HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Wage freeze needed due to vaccine delays

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 22-Apr-21

The Restaurant & Catering Industry Association has urged the Fair Work Commission to take into account the delay in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines when deciding whether to increase the minimum wage. The RCIA contends that the minimum wage should either be left at its current level in 2021-22 or any increase for workers in hard-hit industries should be delayed until February 2022. ACTU secretary Sally McManus argues that a minimum wage freeze would result in a pay cut in real terms for one in five workers at a time when domestic spending is essential to Australia’s economic recovery.

CORPORATES
RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

Bosses, union unite to save jobs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 25-Mar-20

The Fair Work Commission has approved temporary changes to the industry award for hospitality workers in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The agreement between the United Workers Union and the Australian Hotels Association will allow employers to reduce workers’ hours to 60 per cent of full-time or regular part-time hours; employees can also be directed to take leave at half pay with just 24 hours’ notice. The changes to the Hospitality Award will initially be in place until 30 June. Employers and unions will seek similar changes to awards covering clerks and restaurant workers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNITED WORKERS UNION, AUSTRALIAN HOTELS ASSOCIATION

Merivale reviewing viability due to EBA determination on wages

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 22-Jan-19

Employees of hospitality group Merivale will be shifted to the industry award after the Fair Work Commission terminated an enterprise agreement that had been struck in 2007. Merivale’s submission to the FWC had warned that some of its business practices may not be viable under the industry award, and that some employees may need to be reclassified as a result of the ruling. About 71 per cent of Merivale’s employees are casuals, who did not receive penalty rates and overtime pay under the enterprise agreement.

CORPORATES
MERIVALE GROUP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNITED VOICE

Union deals cut Sunday pay rates

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 30-Aug-17

The Shop Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association and United Voice have struck enterprise bargaining agreements with major employers that either abolish Sunday penalty rates or feature rates that are lower than the industry award. The EBAs cover some 410.000 employees of companies such as Bunnings, McDonald’s, KFC, David Jones and Big W. The EBAs of several large hotel chains also do not include Sunday penalty rates. However, all of the EBAs that were analysed by the Department of Employment trade off penalty rates in return for higher base hourly wage rates.

CORPORATES
SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, UNITED VOICE, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KFC, DAVID JONES LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, DAN MURPHY’S, THE REJECT SHOP LIMITED – ASX TRS, PROUDS JEWELLERS PTY LTD, IKEA TRADING PTY LTD, PRICELINE PTY LTD, INTER-CONTINENTAL HOTELS GROUP, SHERATON MIRAGE GOLD COAST HOTEL, LANGHAM HOTELS INTERNATIONAL, PARK ROYAL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, GRILL’D PTY LTD, ESTEE LAUDER PTY LTD, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, RACV CLUBS AND RESORTS, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Government revisits ‘backpacker tax’

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 17-Mar-16

Tourism and International Education Minister Richard Colbeck says the Australian Government may reconsider elements of its proposed tax on people who hold working holiday visas. The so-called ‘backpacker tax’ is slated to take effect on 1 July 2016, and will abolish the tax-free threshold for temporary workers. Colbeck has conceded that changes may be necessary to avoid a shortage of staff in sectors such as tourism and hospitality.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TOURISM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TTF AUSTRALIA LIMITED TOURISM AND TRANSPORT FORUM, NORTHERN TERRITORY. DEPT OF THE CHIEF MINISTER, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Penalty rates are real money for real people

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jo-Anne Schofield
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 63 : 29-Oct-15

There is pressure from employers in Australia’s hospitality and tourism sectors to reduce weekend penalty rates, but such a move would be unfair to workers. They often earn close to the minimum wage. Employers claim that the reduction in penalty rates would have beneficial effects, but their arguments are flawed.

CORPORATES
ACTU, VICTORIAN TRADES HALL COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, TOURISM ACCOMMODATION AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNITED VOICE

Hospitality workers underpaid $1.2m

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 25-Jun-15

Data from the Fair Work Ombudsman shows that 2,752 restaurant and cafe employees were not paid their full wage entitlements in 2012-13. It is estimated that they were collectively underpaid some $A1.215m. Penalty rates for working on weekends accounted for 17 per cent of the underpayments. Restaurant & Catering Australia CEO John Hart says the report has coincided with the upcoming deadline for employers to make final submissions to the Fair Work Commission on penalty rates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Appeal lost on Sunday rates

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 27-Aug-14

The Federal Court of Australia has rejected a bid to overturn the Fair Work Commission’s ruling that penalty rates for hospitality workers should be reduced. The appeal was lodged by the United Voice union, after the Restaurant & Catering Association of Victoria and Australian Business Industrial succeeded in a bid to have Sunday penalty rates reduced. Many restaurant and cafe owners do not open on weekends due to high penalty rates

CORPORATES
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF VICTORIA, RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, UNITED VOICE, AUSTRALIAN BUSINESS INDUSTRIAL, GARFISH, NSW BUSINESS CHAMBER LIMITED

Sharp end of PIN changes

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Shaun Drummond, Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 1-Aug-14

Restaurant & Catering Australia CEO John Hart says the hospitality industry will incur higher costs due to the abolition of signatures for credit card transactions. He notes that most restaurants will need to buy additional mobile payment terminals in response to the PIN-only regime. Meanwhile, Melbourne restaurateur Eric Duong is concerned that older customers in particular may not have made the change to PINs

CORPORATES
RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, MAN MO RESTAURANT, RETAIL FINANCE INTELLIGENCE PTY LTD, DAVID’S ZHOU ZHOU BAR AND ORIENTAL TEAHOUSE, TYRO PAYMENTS, PAYPAL INCORPORATED