Angry Coles warehouse workers walk-off the job amid COVID-19 concern

Coles workers at one of its busiest distribution centres downed tools on Friday amid concerns they could catch the dreaded coronavirus. 

Video emerged of the disgrunted employees walking off the job at the supermarket’s Laverton warehouse in the early hours of Friday morning. 

Video captured by Wyndham TV – a local news service operating out of Melbourne‘s western suburbs – shows workers dressed in high-visibility gear gathering outside the front of the centre. 

Coles workers walked off the job on Friday amid coronavirus concerns

Workers gathered outside the front of the Laverton distribution centre where they demanded proper safety equipment 

One worker claimed a further 30 more workers had been on their way outside to join the stop-work meeting when Coles management turned them around. 

”We’ve got about 30 team members, I reckon, were on their way out (they) were cut off, told em all to get back in (another manager) pulled up along beside and said a couple of other team members had made complaints about us,’ the worker said. 

The alleged complaint was that the disgruntled workers had intimidated and threatened other colleagues to join the protest. 

The workers claimed the 1.5 metre distancing rule wasn’t being enforced at the centre and were not supplied appropriate Personal Protective Equipment. 

Coles distribution centre in Laverton where on Friday workers walked-off the job amid their own coronavirus concerns

They further claimed they were only being given one alcohol wipe at the start of their shifts and one at the end, despite using communal equipment. 

It remains unclear how long the workers walked off the job. 

They returned to work after the measures they asked for were implemented.

The drama came just hours before Coles introduced a raft of new health and safety measures at its stores to protect customers and staff from the growing coronavirus outbreak.

In a bid to keep physical contact between customers and workers to a minimum, shoppers are now being asked to pack their own grocery bags and to pay with tap-and-go or contactless payments.

Large queues of people line up at Coles and panic buy due to government forcing business closures due to the coronavirus outbreak

 Earlier this week, Woolworths installed protective screens at checkouts as an additional safeguard for Woolworths staff and shoppers. Pictured are the new screens at the Town Hall store in Sydney’s CBD

The supermarket announced on Friday it has added extra cleaning and sanitisation to ‘high contact’ areas of the store including trolleys, baskets, checkout areas and self-service screens.

Customers are also expected to have their hands washed or sanitised before entering and those who are feeling unwell will be asked not to enter stores.

Social distancing guidelines will be enforced with signs around stores and at checkout areas reminding people to keep a 1.5-metre distance, or a trolley-length apart.

Coles Group CEO Steve Cain announced the changes being rolled out at all stores in a statement Friday.

‘We know that health and safety is front of mind for lots of our customers at the moment, and we want to let you know that we’re working closely with the Department of Health to ensure the most effective protection for both you and our team members in our stores during the COVID-19 situation,’ he said.

‘We ask all customers not to enter a store if they are unwell, to wash or sanitise their hands before entering stores, and to remind everyone to not touch their face unless your hands have been sanitised.’

Coles has been asked for comment about the industrial action at Laverton.