No penalties, no work'      

Date
    May 20, 2013


Heather Thomas says she would not work in hospitality if weekend penalties were taken away.      

Heather Thomas spends her weekdays at university and her weekends waiting on tables at an inner-city Sydney restaurant.

But the 21-year-old says that, if a push by restaurants across Australia to end extra pay for working weekends and at night is successful, she will be among droves of workers to leave the industry.

''If I wasn't being paid adequately for a weekend I definitely wouldn't go in,'' Ms Thomas said.      

Her evidence has helped form part of union United Voice's argument over penalty rates, which will be heard before the Fair Work Commission on Monday.


The union is responding to a request to the commission by Restaurant and Catering, which represents owners and managers in the industry, to review the award covering restaurant staff.

The association last week argued before the Industrial Relations Commission in Sydney that hospitality employees who now get extra penalty payments for working weekends and nights should lose them.      

Under its application, which the association has said is ''unprecedented'', only those who worked more than five days in a row would be eligible for the extra payments.

The association argues that, ''given the opportunity'', workers will accept weekend work at ordinary rates, without extra payment - thereby helping small business operators to stay afloat.

It also argues that, due to the dramatic change in working hours across society, Australia is now a ''24/7'' economy, and that many who work in the restaurant industry are not disadvantaged by working on weekends or at night.

Ms Thomas disagreed, and said she could work only at weekends due to study commitments. ''Because I work evenings, I don't get to see my family or a lot of my friends who work office jobs,'' the international studies student said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/political-news/no-penalties-no-work-20130519-2juvf.html#ixzz2Tm114vW7

If Heather doesn't want to work, there are plenty who do...

She wants to work two days per week. Why should she be paid excessively for that?

Heartless is going to work Saturday night and Sunday serving ungrateful slobs for $15 /hr.

almost up to 100 threads about penalty rates.  with the amount of whining you do IMFULLOFIT, I am pretty sure there are less people supporting penalty rates than there were at the start. you are a whiner and a bludger

Quote:


Then don't.  There would be plenty of unemployed people that would like a job.  If the employers can't get the numbers then they will pay penalty rates or higher hourly rates as an incentive.

That's an example of true Labour market Mr Crook and not one wharped by regulation and collusion. That's the way it should happen, not collusion by labour cartels to fix wages prices.......that's anti-competitive behaviour, and for business anti-competitive behaviour is outlawed, but for unions, anti-competitive behaviour is the status quo....

Rider wrote on May 20^th, 2013 at 10:05am:


wrong, it was th eindustry that wanted unregulated shopping hours, now the same industry is complaining they cannot afford to staff those hours ... they should have thought of that before asking for the extra hours.

Swagman wrote on May 20^th, 2013 at 9:55am:



It's nothing of the kind, and you well know it.

Don't try to tell me business doesn't collude to lower wages and remove conditions. You cannot
condemn one, and approve the other.

Small business is over-regulated, but big business isn't regulated anywhere near harshly enough.