Murraylands retail workers will share in $5.5 million settlement
Current and former staff members at supermarkets at Mannum, Tailem Bend and Meningie will receive an average of $10,000 at the conclusion of a federal court case.
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Dozens of current and former retail workers in the Murraylands will share in a $5.5 million windfall after the settlement of a lawsuit against a major employer this week.
Eudunda Farmers Limited – which owns the Foodland supermarkets at Mannum, Tailem Bend and Meningie, plus stores in 18 other towns – had been alleged to have underpaid its workers prior to 2021.
The company had been defending a court case brought by a retail workers’ union, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), in the federal court.
The two parties announced on Monday that they had reached an agreement to end the legal action, and for EFL to pay an average of $10,000 to each affected worker.
Among those to be paid out:
- At Mannum, 28 workers will share almost $194,000
- At Tailem Bend, 23 workers will share more than $209,000
- Twenty-three workers at Meningie will share almost $302,000
SDA secretary Josh Peake described the case as one of the biggest retail underpayment cases in South Australian history.
“What started out as just a few workers speaking up about their pay has now turned into 500 workers being compensated,” he said.
“This is a massive outcome for these workers and will be life-changing for many of them.”
Eudunda Farmers had been alleged to have misclassified workers, not paid overtime wages or allowances correctly, and breached minimum shift rules.
In a statement, the company said it was committed to giving its employees correct pay and entitlements.
