SDA president Joe de Bruyn presided over many of the controversial wage deals with big business. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The decision sets an important precedent as dozens of major retail and fast food employers have similar agreements with the SDA. A 12-month Fairfax Media investigation revealed how the "shoppies" union deals left an estimated more than 250,000 workers paid less than the award. Those deals saved Australia's biggest employers - including Woolworths, Coles and McDonald's - more than $300 million a year. The Domino's decision is the first termination of an SDA agreement with a major employer that comes after the landmark Coles decision in mid-2016.

Union official Josh Cullinan exposed the unfair deal between Coles and the SDA union. Credit:Penny Stephens In that case the full bench of the Fair Work Commission quashed an agreement between Coles and the SDA as it failed the "better off overall test". Evidence in that Coles case, by its own expert, showed that more than half the workforce was paid less in wages than the award. Domino's will likely have to pay tens of millions of dollars extra in wages. In the Domino's case, the SDA had applied to terminate 27 of the agreements and has said it is seeking to strike a new workplace agreement with the pizza chain that would pay at least the award. It admitted its old Domino's agreements were "deficient".

SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer said it had applied to terminate agreements as it had "long term concerns" about the pay and conditions that Domino's workers were receiving and that the agreements did not meet the better off overall test. He did not respond to a question on why it took so long for the SDA to apply to terminate agreements that the union itself struck. Mr Dwyer said negotiations on a new agreement were well advanced. Also applying to terminate one of the Domino's agreements was new union, the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union. Secretary Josh Cullinan said an average Domino's casual delivery driver, working just 10 hours a week, would currently lose $2000 a year. Mr Cullinan said from January 24 workers would have Saturday penalty rates, weeknight penalty rates and "proper" casual loadings and Sunday loadings for the first time.

"Today's decision puts every employer with an SDA agreement on notice. We will take these wages back." "We will not rest until all the penalty rates taken from our members have been returned." Mr Cullinan's union was acting on behalf of Townsville delivery driver Casey Salt who faced significant hardship from the agreements struck between the pizza chain and the SDA. An estimate by investment bank Deutsche has put the cost of Domino's paying award penalty rates at more than $30 million a year. Greens employment spokesman Adam Bandt said it was an important decision.

"Knocking off another dodgy agreement will make a big difference to many low-paid workers. Now we need to change the law to stop people being paid below-award rates in the first place." Mr Bandt wants the Fair Work Act changed to protect workers from SDA-style wage deals that traded away penalty rates with inadequate compensation. Domino's said it welcomed the decision by the Fair Work Commission. "Domino's did not oppose the termination of the existing EBAs (enterprise bargaining agreements)," the company said in a statement. "It requested, and was granted, a period of time to allow the business to transition to the new proposed EBA currently under negotiation by the parties." Domino's said it expected to have a new agreement in place before the termination of the old agreements took effect.

"Domino's will communicate the Commission's decision to its franchisee network today, so that employees continue to receive their correct entitlements in this transitional period and beyond." The company has been hit by a separate scandal over wage underpayment, also exposed by Fairfax Media, with some of its stores paying even less than required under the SDA agreements. Do you know more? Contact us securely via Journotips Follow Ben Schneiders on Facebook