Small business groups and unions strike deal to give part-timers in retail extra hours without penalty rates
Westfield shopping centre in Doncaster, Victoria. Source: AAP.
The Council of Small Business Groups Australia (COSBOA) and the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) are jointly supporting changes to the retail award, which would allow 1.2 million part-time employees to work extra shifts without receiving penalty rates.
The agreement to change the
General Retail Industry Award was first struck between the peak retail union, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, and Master Grocers Australia, which represents independent grocers, and now has the backing of both COSBOA and the ACTU.