Inside the Woolies revolt that's emptied shelves

Hello, The Conversation Australia + NZ Business Editor Margaret Easterbrook here with The Conversation weekly.

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It's the busiest shopping time of the year, and yet household staples have been steadily disappearing from Woolies' shelves in New South Wales and Victoria, as a result of strike action by more than 1,500 workers at five major distribution centres.

The industrial action began on November 21 and has so far cost Woolies at least $50 million, prompting the company to complain to the Fair Work Commission that striking workers were holding "a metaphorical gun" to the head of their employer.

But as Tom Barnes explains, this dispute is more than a push for a pay rise by disgruntled workers. It’s a crucial test for companies everywhere that use automation and artificial intelligence in their workplaces. Unions argue that productivity-boosting algorithms pose a danger to workers' mental and physical health.

Barnes warns we risk entering an “Amazonian era” characterised by low-paying jobs with exhausting workloads and high turnover. There is more than just money and groceries at stake.

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Thanks to all of this week's contributors including (but not limited to): Alexander M. Hynd, Ph.D. UNSW Jamie Pittock, PhD The Australian National University Natasha Hurley-Walker Curtin University University of Melbourne Professor Mehmet Ozalp Charles Sturt University Wesley Morgan Liam Moore James Cook University University of Canberra Jessica Holloway, Ph.D. Carolyn Heward Lee Smales, CFA Milad Haghani

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