Penalty rate cut a failed experiment in WA, Labor Senator says
By David Weber
ABC News

Penalty rate cuts would damage the economy and leave vulnerable Western Australian workers worse off, Labor Senator Sue Lines has said.   

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has flagged a move to a "more flexible workplace" and said the future of penalty rates was up to the Fair Work Commission and the Productivity Commission.

On the Sunday rate compared to Saturday, he said: "The only reason they're different, I assume, is history."

Senator Lines said cuts in WA in the past did not noticeably improve employment.

"WA is a good case for the Productivity Commission to look at what happened under the [Richard] Court government, we did not see a dramatic reduction in unemployment rates and we did not see a dramatic increase in employment rates," she said.   

"What we saw were wages drop significantly, particularly penalty rates.

"That's the standout reason why women in particular in Western Australia are way behind the national average, because of this failed experiment we had before.

"At the moment in WA when we're facing very high youth unemployment, significantly above the national average, it is not time to start attacking people's take-home pay."

The chair of Labor's Fair Work Taskforce, which is holding hearings in Perth, has also attacked the Prime Minister's comments, saying weekends should be set aside for families and friends.

Lisa Chesters said the weekend that has just passed shows how different they are from weekdays.

    We've heard that workplaces in WA will struggle to fill shifts on weekends without that penalty rate.
    Fair Work Taskforce chair Lisa Chesters

"There aren't too many people who would want to see a grand final on a Tuesday, and there aren't too many people who wanted to work on Saturday or the Sunday, the recovery day after," she said.

"So the Prime Minister may say that, but where was he on Saturday? He was at the grand final in Melbourne.

"Lots of people like their weekends, it's the time to catch up with family, it's the time to catch up with friends."

Labor's taskforce was set up earlier this year to gather information from employees, employers, unions, academics and experts about potential threats to jobs, penalty rates and the minimum wage.

It is in Perth to gather information about the impact of any potential changes to penalties and the minimum wage.

Federal Liberal MPs have flagged the need to cut penalties and the Premier Colin Barnett has spoken of the need to cut Sunday rates in particular.   

The Employment Minister, WA Senator Michaelia Cash, has said Sunday penalties deterred weekend work, but she said any proposed changes would be taken to an election.

But Labor believes that rather than benefiting from a penalty rate cut, the economy would suffer as there would be less money for workers to spend.

Ms Chesters said she feared that talking about the Sunday double time rate was only the beginning.   

"It's a bit like a cookie, you take a bite, they'll want to eat the whole thing, it's sending shockwaves throughout workplaces," she said.

"We've heard that workplaces in WA will struggle to fill shifts on weekends without that penalty rate."

Thanks for pointing out this important information for us Senator Sue Lines.   

Quote:

The elephant in the room that conservatives ignore!