The SDA is deeply disappointed by the Fair Work Commission’s decision to cut Sunday and public holiday penalty rates for retail and fast food workers covered by the Award.
We know the devastating impact this will have on thousands of workers who rely on penalty rates to make ends meet.
The vast majority of SDA members are covered by an SDA – negotiated Agreement which means that the Fair Work Commission’s decision will not immediately impact on these member’s take home pay.
However, it will make it more difficult to negotiate around penalty rates in new SDA – negotiated Agreements in the future. However, rest assured, the SDA will, as always, continue to protect your take-home pay and argue the importance of fair compensation for working on Sundays and public holidays when we sit down to negotiate a new Agreement with your employer.
For those on the General Retail Award, the SDA will continue to fight to protect your take-home pay. Our priority is to stand up for you and all workers impacted by this unfair decision.
With your support we have fought hard to protect penalty rates, signing up over 46,000 supporters across the country and making a strong case in the Commission.
Today’s decision to slash the take-home pay of hundreds of thousands of retail and fast food workers covered by the Award is a devastating outcome for working families across the country who will be losing more than $1 billion each year while not creating a single extra job.
Every full-time retail and fast-food worker covered by the Award who works weekends stands to lose $2,000 per year as a result of this decision.
At a time when wages growth is at a record low – Australian workers need a pay rise not a pay cut.
This is devastating for workers and their families – and Malcolm Turnbull and the Liberals are doing nothing to protect the take-home pay of workers.
It is an outrage that the Turnbull Government has sat on its hands as employer groups have fought to cut penalty rates – it can’t sit by and allow penalty rates to disappear.
We must remind them that a cut to penalty rates will hurt workers and their families.
Take action now and call on Malcolm Turnbull and the Liberal Party to protect Penalty Rates:-
- Email Malcolm Turnbull & Liberal Mp’s http://protectpenaltyrates.org.au/fwc/
- Sign up to the campaign www.protectpenaltyrates.org.au
All workers will be affected by this decision, now is the time to join our campaign and sign up a friend to the SDA too. The more members we have, the stronger we are when it comes to bargaining for better outcomes for all workers.
The SDA will continue to update members. We are here to provide you with advice and support. If you have any question, please call 63 318166 or 62 341118.