Page 860 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 22 March 2017
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The federal government is out of touch. The Prime Minister has previously called himself a feminist, yet he is seeking to cut the pay in industries that are predominantly female. Women are also more likely to be working part time in these sectors, making the loss of income even more devastating. Cutting workers’ pay in these industries will worsen the gender pay gap.
Yet again, the Prime Minister has shown how he will sell out his principles to satisfy the right wing of his party. The federal government has nothing but contempt for these members of our community. However, my colleagues and I in the Labor Party will support these workers.
We are not alone in our view that these devastating cuts are deeply unfair. The wider Australian community shares our view of a fair go as well. A recent Essential Poll found that 81 per cent of Australians support penalty rates and a further 63 per cent think those who work on a Sunday should be paid more than if they were working on a Saturday.
More than 5,900 Australians made submissions to the Fair Work Commission and over 95 per cent of these submissions were in favour of penalty rates. Last year, company profits rose by 20 per cent, whilst wage increases slowed to 1.8 per cent. It is clear to me who in our community needs a pay cut, and it is not the workers of Australia.
Despite these facts, the federal Liberal government will do anything for their mates in big business, all the while letting working Australians suffer. Not only will these cuts have a hugely negative impact on individual workers; they will have a negative impact on the Australian economy. In Australia, income inequality is at a 75-year high. Real national disposable income per capita has fallen by 3.2 per cent since September 2013 and wage growth is the slowest it has been since the 1990s.
The economic argument for decreasing penalty rates is deeply flawed. Reducing the wages of Australians reduces demand in an environment where domestic consumption has taken on a more central role in underpinning economic growth. The argument for job creation is refuted by facts. Historical data shows that higher wages are more often associated with stronger employment outcomes, not weaker.
This is in part because household consumption spending, which depends directly on wages, is critical for economic growth. Businesses may now be able to spend less to be open on Sundays, but a huge proportion of customers now have significantly less money to spend.
In the ACT, this Labor government has ensured that people are compensated fairly for working unsociable hours. I am proud to be a member of this ACT Labor government that passed legislation last year to confirm Easter Sunday as a public holiday so as to ensure workers receive the appropriate penalty rates. Our government made a submission to the Fair Work Commission urging them to leave penalty rates at their current levels. The Labor Party will never accept a cut to penalty rates if it means a cut to workers’ overall take-home pay.
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