Apple employees go on strike demanding better pay and conditions during busiest weekend of the year

Apple employees across Australia have gone on strike during one of the busiest weekends of the year demanding better pay and working conditions. 

The strikes began at 3pm on Friday and will continue through Christmas Eve, with stores in Brisbane, Adelaide and Newcastle to be most affected. 

Apple workers, who are represented by the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union, warned the technology company they would take action earlier this month. 

They have demanded Apple implement better working conditions like fixed rosters, fixed hours, two-day weekends and an annual wage increase.

The strikes comes as stores across the country are bombarded with frantic shoppers during the final day of trade before Christmas Day. 

Apple employees across Australia have gone on strike during one of the busiest weekends of the year demanding better pay and working conditions (pictured, an Apple store in Sydney)

The strikes began at 3pm on Friday and will continue through Christmas Eve, with stores in Brisbane, Adelaide and Newcastle to be most affected (pictured, lines at a Sydney Apple store)

In August, the The Australian Services Union (ASU) and the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) accused Apple of blocking union consultation with workers trying to secure better pay and conditions. 

They claimed the tech giant refused to extend the deadline for consultations with its staff and are ‘unlawfully’ rushing employees into a new enterprise agreement. 

They will allege the tech giant refused their request to extend consultation with staff members until August 19, however Apple denies setting any deadlines.

Under the new agreement, employees will be paid $27.64 an hour or a minimum of $54,617 – a wage increase of 2.5 per cent. 

‘Apple is committed to providing an excellent experience for our customers and teams, and proud to reward all of our valued team members in Australia with strong compensation and exceptional benefits,’ a spokesperson said in a statement. 

Union representatives alleged in the Fair Work Commission on Friday that Apple have breached good faith bargaining principles (pictured, an Apple store in Sydney)

Workers would only be granted overtime if they clock more than 76 hours a fortnight excluding the award’s evening rates for work from 6pm to 10pm.

In a statement, Apple denied it had ‘set any deadlines’ for wage consultations and said its intention was to form a new enterprise agreement. 

In August, a spokesperson said the company would continue to hold regular meetings to share and encourage feedback and that the company was pleased to offer ‘very strong’ compensation for their workers in the form of annual stock grants. 

‘We announced our intention to form a new enterprise agreement in early August, and we welcome the opportunity for participation and engagement with our team members,’ they said. 

Union representatives have blasted the agreement as ‘substandard’ and ‘un-Australian’ (pictured, an Apple store in Sydney)

‘Throughout this process Apple has not set any deadlines and we will continue to hold regular meetings to share and encourage feedback.’

SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer said Apple employees were entitled to pay rises in keeping record-high inflation rates and the rising cost of living.

‘For a company that is making at least $11 billion in profits annually from its Australian operations, its behaviour is simply un-Australian,’ he said.

It’s estimated Apple employs about 4,000 people Australia-wide.