A union secretary has slammed supermarket chain Aldi for trying to overturn workplace laws and gain the right to force employees to work more than 38 hours a week. The Transport Workers' Union's National Secretary Tony Sheldon condemned the requested change to the Fair Work Act and accused Aldi of trying to reintroduce serfdom. 'Major retailers like Aldi are trying to turn the clocks back on our modern society to reintroduce serfdom,' Mr Sheldon in a statement. Aldi has requested the ability to make employees work more than 38 hours in a submission to Workplace Relations Productivity Commission . 'Their model is to keep workers employed on vulnerable part-time and casual basis, increasing and reducing their hours when they see fit.' National Secretary of the Transport Workers' Union, Tony Sheldon,  accused Aldi of trying to reintroduce serfdom . His comment was made amidst a new submission from the supermarket giant to the Workplace Relations Productivity Commission, in which it recommended that the National Employment Standards be amended to 'enable employers and employees greater flexibility to determine reasonable working hours above the standard 38 hour week'. Aldi's last attempt to increase workers hours in 2012 failed despite the supermarket chain arguing that their employees 'overwhelmingly supported' and 'preferred' the proposals. 'ALDI's experience is that employees are keen for the opportunity of guaranteed additional hours and commensurate income, and prefer this arrangement to a limit of 38 hours plus additional hours to be worked as needed,' David Zalunardo, Aldi's managing director, wrote. However Mr Sheldon argued that the employer had been stopped for good reason, saying the chain had tried to 'strip workers of their rights'. 'The Transport Workers' Union and its members acted against this billion-dollar company in 2012, when it tried to strip workers of their right to refuse to work unreasonably long hours,' he said. Mr Sheldon responded by saying: 'Aldi... believes the right of workers to challenge bad workplace agreements is "not acceptable in a modern, flexible economy"' 'Aldi then failed the legal and fairness test, but now in a submission to the Productivity Commission it is seeking again to scrap the same safeguards. 'We can only hope that Aldi's dream for the Australian economy never comes true.' The grocery store also protested union's power to interfere in enterprise agreements, arguing that a recent incident, in which a union representing only 'a very small number of employees' delayed an agreement, caused 'negative consequences…in terms of uncertainty, financial costs and distraction from managing the business'. 'Based on our experience, the length of time taken for FWC consideration of enterprise agreements can be unduly prolonged, costly and disruptive to continuing business operations, which is disadvantageous to all stakeholders. This is not acceptable in a modern, flexible economy,' Mr Zalunardo wrote. Mr Sheldon responded by saying: 'Aldi... believes the right of workers to challenge bad workplace agreements is "not acceptable in a modern, flexible economy".'
Aldi has requested the ability to make employees work more than 38 hours in a submission to Workplace Relations Productivity Commission .
Supermarket giant was slammed by union secretary Tony Sheldon .
He accused Aldi of reintroducing serfdom and 'trying to strip workers of their rights'