The union representing low-paid workers at Coles stores knew some might be financially worse off under an agreement it struck with the supermarket giant but did not tell its members, the Fair Work Commission has been told. An industrial officer for the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association also told the commission that the union knew some workers could be financially worse off under the agreement than under the award when it signed a statutory declaration saying the agreement should be approved. An executive director of consultancy firm Ernst and Young was also accused of “cutting and pasting” portions of an expert report tendered by Coles to support its contention that the deal would leave workers better off. The deal, which would affect 77,000 Coles workers Australia-wide, is under scrutiny after a Coles worker in Queensland claimed it would leave many employees out of pocket. By law, no enterprise bargaining agreement can leave workers worse off than they would be under the award, the basic wages safety net.
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