Mr Callinan said that despite the majority of the employees holding part time contracts, they’re treated like casual staff and being paid less, all while working under the expectation they have full availability for rostering.
“That is the issue – Apple actually doesn’t employ any casuals, they employ part timers but treat them like casuals,” he said.
“One of our arguments is that casual workers at JB Hi-fi that sell iPhones get paid more.”
Similarly, Apple workers also went on strike in October, with another 200 union members stopping work for the tech giant for an hour between midday and 1pm.
Workers went on strike to “replace their old rotten zombie agreements” after working on a deal with the business that would see cuts to their “conditions and wages” to below Award minimums.
Mr Cullinan said the workers who chose to strike over Christmas instead of working their rostered shifts can’t technically be punished for doing so under union agreements, but instead were giving up any rights to be paid for those hours.
“It’s a very convoluted process, the laws are very restricted now,” he said.
“They are protected – they can’t face any consequences – but they also aren’t paid for the time they’re on strike so that’s a consequence for them.
“But they are protected in their actions.”
Mr Cullinan said the main stores affected were in Brisbane and Adelaide, but investigations by the Courier Mail found that the two suburban Queensland Apple stores in Chermside and Carindale were trading normally.
