WAGES – RETAIL TRADE EMPLOYEES – AUSTRALIA

End to Godfreys deal paying $160 too little

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 2 : 7-Nov-18

The Fair Work Commission has terminated an enterprise agreement for employees of vacuum cleaner retailer Godfreys that has been in place since 2009. The non-union agreement included wage rates that were $160 per week lower than the award minimum, while casual loadings were also well below the award rate. Godfreys argued that employees could be paid more than the award rate when commissions are taken into account. The enterprise agreement had expired in 2012.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, GODFREYS GROUP LIMITED, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION

Woolworths strikes new EBA deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 21-Aug-18

The take-home pay of current Woolworths employees will not be affected by a new enterprise bargaining agreement that has been struck with the Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ Association. Employees will receive the full penalty rates and casual loading rates of the retail industry award, although "loaded" base rates will be reduced. The new EBA also includes an employee bonus of up to $1,100 dollars. Retail & Fast Food Workers Union secretary Josh Cullinan claims that Woolworths employees are collectively owed about $1bn under the previous EBA.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, RETAIL AND FAST FOOD WORKERS UNION INCORPORATED, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Union push for weekend casual pay rises

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 6-Aug-18

The Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ ­Association will push for casual workers’ loadings to be increased from 10 per cent to 50 per cent on Saturdays. The SDA is also seeking a loading of 25 per cent for staff who work after 6pm on weeknights, in addition to the 25 per cent casual loading at present. The Australian Retailers Association’s executive director Russell Zimmerman argues that many casual workers in the retail sector can only work after 6pm, and they may not be given extra shifts if employment costs increase. The full bench of the Fair Work Commission will hear the wage claim on 16 August.

CORPORATES
SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU

Shorten, Swan sharpen class warfare attacks

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tom McIlroy, Michael Bailey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 2-Jul-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has committed to reversing weekend penalty rate cuts within 100 days of taking office if Labor wins the next election. Penalty rate cuts in sectors such as retailing took effect on 1 July. However, Council of Small Business Organisations CEO Peter Strong argues that many large retailers already have lower penalty rates under enterprise agreements that were negotiated by unions. Meanwhile, Labor’s national president Wayne Swan has defended Shorten’s stance on reversing company tax cuts, but concedes that he should not have announced the policy before consulting with the shadow cabinet.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS SUPERMARKETS, McDONALD’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Caltex franchisee fined over false pay records

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Anna Patty
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 24 : 28-Jun-18

The Federal Circuit Court has ordered former Caltex petrol station franchise operator Aulion to pay fines totalling $A80,190 for falsifying its employees’ wage records. The franchise’s owner Peter Dagher in turn has been fined $A16,038. The service station at Five Docks in Sydney is one of 15 that were investigated by the Fair Work Ombudsman over concerns about wage exploitation. The penalties for non-compliance have been significantly increased since 2016, when the breaches in question occurred.

CORPORATES
CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, AULION PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Restaurants, cafes back retail call for pay freeze

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan, Simone Fox Koob
The Australian – Page: 5 : 15-Mar-18

The restaurant and catering industry association has voiced its support for the National Retail Association’s call for the minimum wage to be left unchanged in 2018. Its submission to the Fair Work Commission argues that a rise in the minimum wage cannot be justified given the current economic conditions. The Australian Retailers Association has proposed increasing the minimum wage by $A13.20 a week, in line with the inflation rate, while Master Grocers Australia has called for a rise of just $A7.20 a week.

CORPORATES
RESTAURANT AND CATERING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, MASTER GROCERS’ AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ACTU, IGA, FOODWORKS SUPERMARKET GROUP LIMITED, BOTTLE-O, MITRE 10 LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

Retailers seek minimum-wage freeze

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 14-Mar-18

National Retail Association CEO Dominique Lamb says the Fair Work Commission should leave the minimum wage unchanged in 2018, arguing that retailers cannot afford a rise in base wages given the current trading conditions. In contrast, the Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry has proposed increasing the minimum wage by $A13.20 per week, while the ACTU has pushed for a rise of $A50 a week. Labor in turn has called for an above-inflation increase in the minimum wage.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL RETAIL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Fair Work slams Caltex franchise model

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Adele Ferguson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 5-Mar-18

Service station operator Caltex Australia advised in the week ending 2 March that it will abandon the franchise model for its outlets. Its announcement preceded a rather damning report into its franchise model by the Fair Work Ombudsman, with an audit finding that 76 per cent of franchised Caltex stores it examined were exploiting their staff. Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says that in light of its report, she is not surprised by Caltex’s decision to exit franchising.

CORPORATES
CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, PIZZA HUT AUSTRALIA, UNITED PETROLEUM PTY LTD

Penalty-rate victory for Coles workers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 2 : 24-Jan-18

The Shop Distributive & Allied Employees’ ­Association has negotiated a new enterprise agreement with grocery giant Coles that includes higher penalty rates for staff who work at night and on weekends. The deal includes an annual pay rise for all employees, and a one-off payment to ensure that their take-home pay is not adversely affected by the new wage deal. Coles workers will vote on the proposed enterprise agreement in mid-February. Coles and the SDA have been negotiating a new deal for about 12 months.

CORPORATES
COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Exploited worker told ‘keep quiet or else’ about underpayment

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 7 : 23-Oct-17

The Federal Circuit Court has ordered Haim and Rina Diamond to pay more than $A70,000 after breaching workplace laws. They were found to have underpaid employees – who were primarily foreign students or visitors on working holiday visas – more than $A34,000 over a six-month period. The couple were also accused of providing false and misleading records to Fair Work inspectors and threatening to report an employee to immigration officials for breaching the conditions of her student visa if she did not withdraw a complaint about her wages.

CORPORATES
FEDERAL CIRCUIT COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF IMMIGRATION AND BORDER PROTECTION