Tru Valu: We never rostered workers for 24-hour shifts

LOCAL supermarket Tru Valu is clearing the air on recent accusations against it by the Banking Insurance and General Workers Union (BIGWU) about how its workers are treated.

In a recent press conference, BIGWU deputy president Jason Brown warned the public not to shop there as there is a "social cost" that comes with it.

"And the social cost is the welfare of these workers."

He claimed workers are being forced to work extended hours, with some even having 24-hour shifts. He added that workers were only told about this change in working hours in late November.

"This is like domestic violence but on a corporate level, you know."

He said Tru Valu was preventing its employees from meeting with the union.

But, in a press release, Tru Valu said Brown's comments "constitute general misinformation and do not reflect an accurate picture of the situation." It said it has never and will never roster any of its employees for a 24-hour shift.

"The normal shift is eight hours. However, as has become the customary practise over recent years, during the week leading up to Christmas, there may be some shifts lasting up to ten hours. The additional time for such shifts is paid at overtime rates according to the collective agreement."

The release added that all overnight shifts are over-subscribed by employees because of premium rates and that all potential employees for this shift "volunteered their time."

"Again, we categorically state no one is rostered nor is anyone mandated to work on the aforementioned shifts."

The supermarket said it does not object to the union meeting with its members, saying it has asked BIGWU to give advance notice of its visit so management could ensure there was no disruption of normal operations.

"However, the union representative failed to notify the company of the meeting and proceeded to have discussions with employees, and when our store manager objected and informed the representative that a meeting could not be accommodated until after Christmas, the former (manager) was met with a series of obscenities."

The only accurate thing Brown said, according to Tru Valu, is that employees were notified late about Christmas working hours.

"At the time, management saw no issues with this decision as there were no changes to the hours and the terms from the 2021 holiday schedule."

Tru Valu said it provides meals for all its overnight and Boxing Day employees, as well as organises transport for them to get home. Newsday tried to contact Brown on Friday for a comment but calls to him went unanswered.