Ewin Hannan, Industrial editor
    From: The Australian
    February 14, 2012


RETAILERS have demanded cuts to employee entitlements to compensate for rising labour costs resulting from Labor's award overhaul, as the retail slump claims Sleep City as its latest victim.   >:(

PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed voluntary administrator of Sleep City's parent company Furniture and Bedding Concepts and related entities. The 64-store bedding chain employs about 450 people.

In a submission to Fair Work Australia's award modernisation review, the National Retail Association has called for cuts in the penalty rates and casual loading paid to retail employees.   >:(

The association wants minimum-wage employees to be able to trade higher wages and penalties for access to commissions and incentive payments.

The tribunal is required under the Fair Work Act to conduct a review of modern awards this year and employers are pushing for changes that address the increases in costs they claim occurred as a result of the original overhaul.


"For the majority of retailers, the modern award, in the first instance, led to higher labour costs and greatly reduced flexibility," the association's submission says.

"The award review process now creates the opportunity for employers to achieve productivity offsets to reimburse them for the increase in labour costs which should never have eventuated."

It calls for the removal of late night penalties applying on weekdays; a cut in the Sunday penalty from double time to time and a half, and the reduction in the casual loading from 25 to 23 per cent.   :(

The association's executive director, Gary Black, said retailers wanted an incentive-based pay structure but could not afford to have the new system exist in addition to the modern award rates.

Under the proposals, employees would initially forgo about $80 a week in wages and penalty rates, but he said they would be able to recoup that amount if they met performance targets.

Mr Black said the proposed scheme would "deliver employers the flexibility to structure remuneration to allow for a fixed base pay component and an incentive component".

He said the Gillard government had broken its promise that the award overhaul was not intended to increase costs for employers.

The proposed changes were needed "to fulfil the initial promise the introduction of the new award would be labour cost neutral, and to inject some flexibility in the current one-size-fits-all instrument".

"The . . . old manufacturing notion factories close on weekends and employment on weekends must be discouraged is completely out of step with the modern Australian economy," he said.   :(

"The . . . old manufacturing notion factories close on weekends and employment on weekends must be discouraged is completely out of step with the modern Australian economy," he said                                       Yes and the old notion, that workers don't get weekend penalty rates, is also completely out of step.   ;)

Quote:

The association wants minimum-wage employees to be able to trade higher wages and penalties for access to commissions and incentive payments.

Nothing stopping them from paying extra if they want too.

Why would they ask for this if it didn't mean they would be saving money by paying less overall.

Why would they ask for this if it didn't mean they would be saving money by paying less overall.


Many times I have said you have no idea. Again you proved me correct.

blackadder wrote on Feb 14^th, 2012 at 7:18am:

Why would they ask for this if it didn't mean they would be saving money by paying less overall. Many times I have said you have no idea. Again you proved me correct.

You have nothing to say as usual - nothing at all. 8-)

The Political class best forget about this crap - it will be the French Revolution with them non the Menu... 8-)

PricewaterhouseCoopers has been appointed voluntary administrator of Sleep City's parent company Furniture and Bedding Concepts and related entities. The 64-store bedding chain employs about 450 people.

Another business is going down the gurgler and all you cretins can attach your anger to is business calling for more help to stay afloat!

We are pricing our selves out of jobs, idiots.

Someone needs to stand up and say enough is enough, to save jobs and industry the cost of living along with the cost of wages needs to come down.

What morons you all are….the ride is over tools, and our bubble has not yet burst.

Where will all you hands out, gimme gimme gimme morons be then?

Given that a retail sales assistant's base rate is $17.03 an hour* - it puts them
( ... along with their comrades in hospitality) among the LOWEST paid workers in the nation ...

Any idea of a pay CUT - in gross weekly earnings is NOTHING short of OFFENSIVE - in suggesting these workers should cover the slump in retail sales

Ask ANYONE in EITHER field - and they will confirm it's ONLY penalty rates that keep them afloat




* ... many retail staff are on permanent-part-time arrangements of 30 hour weeks
This gives a GROSS ( ...pre-tax) income of $510.90 per week - or $26566.90 pre tax, per annum



Who can "live" on THAT - when paying up to $300 a week in RENT ?

buzzanddidj wrote on Feb 14^th, 2012 at 11:05am:

Who can "live" on THAT - when paying up to $300 a week in RENT ? [/size]

The rent is the problem not the wage FFS. :-X

In fairness, in hospitality, the rate for Sundays is Time and 3 quarters, and Saturdays is Time and a Half.

Retailers are paying 25% more on a Sunday than us.

Knowing out base employees get $29.80 an hour, it seems hardly fair the retailers should be paying $4.26 an hour more for people to work the same time, when their base rates are actually the same.

In manufacturing the rate for Saturday is, time and a half the first 3 hours then double time.  Sunday the rate is double all day.   :)   

Gotta love the way they look STRAIGHT at wages as being the reason
they're going broke, but ignore the cost of rent and utilities, plus all
the red-tape and crap that running a business involves. It ALL costs,
not just the wages.

And it's the overheads, not wages, that are sending
companies broke/offshore/both.

The money you pay in rent, power, phone, rates etc don't do a
smacking thing to make you money.

But a good employee will make you money.

Look to cutting expenditure elsewhere before cutting wages.

OR STAFF!