Will penalty rates for higher wages fix hospitality?
The Fair Work commission is looking into simplifying awards that contain minimum pay rates, as well as employment conditions for 1.3 million hospitality and retail workers.
Action by the Commission, comes at the behest of Attorney-General Christian Porter.
In light of this, retail and hospitality employer groups have proposed that the national industrial umpire allow workers to trade their penalty rates for higher wages.
Employer Groups suggest this will fix pay problems.
They suggested this would encourage hospitality employers to hire more staff as pay calculations would be simplified.
Fears of underpayment claims would also be reduced.
Dominique Lamb, head of the National Retailers Association, said many workers on different rosters would earn $13,000 a year more if they accepted the “exemption rate”.
The Restaurant and Catering Association (RCA) has proposed an exemption rate, where chefs on higher pay grades could earn 150 per cent of the award rate – a minimum of $85,566 a year.
“We believe these changes are moderate, practical and pragmatic and deliver what the industry needs to recover,” RCA chief executive Wes Lambert said in a statement.
Labor and the unions have opposed any exemptions and see this as a move to cut pay, with the Opposition arguing in Question Time that workers who traded their penalty rates would be worse off.
Labor calculated that workers who traded their penalty rates for higher wages could be worse off by up to $10,179 a year.
Labor’s calculations are based on a 6pm to 2am roster from Thursday to Monday. Agreement by workers to the arrangement would earn them approximately $57,000 a year.
Labor’s industrial relations spokesman, Tony Burke said when asked about Fair Work’s decision, “Right now we are fighting to stop workers having their pay cut.”
Mr Porter said Labor’s response was deceptive as it failed to recognise the Fair Work Commission’s independence.
“Labor is not ... working co-operatively with the government to help save lives and livelihoods,” he said.
Labor appointee and Fair Work Commission president Iain Ross, will talk through the proposed changes with employers and unions at two hearings later this week.
At a caucus meeting on Tuesday, The Labor party confirmed it would vote against the proposed laws in both the House of Representatives and Senate.
Irit Jackson, 8th February 2021
