Hundreds of distribution workers in New Zealand have taken strike action in a dispute over job security and the use of new technology at The Warehouse Group.
Workers First Union said more than 300 people at distribution centres serving Auckland and Christchurch, along with drivers in the Noel Leeming installation fleet, were due to take part in a 24-hour stoppage on Thursday 12 November 2026. Distribution-centre workers walked off the job and held protests in the Auckland and Christchurch areas.
The union had scheduled the withdrawal of labour from 12.01am to 11.59pm local time, with pickets at Wiri in Auckland and at Rolleston, near Christchurch.
Job protections at the centre of the dispute
Workers First organiser Hayley Courtney said staff were not opposed to technology that could improve efficiency, but wanted more certainty about what would happen to their jobs as equipment was introduced.
The union is seeking provisions in the next employment agreement that would require the company to consult, retrain and redeploy affected workers. It also wants the company to reach agreement with the union before introducing technology that could reduce jobs.
Stocktaking drones are already in use at the distribution centres, and a goods-to-person system is being introduced in Auckland. Such equipment moves stock towards a collection point, changing how some tasks are carried out. Courtney said the size of the physical inventory team had already fallen after drones were introduced.
The Warehouse Group disputes the connection. Its chief people officer, Richard Parker, said there had been no job losses as a result of the stocktaking drones and no redundancies of permanent roles as a result of the new goods-to-person automation.
Parker said there were three additional temporary roles in the stocktaking area. The company said the drones improved stock accuracy and safety by reducing the need for people to work at height in machinery at night. It described the new automation as a way to increase capacity and efficiency.
Different views on monitoring
The dispute also covers how workers’ activity is monitored. The union has raised concerns about technology used to assess performance and says workers fear that the time they take for bathroom breaks is being tracked.
The company denies tracking bathroom use. It says the devices it uses monitor efficiency through scanning, are not artificial intelligence, and have nothing to do with bathroom visits.
On employment security, Parker said no employer could guarantee exactly what roles would look like in the future. He said the company would consult its team and look to retrain and redeploy people wherever possible, in line with its obligations.
The company also said it could not hand decisions on its strategy, plans or use of technology to its union partner. That position leaves a clear difference between the employer’s stated approach to consultation and the union’s request for agreement before technology that could cut jobs is introduced.
Pay remains part of the wider bargaining. The company said its proposal included increases of 3.5 per cent in the first year and 3 per cent in the second. The union’s position is that a pay rise alone does not resolve concerns about future employment.
In its strike notice, the union also raised concerns about the rostering of extra overtime runs for Auckland drivers in the Noel Leeming fleet. The company said it did not anticipate disruption to stores or customers from the action.
