Wyndham’s late night and weekend retail and hospitality workers face some tough financial decisions in light of plans to cut weekend and late night penalty rates.
The municipality is home to one of the largest workforces impacted by the recent Fair Work Commission recommendations to change Australia’s time-honoured weekend and late night penalty rate pay provisions.
Data from the 2011 Census puts Lalor voters in the top 10 federal electorates to be hardest hit by the pay rate changes, Melbourne being the only other Victorian electorate on the list.
The Fair Work Commission has recommended cutting the Sunday rate paid to casual retail workers from 200 per cent to 175, while full or part-time hospitality workers will have their rate cut from 175 to 150 per cent.
Werribee retail worker Jim is fearful his wage cut will be unfair.
“I study at university full-time, and work on weekends,” he said. “The Sunday rate is something we all fight over, because it’s worth so much.
“If it’s cut, it’ll seriously have an effect on my take-home wage. I can’t work during the week.”
Lalor MP, Labor’s Joanne Ryan, said some workers may lose up to $77 a week.
“As a young mother, I used to leave my child at home with my partner and go and work for four hours on a Sunday, but be paid for eight. I relied on [this] to meet mortgage repayments.”
Ms Ryan called on the government to support the opposition’s move to protect penalty rates when cabinet meets this week.
“There will be a lot of young families in Lalor looking at their weekly budget wondering how they will pay rent,” Ms Ryan said.
The Fair Work Commission is seeking feedback to Sunday penalty rate changes by March 24. Feedback on transitional arrangements for the changes are due by April 7. Submissions: amod@fwc.gov.au
