Victorian government’s holiday decision to restaurants and pubs
Restaurant & Catering Australia (R&CA) has slammed a Victorian government decision to declare an additional public holiday this Christmas.
The decision will see workers rostered on Christmas Day receiving public holiday penalty rates. The backflip reverses the earlier decision to scrap public holiday rates for Christmas Day, which falls on a Sunday this year.
Small Business Minister Philip Dalidakis, who had been labelled a "Grinch" by union leaders, claimed it was all just a “mistake”.
"I think it's important that when you make a mistake you put your hand up, acknowledge it and get on with life," Mr Dalidakis told The Age.
But restaurant and pub owners are unimpressed.
R&CA CEO John Hart said observing Sunday 25 December as a public holiday comes on top of the observed public holiday on Tuesday 27 December, which only adds to costs.
As a result, it would see restaurants closing, reducing shifts or trading at a loss.
“The Andrews Government is shooting from the hip when it comes to public holidays and it needs to stop. Just because the other states recognise the day does not mean Victoria needs to follow suit,” Mr Hart told Hospitality Magazine.
"Prohibitive labour costs will force businesses to close, reducing the opportunities to capture increased tourism spend associated with this time of year. More significantly it will reduce the take home pay of staff who would have normally enjoyed longer shifts on these days.
“What would have once been a viable trading day for some operators may no longer stack up. Many operators have run out of time to assess the impact and inform staff and patrons of their decision.
“The Government should be looking at ways to encourage businesses to stay open for longer and employ more people, not make it more difficult to trade or even remain open. Its unfortunate common sense has not prevailed in this case."
by Leon Gettler, November 28th 2016
