Industry groups unhappy with holiday review

Industry groups have disputed South Australian Government claims two new part-day public holidays have had minimal impact after a review into the changes was released yesterday.

The new holidays operate from 7:00pm-midnight on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, meaning workers rostered at those times get higher penalty rates, unless they are casuals.

They were introduced at the end of last year and a review into their impact on businesses was carried out by Adelaide University's Centre for Economic Studies.

It found the cost to restuarants was just over $1 million, or $540 per venue, on each of the public holidays.

Hotels faced an extra $230 per venue over the two nights, with aged care homes slugged up to $1700 per facility.

The Government says the study vindicates its position and shows that industry claims about the impacts were "wild and exaggerated."

Premier Jay Weatherill says surveys show most South Australians support the changes which have generated spending in Adelaide's CBD.

"We were independently persuaded about the merit of the two part day public holidays and, I must say overwhelmingly, so are the South Australian community," he said.

"78 per cent and 74 per cent respectively have said they support people having penalty rates on those anti-social hours of working which is Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve."

Peter Malinauskas from the Shop Workers Association agrees that the benefits outweigh the costs.

"It makes it clear that the impact on business has been actually negligible, yet it has provided a very real benefit to those people who serve the community late at night on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve," he said.

'Conservative estimate'

But industry groups say the study underestimates the impact of the changes on their businesses.

Sally Neville from Restaurant and Catering SA says restaurateurs are paying far more than the report claims.

"We think that's a really conservative estimate. Based on the data that we received from our industry surveys pitched it at more like $2000 per venue," she said.

Aged carers say the extended hours have cost the sector $500,000.

State chief executive of Leading Age Services Australia Paul Carberry says he is extremely disappointed the public holidays will remain.

"Half a million dollars is money that aged care doesn't have to spare. They operate on thin margins and this is just another cost courtesy of the State Government which they have not made any attempt to compensate aged care providers for," he said.

"There's absolutely no history of unions or other employee groups advocating for these new public holidays. The only connection that's been made is that the Shop Distributive and Allied Union agreed to extend public holiday trading in return for these extra public holidays."

John Chapman from the Motor Trade Association also rejected the review's assertion that the impact on service stations across the state was only $100,000 and has questioned the study's its credibility.

"If I took a thousand dollars out of your wage out of your pocket and said well that's a cost of doing business I don't think you'd like that. That's what's happened to our members," he said.

Family First MP Rob Brokenshire says the review proves little and the full impact of the changes is yet to be seen.

"It was only tabled yesterday and the Government are clearly going to put the best gloss they can on it because this was part of a deal done when leadership changes occurred for the Government," he said.

"We need to ensure transparently that workers, employers and the economy did not suffer as a result of the deal that was done."

Source: ABC News, 11 April 2013