WAGES – HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Turnbull and Hanson back penalty pay cut

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 6-Mar-17

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the Coalition accepts and supports the Fair Work Commission’s decision to reduce Sunday penalty rates. He also favours reducing penalty rates over a period of time to offset the impact on after-tax pay. One Nation founder Pauline Hanson also says she supports lower penalty rates "in principle". Hanson argues that small food retailers cannot compete with big chains whose employees’ union-negotiated enterprise bargaining agreements do not include penalty rates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Abbott: PM must sell penalty rates cut harder

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly, David Crowe, Ewin Hannan, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 3-Mar-17

Some Coalition MPs have urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to more actively promote the economic benefits of the Fair Work Commission’s decision on Sunday penalty rates. Former prime minister Tony Abbott has also urged Turnbull to place more emphasis on the potential for job creation as a result of the ruling, and says a proposal by Coalition backbencher Eric Abetz to "grandfather" the new penalty rates regime has merit. However, this is opposed by employers’ groups and the Australian Labor Party.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Shorten pays penalty as IR attack undermined

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 24-Feb-17

The ACTU estimates that employees affected by the Fair Work Commission’s ruling on Sunday penalty rates face a reduction of between $1,800 and $A6,600 in their take-home pay. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has committed to overturning the FWC’s decision, but Employ­ment Minister Michaelia Cash notes that the FWC was given powers to review penalty rates when Shorten was workplace relations minister. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in turn noted that Shorten has previously said he would accept the FWC’s ruling on penalty rates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, TOURISM ACCOMMODATION AUSTRALIA, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Clubs face union threat on penalties

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 24-Nov-16

The Queensland branch of United Voice has sent letters to club managers warning them of the possible consequences of reducing Sunday penalty rates. The union asks clubs to specify their position on Clubs Australia’s application for a reduction in Sunday wages, lodged with the Fair Work Commission. Clubs Queensland CEO Doug Flockhart and club managers have accused the union of using bullying tactics.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, CLUBS QUEENSLAND, CLUBS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND INCORPORATED, UNITED VOICE, REDLANDS SPORTING CLUB, MORETON BAY BOAT CLUB, SOUTHPORT SHARKS CLUB

Hotel chain ripped off migrant cleaners

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 9-Nov-16

An audit undertaken by Oaks Hotels and Resorts revealed that 1,502 migrant workers were collectively underpaid some $A1.9m in the year to August 2016. The hotel chain undertook the audit after the Fair Work Ombudsman threatened to launch legal action over allegations of wage exploitation by an Oaks subsidiary, Housekeepers Pty Ltd. The company had deemed the migrant workers at 40 of its hotels to be independent contracts rather than employees. It initially provided 16 workers with some $A13,000 in back pay, but the FWO subsequently found that the underpayments had continued.

CORPORATES
OAKS HOTELS AND RESORTS LIMITED, HOUSEKEEPERS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, UNITED VOICE, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX

Turnbull throws down the gauntlet on IR reform

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 26-Jul-16

The Fair Work Commission is tipped to announce the outcome of its review of weekend penalty rates in sectors such as hospitality and retail in September 2016. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated that the Federal Government will abide by the FWC’s decision and will not intervene, despite being urged by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to make a joint submission to the review. Turnbull in turn has called on Shorten to support proposed legislation to outlaw the payment of "corrupting benefits" by employers to unions in return for surrendering employee entitlements such as penalty rates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, VICTORIA. COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN WORKERS’ UNION-FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIAL, MANUFACTURING AND ENGINEERING EMPLOYEES, CLEANEVENT PTY LTD

United Voice penalty rates push key to marginal swing

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sarah Martin
The Australian – Page: 8 : 7-Jul-16

David McElrea, the assistant secretary of United Voice, says the union movement’s campaign on the issue of penalty rates in 10 marginal was a significant contributor to the large swing to the Australian Labor Party in the federal election. The union-backed campaign included text messages, robocalling and digital advertising, and played on fears that the Coalition would reduce weekend penalty rates in the retail and hospitality sectors if it is re-elected.

CORPORATES
UNITED VOICE, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, REACHTEL PTY LTD

Double hit for Shorten on penalties

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sid Maher, Joe Kelly, Mark Coultan, Paige Taylor
The Australian – Page: 1 : 17-May-16

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has ruled out introducing legislation to protect penalty rates if the Fair Work Commission rules that Sunday rates in sectors such as retailing and hospitality should be reduced. Shorten has reiterated his position that the Australian Labor Party will not oppose the FWC’s ruling, despite pressure from the Australian Greens and the union movement to take action to safeguard penalty rates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ACTU, 3AW SOUTHERN CROSS RADIO PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION

Retailers break ranks on right to refuse shifts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 12-May-16

Four retail industry bodies have made a joint submission to the Fair Work Commission’s review of penalty rates in which they argue that employees should be able to refuse working on Sunday shifts if weekend penalty rates are reduced. However, the Australian Industry Group and the Pharmacy Guild – which represent hospitality industry workers – have in turn argued that there should be no such right of refusal, as it is the same as working a Saturday shift.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, RETAIL COUNCIL LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, MASTER GROCERS’ AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE PHARMACY GUILD OF AUSTRALIA, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN

Unionists descend into business-class warfare

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Elizabeth Colman
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 29-Apr-16

ACTU secretary Dave Oliver has accused Tourism Accommodation Australia chairman Martin Ferguson of hypocrisy. Ferguson has called for Sunday penalty rates in the hospitality industry to be reduced, but Oliver notes that the former federal Australian Labor Party minister’s parliamentary Gold Pass allows him to travel business-class while advocating a reduction in the wages of low-paid employees. The Fair Work Commission is reviewing weekend penalty rates in sectors such as hospitality and retailing.

CORPORATES
ACTU, TOURISM ACCOMMODATION AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA