Why Protect Penalty Rates? Here’s What You Said

The Fair Work Commission is currently reviewing penalty rates in the hospitality and retail sectors. The proposal on the table is to cut the current Sunday rate – a move that would devastate the hundreds of thousands of workers across the country who rely on penalty rates to help make ends meet.

As well as taking submissions from unions, business groups and other interested parties, the Fair Work Commission asked to hear from you – the workers. SDA members sent so many submissions that the Fair Work Commission simply couldn’t handle any more.

Personal stories can make all the difference in cases like this, and the stories you told the Commission were powerful. Here are just some examples.

 


“I am a full-time student and a full-time worker, and to be able to work and study simultaneously, penalty rates are very important to me. I have to work nights and public holidays just to afford paying my rent, bills and put food on my table. Taking away penalty rates will leave me without dinner, force me to wear old and ripped clothing and walk 45 minutes to work instead of catching a bus.”

- Mykola


“I work on weekends not by choice, but by necessity. I have had a change of circumstances and at 54 and now a single parent, have had to re-enter the workforce in order to provide for my son and myself. Whilst penalty rates can’t replace being with my family on the weekend, it does compensate missing out on family time.”

- Francine


“I am a single mother in charge of three children, working part-time as a retail assistant. My fortnightly hours keep getting cut to avoid being paid overtime. Receiving penalty rates is essential for my family’s survival as we need that extra income, however little it may be. I don’t enjoy spending time away from my family on the weekend but it’s a necessity.”

– Mina


“I need penalty rates so that I can pay my phone bill and my opal card. Being 18 years old, I don’t get paid the full [adult] rate so every extra cent counts and is essential to me.”

– Emma


“I do a hard day’s work in a stressful, physically challenging retail environment, facing, at times, difficult management and often a regular stream of abuse from customers - all for relatively low pay. The little bit extra on Sunday makes a big difference to my wellbeing and motivation.”

– John


 

“I work unsociable hours due to the fact that I can be paid with penalty rates. If these rates are cut I wouldn’t be willing to work these hours.”

– Rachel


 

“We should be compensated for working unsociable hours. I spend time with family and attend Church on Sundays and it is only fair that I’m given penalty rates to compensate for missing out on these activities.”

- Brendan


 

“As an employee with disability, I work hard by starting at one in the morning even on Sundays and public holidays, to get extra money to pay my bills so that I can live independently by myself and not rely upon Centrelink. I also want to enjoy weekends and public holidays but I do sacrifice to survive, a survival of respect in the society. A survival to live in a society independently and proactively.”

- Muhammed


 

“I am currently a 5th year medical student working at Woolworths. As a senior medical student, I do a clerkship in a hospital from 8 to 5 daily from Monday to Friday, leaving me only the weekends for part-time work to earn some cash for savings and expenses. Currently, I am making ends meet thanks to the penalty rates on weekends. If these were removed/reduced, I would be heavily impacted by the reduction in my wages, putting me in financial crisis.”

- Sean


 

“As a full-time tertiary student, I already struggle to make ends meet. Paying penalty rates to workers for late nights, weekends and public holidays is only fair. I already sacrifice time with family and loved ones out of economic imperative. I only do so as I need that extra cash to supplement an already meagre income. If it weren’t for fair penalty rates I may have to terminate my studies, thereby undermining my ability to contribute to society and the economy in the future.”

- Lyn


 

“I work in retail, and if you were to cut my penalty rates I would be financially ruined. I am a single mother that has come from a violent past with my daughter’s father. We have finally gotten ourselves on our feet since I started working at [big retailer] and if the penalty rates are cut then I will be unable to live every week on the money I would be earning.”

- Stephanie


 

“Working on weekends eats into time with my family, but sometimes it is a necessary part of retail. The only saving grace to working on weekends is knowing that I will be receiving additional income with the penalty rates. Without the penalty rates, I would most likely not work as it wouldn’t be worth giving up the time with my family.”

– Lynne


HOW CAN YOU HELP PROTECT PENALTY RATES?

  1. Vote to protect penalty rates.
  2. Sign up to the SDA’s protectpenaltyrates.org.au campaign website
  3. Ask your family and friends to sign up too – the more supporters we have, the louder our voice will be.
  4. Like the Protect Penalty Rates Facebook page at www.facebook.com/protectpenaltyrates/
  5. Stay tuned to the campaign and take part in the latest actions.

Together, we can protect our penalty rates.