Australia’s workplace regulator, the Fair Work Commission (FWC), is hearing a proposal to change retail workers’ entitlements.
The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has proposed allowing some workers to exchange penalty rates and overtime for an overall pay rise.
Both the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the Federal Government have formally opposed it, suggesting it undermines workers’ rights.
Amendments
The ARA has proposed allowing higher-level retail staff (e.g. managers) to forgo penalty rates, meal breaks, and overtime, in exchange for a 35% pay rise.
This kind of arrangement is called ‘salary absorption’.
The proposal requires changing the retail award, which sets out pay, conditions, and entitlements for most workers in fashion, food, and department stores.
The ARA says the arrangement would be voluntary for staff to take up.
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Unions
In a statement on Thursday, the ACTU called the proposal “insulting”.
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said the move would “force some lower-paid workers to skip meals, cut back on life’s necessities... just to stay afloat.”
“If the Fair Work Commission signs off on this proposal, penalty rate cuts won’t end with retailers… other employers will be vying to see who the next targets will be,” McManus said.
The ACTU appeared at the FWC to argue against the proposal on Thursday.
In a submission to the FWC in February, lawyers on behalf of Employment Minister Murray Watt said the “trade-off in entitlements” could impact women, given their over-representation in the retail sector.
The submission also noted the proposed increased pay rate is “still... far below average weekly ordinary time earnings for full-time adults”.
“Modern awards [provide] a fair minimum base of terms and conditions of employment... The variation of modern awards... should not result in any reduction in worker entitlements,“ it said.
