Nurses, cleaners,
community, social, disability and construction workers are all at risk of
having their penalty rates cut following the recent Fair Work Commission (FWC)
decision.
The Australian Council of
Trade Unions (ACTU) has received independent legal advice that shows the FWC
decision opens the door to penalty rate cuts in other sectors for many, many
workers.
The advice from law firm
Maurice Blackburn shows that while some people think the penalty rates decision
only affects hospitality and retail workers, it in fact puts other sectors at
risk of penalty rates cuts.
Maurice Blackburn advised
this is because the factors the FWC considered, including consumer expectation
for services on weekends and public holidays, might be applied to other awards
and sectors.
Maurice Blackburn advised
the other sectors at risk include:
- aged and
health care staff;
- nurses;
- transport
workers;
- security
personnel;
- cleaners;
- construction
workers;
- clerical
workers;
- laundry
and dry cleaning workers;
- hair and
beauty specialists;
- miners;
- social,
community, disability and home care workers; and
- nursery
workers.
Quotes attributable
to ACTU President Ged Kearney:
“We now know that all
workers who receive penalty rates and work unsociable hours are at risk of
having their penalty rates and public holiday pay cut.”
“The independent legal
advice we received on the FWC penalty rate decision said nurses, teachers,
community, disability, social, and transport workers, among many others, are
also at risk of losing their penalty rates.”
“The FWC said hospitality
and retail were different to other award-dependent sectors, however the advice
the ACTU has received confirms this doesn't prevent penalty rates from being
cut in other sectors.”
“The safety net is broken and must be immediately strengthened to ensure no
Australian worker sees their pay go backwards.”
“The Turnbull Government
opposes penalty rates and won’t protect them even though it has the chance,
which is why Australian Unions will not stop campaigning until this decision is
overturned with legislation that protects penalty rates and other conditions
for workers.”
Quotes attributable
to Giri Sivaraman, Principal in Employment Law at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers:
“Whilst the FWC went to
great pains to state they were only considering the hospitality and retails
awards, in reality their findings could be applied to many other industries,”
“In our view, this decision
leaves the door wide open for any industry that works weekends and public
holidays to also be hit with the same penalty rate cuts that will soon affect
retail and hospitality workers.”
“The Commission based its
decision on the basis that consumers now expect services to be available
outside of ‘normal hours’. In our view however, based on this reasoning there
is now no barrier to penalty rate cuts being extended to any other industry
that also has to work weekends or public holidays, including nursing and health
care, transport, security, cleaning services, construction, clerical workers,
laundry services, hair and beauty industries, trainers, mining and factories.”
“Many workers in these industries, like retail and hospitality workers, are reliant on penalty rates to make ends meet. A broadening of penalty rates cuts to these other industries will be a significant hit for workers right around Australia.”
Media contact: Antonia Acott 0418 793 885 or ACTU Media 03 9664 7315
