Restaurants call for minimum wage freeze
Restaurant and Catering Industrial, representing 45,000 restaurants, cafes and catering businesses across the country, has backed calls for a minimum wage freeze.
It says economic conditions mean there should be a zero per cent increase for low paid workers.
In its submission to the Fair Work Commission’s annual minimum wage case, which will apply from July, RCI says wage increases would undermine employment growth.
Its wage freeze push mirrors the submission from the National Retail Association.
If the Fair Work Commission accepts these submissions, workers would be taking a pay cut with inflation running at 1.9 per cent.
The RCI’s submission criticised the past two annual increases awarded by the tribunal.
It described last year’s $22.20 a week rise as “overreach”.
“Another significant increase in the minimum wage will adversely affect the ability of businesses within the cafe, restaurant and catering sector to operate profitably,” the submission said.
“RCI argues that the prevailing economic conditions do not warrant any increase in the minimum wage.”
RCI said Australia had one of the highest minimum wages in the world.
It said cafes, restaurants and catering sector generally were forking out on average 44 per cent of expenditure on staff wages and associated on-costs.
“Disproportionate increase in cost of doing business, such as increased energy prices or wages, has meant this sector is not able to pass on the increased costs, as there is little pricing power for this sector,” it said.
The shop assistants union said the call for zero per cent increase in wages was completely out whack with what was happening in the economy.
The union’s national secretary Gerard Dwyer said the call for a wage freeze was “a slap in the face for hard-working retail employees.”
What the industry needed to do was support policies that would drive economic growth, he said.
"Australia's historically low wage growth has already been identified by the Reserve Bank as a major handbrake on economic growth," Mr Dwyer said.
“Collectively, Australia’s businesses need to support policies that put money back into their customers’ pockets.”
Leon Getler 15th March.
