Coalition voters reject cut in Sunday penalty rates

Date
    December 27, 2015
    Sydney Morning Herald

The Turnbull government will face overwhelming opposition from voters in key Liberal and Nationals seats if it supports the move to cut Sunday penalty rates.   

With Labor and the union movement working hard to persuade voters that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull favours cutting Sunday pay for retail and hospitality workers, exclusive ReachTEL polling conducted for the left-leaning Australia Institute shows the move will face strong opposition from electors in key Coalition seats.


Polling across the federal electorates of Warringah, held by former prime minister Tony Abbott, Dickson, held by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, New England, held by the Nationals' deputy Barnaby Joyce, and the NSW seat of Page on December 17 found between 65 per cent and 79 per cent of people in those electorates want Sunday penalty rates in the retail industry either kept the same or increased.


In Warringah, 51.1 per cent of electors want Sunday rates for retail workers to stay the same and 13.7 per cent want them increased.
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And in Dickson 60.1 per cent per cent want Sunday rates for retail workers to stay the same, while 18.7 per cent want them increased.

Mr Abbott and Mr Dutton are prominent members of the Liberal Party's right wing, the source of strong support within the Coalition for reducing weekend penalty rates.

The ReachTEL polling was conducted two weeks after the Productivity Commission's final report on Australia's workplace relations framework was handed to the Turnbull government and just four days before the report was released to the public on Monday.

Voters were asked about Sunday penalty rates in the retail sector specifically. They were not asked about the hospitality sector.

The Productivity Commission's report recommended that the Fair Work Commission reduce Sunday penalty rates for hospitality and retail workers to match lower time-and-a-half rates paid on Saturdays.

Its recommendation did not extend to emergency workers, nurses, or teachers.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said the idea was something the Fair Work Commission could adopt if it wanted to, but it had nothing to do with the Turnbull government.

"The government has no plans to change penalty rates," Ms Cash said this week.

"Penalty rates are set by the independent Fair Work Commission, just as interest rates are set by another independent body [the Reserve Bank]."

But Labor's employment spokesman Brendan O'Connor has criticised Senator Cash and the Turnbull government for refusing to rule out the recommendation immediately.

"If Malcolm Turnbull and this government does not want to support cutting penalty rates, then they can reject the recommendation of the Productivity Commission today," Mr O'Connor said.

"But the minister has chosen not to do that."

Executive director of the Australia Institute Ben Oquist said the polling showed it was not just Labor voters who were concerned about the cuts to penalty rates.

"It also indicates it would be wise for Malcolm Turnbull to ignore the pleas of those conservative MPs in his ranks, who risk being an electoral liability for the new Prime Minister," Mr Oquist said.

"Public holidays like Christmas and days like Sunday are different to normal workdays and should be treated as such."

The strength of opposition to a reduction in Sunday penalty rates was similar in Mr Joyce's New England, where 55.3 per cent of voters wanted rates to stay the same and 15.4 per cent wanted them increased.

In Page, held by the Nationals' Kevin Hogan, 55.4 per cent of voters wanted rates to stay the same, while 19.2 per cent wanted them increased.

Female voters were more concerned than men about cutting penalty rates.

In Mr Abbott's seat, 68.5 per cent of women wanted rates to stay the same or be increased, compared to 60.9 per cent of men.

In Mr Dutton's seat, 83.7 per cent of women wanted them to stay the same or be increased, compared to 73.7 per cent of men.

There were 743 residents polled in Warringah, 738 in Dickson, 747 in New England, and 762 in Page.

here you go with your lame threats again.

.. weekend penalty rates are a big deal whether you agree with them or not, and a hot topic during any election campaign

you want to  merge threads, go merge all the thousands of anti Muslim threads out there ... or are you worried FD will laugh at your threats the way I do?

Libs will aim to influuence "independent" bodies to "suggest" reduction, then reduce the rates.  After the election win.  They won't say they will commit to one during the campaign.  Ofc.

With Labor and the union movement working hard to persuade voters that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull favours cutting Sunday pay for retail and hospitality workers, exclusive ReachTEL polling conducted for the left-leaning Australia Institute shows the move will face strong opposition from electors in key Coalition seats.   

John Smith wrote on May 14^th, 2016 at 9:55am:

Oh dear you are the goose Johnboy do troll and abuse someone who will appreciate it.
You don't seem to know much about the history of it at all.
Been under a rock too long?
let me try this simple word association for your simple mind...  Sunday, church, day of rest, family...
You are a goose aren't you.

John Smith wrote on May 14^th, 2016 at 2:20pm:

Gee Johnboy....  thanks for that
Still failed history...

Greens look to protect penalty rates   
The Greens claim they are the only party that will protect weekend penalty rates.
Source: AAP
16 May 2016  SBS

The Greens will attempt to steer the second week of the federal election campaign towards workplace relations, claiming they are the only party that will protect weekend penalty rates.

The Fair Work Commission is considering a Productivity Commission recommendation that would reduce Sunday penalty rates to the same level as Saturday.   

It would hit hundreds of thousands of retail and hospitality workers if the commission agrees.   

While Labor is against the change, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has previously said he would accept the decision of the commission.

Greens MP Adam Bandt says such a position is everything that is wrong with Labor.

"They talk tough on protecting weekend rates, but will not do anything to protect weekend rates should they be cut," Mr Bandt told AAP.   

Young people in particular depended on weekend rates to support themselves while studying.

They were already facing unaffordable housing, insecure work and low levels of student assistance, so cutting weekend rates would place them under immense pressure.   

Mr Bandt will announce the Greens' position on penalty rates while campaigning in the inner-Sydney seat of Grayndler - held by Labor's Anthony Albanese - on Monday.

Not really, the ALP have nailed the shortcomings of the proposition.
Anyway we have awards and tribunals to look after wage disputes and claims already.
The Fair Work Commission is looking at this issue right now, surely they are the right people to deal with it, not a political party that could change the rules at any tick of the clock as of ten as they like or after each election.