Sydney cafe owner says ACTU minimum wage would ‘cripple’ him
A Sydney cafe and business owner who employs more than 30 people says granting the ACTU’s minimum wage claim would push his business close to the edge.
Unions are pushing for a $43-a-week increase for the nation’s low-paid this year and, if successful, will seek a further 5.5 per cent next year to bring the minimum wage to 60 per cent of median earnings.
However, French chef David Bitton says he spends more than $600,000 a year on wages and any forced wage increase would force him to “put the key under the mat” at his cafes in Alexandria and Oatley.
“I have no doubt when I say my business would cripple with this wage blowout,” Bitton told The Australian.
Bitton and his wife work off a 6 per cent profit margin. He says that reducing operating hours and laying off some of his 12 casual staff was “one of the few” options he had left if a wage increase was forced on him.
25th March 2019
