News

The SDA has today called for the Fair Work Commission’s (FWC) decision on Sunday and public holiday penalty rates to be set aside due to the hardship it will cause low income workers and their families. Consistent with the views of the Victorian and South Australian Government’s and recent economic research the SDA has determined that no program of phasing

Read more

Today’s report in The Daily Telegraph ’Dodgy’ union wage deals exposed: Fast-food, hospitality and retail workers ripped off on Sundays (20/3/17) includes claims regarding penalty rates for fast food workers which are deliberately misleading and deceptive. As is typical of reporting on this issue by News Limited the article takes the example of Sunday penalty rates completely in isolation of

Read more

As she waves through cuts to penalty rates Workplace Minister Michaelia Cash’s efforts to manipulate complex data from industrial agreements is an effort to score cheap political points (Penalty rates a big deal for small business, as two-faced Shorten knows, The Australian 15/3).   The Minister grasps at numbers to downplay the impact of the recent Fair Work Commission to

Read more

Today’s report in The Age ‘Bill Shorten’s penalty rates onslaught might not be so smart after all’ (13/3/17) includes claims in regard to penalty rates and wage outcomes which are deliberately misleading.   To state that the SDA “….traded away on a massive scale their members penalty rates” without any reference to the higher weekday rates, enhanced public holiday entitlements,

Read more

Today’s report in The Australian ‘Business calls for inquiry on union involvement in cutting penalty rates’ (9/3/17) includes claims by the business community which are wrong and misleading. Business spokespeople are quick to point to an EBA Sunday rate of 150% but conveniently ignore the higher base rates and other employee benefits in union EBAs. When an EBA has a

Read more