Employer groups are lobbying through a Senate inquiry for a two-year phase-in period or amnesty for small and medium enterprises against new proposed criminal penalties for businesses that underpay staff. The call is backed by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia.
Roberts said although industrial relations is “important” for economic growth, it is less so than energy and tax policy, and the omnibus bill “raises more questions than it does answers”.
“At a time when Aussie workers and employers needed peace of mind about job creation and job security, they got more complexity.”
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Employers have asked the national industrial umpire to let retail and hospitality workers trade their penalty rates for higher wages in a move they say will fix pay problems that new data suggests affects a third of businesses in the sectors.
The Fair Work Commission is working to simplify the awards that contain minimum pay rates and employment conditions for the sectors’ 1.3 million workers at the urging of Attorney-General Christian Porter.
The Restaurant and Catering Association wants rules to allow chefs to be paid a flat rate.
Credit:Jim Rice
Retail and hospitality employer groups say their proposal would encourage businesses to hire more workers as it would simplify pay calculations and reduce fears of being hit with underpayment claims, but Labor and unions view it as a scheme to cut pay.
February 1, 2021
Fast-food and retail workers will receive a pay rise from today, after the Fair Work Commission announced a 1.75% increase in award wages.
The increase in minimum wages was set to take place in July last year, however, the Fair Work Commission delayed the rise due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on some industries, including retail and hospitality.
The retail and fast-food award wage is now $21.78 an hour.
The Fair Work Commission’s decision to freeze the 1.75% increase for retail and hospitality workers was met with backlash from both the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association and the Australian Council of Trade Unions, which argued that women and young people make up the majority of the workforce and would be disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Union s For the Workers campaign takes fight to Morrison s industrial overhaul smh.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from smh.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Unionsâ âFor the Workersâ campaign takes fight to Morrisonâs industrial overhaul
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The union movement will launch an advertising campaign on Monday targeting key marginal seats that it hopes will replicate the success of its Howard-era âYour Rights at Workâ campaign and force the Morrison government to back down on its industrial relations bill.
Thirteen seats that helped decide the last election, including Reid in Sydney and Chisholm in Melbourne, will be hit with a barrage of billboard and media ads delivering a union message claiming the industrial changes will cut wages, reduce job security and hurt the economy.