SDA Secretary Peter Malinauskas is extremely concerned by South Australian Federal MP Jamie Briggs’ attempt to get rid of weekend and public holiday penalty rates for workers.
“It is incredibly disappointing that Minister Briggs is trying to reduce the wages of hard working retail workers.
“Time and time again the Abbott Government has pushed to abolish penalty rates despite the fact that retail workers rely on penalties to make ends meet.
“Employer lobby groups and the Federal Government are constantly trying to reduce their wages and take away fair compensation for working unsociable hours,
“If employers want to negotiate on penalty rates there is a mechanism to do that through negotiating an Enterprise Bargaining Agreement with their employees.
“EBA negotiations allow for give and take between employees and employers.
“What the Federal Government wants to do is to take away wages and conditions without compensating workers with something else,” said Mr Malinauskas.
Despite claims by employer groups, there is very little evidence to prove that reducing penalty rates will increase employment in the long term.
The SDA understands that strong economies are underpinned by an expanding middle class, not a growing working poor like in the United States and this is why it’s crucial that the wages of retail workers are not cut.
It is the SDA’s firm position that workers deserve a higher rate of pay for working at unsociable times such as late nights, weekends and public holidays.
“When an employee works on a Sunday or public holiday, they miss out on spending time with their family and they deserve to be paid accordingly,” said Mr Malinauskas.