Apple Employees in Australia Plan to Go on Strike Ahead of Christmas, This is Their Demand

JAKARTA - Hundreds of Apple workers in Australia are preparing to go on strike ahead of Christmas to demand better working conditions and wages. The remarks, coming from union leaders and staff, are a move that is likely to hurt the iPhone maker's sales and service in the country.

The walkout of less than two days by about 200 of Apple's roughly 4.000 employees in Australia comes as the US tech giant faces disruptions from worker unrest at its main iPhone factory in China.

Members of the Australian Retail and Fast Food Workers Union (RAFFWU) asked Apple Inc to list fixed names, known hours, consecutive two-day weekends, and agreed annual wage increases.

"This Christmas strike is a way for our members to take back time with family and friends while management continues to refuse to grant workers the most basic minimum listing rights," RAFFWU secretary Josh Cullinan told Reuters. He added that management would be notified of the strike next Monday.

Attempts to quickly bring management to the negotiating table failed earlier this week, as Apple refused to meet worker representatives until next February.

Strikers will walk out of Apple's retail outlets at 3 p.m. Local time on December 23 and away through Christmas Eve, which is usually a peak time for sales of Apple products such as iPhones, watches and other products.

The action will be taken nationwide but will have the biggest impact at the two retail outlets in Brisbane, and one each in Adelaide and Newcastle where RAFFWU has the most members.

An Apple spokesperson declined to comment on the negotiations but said the company was "proud to reward our valued team members in Australia with strong compensation and great benefits".

In June this year Apple workers in Maryland became the first retail employees of the tech giant to unionize in the United States. On Thursday, December 8, the union set an official date in January to begin negotiations with Apple.

Apple workers went on a full-day strike last October and also a one-hour strike later that month.

"You can't put a price on work-life balance," said one Apple employee, who was due to join the strike but did not want to be named for fear of being targeted by management.

"What we ended up with Apple was an arrangement where all the non-mandatory benefits that made work-life balance possible for workers were eliminated," he said.

According to RAFFWU other strikes that have continued from earlier this year will also increase, including a ban on iPhone repairs and Apple Watch repairs for certain hours at some outlets, a ban on opening doors elsewhere, a ban on making any sales, and a ban on wearing T-shirts. the festive red of the company.