Labor to kick penalty rate pledge into gear this week

The Labor government is set to follow through on one of its major election campaign promises, putting forward a bill that enshrines penalty rates for 2.6 million Aussie workers.

Amanda Rishworth, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, has announced that Labor will move forward with its election campaign promise of enshrining and thus protecting penalty rates for 2.6 million award-reliant workers across Australia.

After the likes of Woolworths, Coles, Kmart, and Costco backed proposed amendments to the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (GRIA) by the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), unions began sounding the alarm that these major corporations were pushing the strip workers of their penalty rates, urging Labor to intervene.

“Australian unions call on all political parties to pledge they will protect the penalty rates of working Australians from this type of corporate greed,” said ACTU assistant secretary Joseph Mitchell.

According to the ARA, the proposed amendments merely aimed to add better clarity to the complexity of the GRIA award. However, Labor quickly integrated it throughout its successful federal election campaign, with the workplace relations minister announcing the bill’s introduction will commence this week.

“I am pleased to announce that we are one step closer to protecting the penalty rates of millions of modern award-reliant workers. Of course, we know that there are 2.6 million modern award-reliant workers, and many of them rely on penalty rates and overtime for their take-home pay,” Rishworth said.

“The legislation we will be introducing next week will ensure that penalty rates are protected, along with overtime. What the legislation will do will prohibit the ability to take away penalty rates and overtime in an award if anyone is worse off, we know that millions of workers do rely on the safety net of awards, and many rely on the penalty rates to make up their take-home pay.

“Our government is absolutely committed to ensure that penalty rates are protected, and we will take that step in the first week of Parliament.”

Rishworth added: “We want this law passed as a top priority, so workers are protected from the loopholes that see their take-home pay go backwards.”

Speaking on the development of the bill moving ahead, ARA chief executive Chris Rodwell claimed that the government’s decision will “forbid” businesses and their employees from negotiating the incorporation of penalty rates, and highlights that the bill is contrary to its claims of wanting to lift productivity.

“The retail sector employs around 1.4 million Australians, or 10 per cent of the workforce. The GRIA underpins the employment of many of these people, but it fails on so many levels, not least in providing workplace flexibility and job security. It is profoundly complex and confusing, running to 96 pages and including 994 different pay rates.

“Australia’s largest retailers find it difficult to navigate. Our smallest retailers find it near[ly] impossible to interpret. Importantly, it fails employers and employees alike,” Rodwell said.

“The decision also runs contrary to the government’s stated ambitions to lift productivity in this term of government, dampening expectations and putting the conversation on labour productivity in reverse.

“That’s a serious problem given Australia’s industrial relations environment fundamentally fails to support business investment and entrepreneurship. Improvements in living standards will be elusive if we don’t face this problem.

“While enterprise bargaining may align with union objectives of expanding membership, it is not an easy or preferred vehicle for achieving productive and flexible workplace arrangements for small businesses. Instead, it imposes additional costs, complexity and administrative pressures, further straining employers already navigating significant challenges in today’s economic climate.”

Kace O'Neill

Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.