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Business
Coles will remove single-use plastic fresh produce bags in ACT supermarkets from next month in a trial which will encourage customers to bring in reusable options for their fruit and veggies.
From 31 August until 13 September, ACT customers who spend $5 in store on fruit and veggies will receive a free 3-pack of reusable mesh fresh produce bags – made with 90% recycled materials – in preparation for single-use plastic bags being removed from stores.
Single-use plastic fresh produce bags, also known as barrier bags, will be removed from all 12 stores across the ACT from 14 September.
During the trial, customers will be encouraged to bring reusable bags to help them complete their shop, or reusable mesh fresh produce bags will be available for customers to buy in store.
Coles Chief Operations and Sustainability Officer Matt Swindells said the initiative is expected to reduce about 11 tonnes of plastic each year.
“Under our Together to Zero waste ambition, we are always looking for ways to reduce reliance on unnecessary and problematic single-use plastics packaging and provide sustainable solutions to our customers,” he said.
“This will be the first time a major Australian supermarket will trial a completely reusable method of helping customers purchase their fresh fruit and veggies.
“We will be looking closely at how our ACT customers respond. These insights will inform our consideration for potentially rolling this out to our customers nationally.”
In a further effort to reduce plastic in stores, Coles recently rolled out fresh produce bags made with 50% recycled plastic across the country. The bags can be returned to REDcycle bins at any Coles supermarket to be recycled.
The plastic barrier bags will continue to be used in delis and in Coles Online orders, and paper bags will still be available in the fresh produce section for customers to pack their mushrooms.
New data revealing serious health concerns for Australians working from home to be released with the launch of the inaugural national Workspace Week Campaign (22-28 August).
With studies revealing the impact on the health of Australians working from home, on Sunday 21 August the Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA) will release the results of two national surveys revealing an alarming increase in spinal health related injuries that may be caused due to unsafe work practices in home workspaces.
To help minimise physical injuries in people working from home, in an Australian first, the ACA (the organisation behind Spinal Health Week in May), is launching the inaugural national Workspace Week to promote the importance of ergonomically correct workspaces at home and provide newly developed FREE resources to help workers avoid potentially serious injuries and promote overall wellbeing.
Due to living with COVID-19 over the past three years, the majority of Australians have worked in hybrid settings shared between home and office locations that may be continuing to impact their health.
Following the survey conducted by the ACTU which found 42% of Australians working from home did not have a suitable workstation or the correct equipment when working from home.
Wage Inspectorate Victoria has filed 23 charges in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria against two entities of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Group, alleging the entities failed to pay over $70,000 in long service leave to 20 former employees.
It is alleged BWA Group Services Pty. Ltd. (BankWest) contravened section 9(2) of Victoria’s Long Service Leave Act 2018 (the Act) by failing to pay more than $31,000 in long service leave entitlements to 12 former employees.
Commonwealth Securities Limited (CommSec) is alleged to have also contravened section 9(2) by failing to pay more than $38,000 in long service leave entitlements to 8 former employees.
The maximum penalty for each offence is 60 penalty units ($10,904) for each day during which the offences continue.
It is also alleged that BankWest and CommSec each separately contravened section 38(1) of the Act by failing to comply with a notice to produce documents relating to the Wage Inspectorate’s investigations.
The matter is listed for mention in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 10 October 2022.
Employers and workers seeking information on long service leave should visit the Wage Inspectorate’s website at wageinspectorate.vic. gov.au or call 1800 287 287.
The website contains fact sheets, frequently asked questions and a long service leave calculator.
Local small and medium businesses given priority for flood clean-up contracts
The NSW Government will give first preference to local small and medium-sized businesses in flood-affected areas when awarding contracts for the repair, remediation or provision of goods and services for Government-owned sites impacted by flooding.
The direction, issued by Minister for Finance Damien Tudehope, was first issued in response to the February-March flood event and has now been extended to cover the June-July flood event.
“The extension of the direction will go a long way in helping local businesses and communities recover financially,” Mr Tudehope said.
“Whether it’s a local courthouse, school or bridge, there will be many opportunities for small and medium businesses to assist in the repair and rebuilding work at Governmentowned sites in their communities.”
“Small businesses make up more than 97.5 per cent of businesses in NSW and the direction is the NSW Government’s way of supporting those local businesses which are the backbone of their community and the NSW economy,” he said.
Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said there is a significant amount of clean-up and rebuilding work to be done over the coming months.
“By supporting local companies with flood repair and rebuilding contracts, we are in turn keeping local people in local jobs,” Ms Cooke said.
