass the FWC’s Better Off Overall Test (BOOT).

“We remain confident there can be no proper approval of the purported agreement on a number of grounds – including that it doesn’t pass BOOT,” Cullinan said.

Cullinan noted that while 89 per cent of workers who voted were in favour of the EBA only 25 per cent of the total workforce voted in favour of the deal.

In total, 5,418 Domino’s employees voted on the new agreement, accounting for nearly 30 per cent of the retailer’s workforce.

Cullinan has previously criticised the EBA, saying that the proposed wage rate for entry-level workers is only two cents above the award rate ($20.08), and that part-time employees will no longer received fixed start and finish times, which will instead be detailed on a weekly roster.

The SDA has hailed the deal for its unification of 27 out-dated agreements with the Pizza giant that were previously in place, saying that the new EBA provides a platform from which to negotiate better conditions in the future.

Domino’s ANZ CEO Nick Knight was an “important step” and was a win for employees, while not compromising franchisee profitability.

“The new agreement was the culmination of more than a year and a half of negotiations, provides for wages and entitlements (including weekend penalty rates) which are among the
highest in our industry, was broadly supported by the SDA Union, and now has been endorsed by our team members,” Knight said.

“With our new agreement in place, we believe we will be an employer of choice for tens of thousands of Australians by providing beneficial working conditions for all team members.”

Until approved, Domino’s workers will remain on the Fast Food Industry Award, which they were switched to on January 24.

With AAP

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