Page 1966 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 5 August 2014
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and Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Master Builders Association. Members were initially given seven weeks to respond, and this period was later extended to encourage submissions. No submissions were received. Employer groups raised their objection to additional public holidays at the Work Safety Council meeting, and these were considered during the development of this bill.
In December 2013, the previous Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations, Simon Corbell, wrote to the Canberra Business Council to seek comment on the proposal, and gave them a significant period to provide submissions. The Australian Hotels Association is a kindred organisation of the Canberra Business Council.
I am informed by Mr Corbell, the responsible minister at the time, that he met personally with members from the AHA to address concerns about their perceived lack of consultation on the bill. The Australian Hotels Association also raised specific concerns around the impact of penalty rates, citing the results of its recent member survey, which showed that 55.56 per cent of hotels planned to reduce services over the Easter period for this reason, and more than 61 per cent of members did not operate as normal on Good Friday and Easter Monday, with 92 per cent of those blaming penalty rates.
There are various studies and views around the impact of penalty rates on the hospitality sector, with far-ranging results. Later this year, the Productivity Commission is expected to undertake an inquiry into the Fair Work Act 2009, the commonwealth act, which is likely to include the impact of penalty rates on business. I am looking forward to the opportunity to contribute to the review of the Fair Work Act and I am expecting that the government will prepare a submission to the Productivity Commission to ensure that the rights of workers are protected and retained in the interests of fairness.
In 2009, Professor Joellen Riley was engaged by the New South Wales government to conduct a review of the Banks and Bank Holidays Act 1912, with a view to recommending measures for modernising the recognition of public holidays in the state. Importantly, her work was significant in the New South Wales government’s forming the view that the influence of the movement of certain public holidays to additional days other than the significant day itself restricted the ability for Australians as working citizens and members of families and communities to enjoy the celebration of community holidays.
Particular times of the year permit people, especially those whose families are separated by distance, to join together. This is particularly true at Christmas. The health and social wellbeing of people, supported by their ability to maintain some family connections, are a valuable good to be weighed heavily in the balance against the interests of other groups.
The grievance experienced by those who are forced to work on Christmas Day far outweighs the inconvenience caused to people who wish to eat at a restaurant or use some other service which may be unavailable or in some way altered due to the day being a public holiday. It should not fall upon employees who have often irregular
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