Penalty rates submissions
by Leon Gettler
Any café or restaurant owner who thinks the penalty rates will be easily changed should think again.
The Productivity Commission has recommended that higher Sunday penalty rates should end.
But submissions coming in to the Fair Work Commission are warning the government not to touch them.
The submission that’s got the most attention has been from the Labor Party which claims penalty rates are a fundamental part of the safety net for low-paid workers that should not be scrapped.
Labor’s submission says: “Australia’s economic outlook is uncertain, and likely to remain so in the near term. The federal opposition submits that penalty rates continue to be a fundamental part of a strong safety net for Australian workers, enabling low income workers and workers in highly casualised industries to share in the nation’s economic prosperity.”
According to the Opposition, penalty rates are important for preserving people’s standard of living when wages growth has slowed right down.
“Wages are also growing at their slowest rate since the 1990s, increasing by just 2.2% in 2015. The household saving ratio now stands at 7.6 – the lowest level since before the global financial crisis. It appears that Australians are feeling the impact of this slow growth and are dipping into their savings or putting less aside to cope with their increased costs of living,” it says.
It’s particularly pertinent in the hospitality sector, it says, where workers are in the bottom 30 per cent of Australian income earners. Retail has the largest proportion of low paid workers.
Also workers in the hospitality and retail sectors are particularly exposed to movements in penalty rates with twice as many workers in those sectors employed on a casual basis compared with the wider Australian workforce
Opposition leader Bill Shorten said women make up a disproportionate share of workers in both the retail and hospitality sectors accounting for 55 per cent of all those employed.
Any café or restaurant owner who thinks the penalty rates will be easily changed should think again.
The Productivity Commission has recommended that higher Sunday penalty rates should end.
But submissions coming in to the Fair Work Commission are warning the government not to touch them.
The submission that’s got the most attention has been from the Labor Party which claims penalty rates are a fundamental part of the safety net for low-paid workers that should not be scrapped.
Labor’s submission says: “Australia’s economic outlook is uncertain, and likely to remain so in the near term. The federal opposition submits that penalty rates continue to be a fundamental part of a strong safety net for Australian workers, enabling low income workers and workers in highly casualised industries to share in the nation’s economic prosperity.”
According to the Opposition, penalty rates are important for preserving people’s standard of living when wages growth has slowed right down.
“Wages are also growing at their slowest rate since the 1990s, increasing by just 2.2% in 2015. The household saving ratio now stands at 7.6 – the lowest level since before the global financial crisis. It appears that Australians are feeling the impact of this slow growth and are dipping into their savings or putting less aside to cope with their increased costs of living,” it says.
It’s particularly pertinent in the hospitality sector, it says, where workers are in the bottom 30 per cent of Australian income earners. Retail has the largest proportion of low paid workers.
Also workers in the hospitality and retail sectors are particularly exposed to movements in penalty rates with twice as many workers in those sectors employed on a casual basis compared with the wider Australian workforce
Opposition leader Bill Shorten said women make up a disproportionate share of workers in both the retail and hospitality sectors accounting for 55 per cent of all those employed.
21st March 2016
