’Dodgy’ union wage deals exposed: Fast-food, hospitality and retail workers ripped off on Sundays

EXCLUSIVE: BILL Shorten’s war on penalty rates changes has been torpedoed by revelations his union backers signed deals leaving fast-food workers on less than they would receive under the proposed cuts.

• MALCOLM TURNBULL ACCUSED OF ‘TWEET MELTDOWN’
• WELFARE RECIPIENTS COULD LOSE CONCESSIONS

LABOR and the unions have been branded hypocrites for trying to block the proposed cuts to weekend penalty rates while at the same time backing wage deals that allow fast-food ­giants like McDonald’s and KFC to pay their staff less than the Fair Work Commission’s suggested new pay level.

Union-sanctioned enterprise bargaining agreements mean many workers at the ­nation’s large fast-food chains earn about $3 an hour less now than they would even under the FWC’s lower Sunday penalty rates.

Burglary with the lot: Opposition Leader Bill Shorten (pictured eating a sausage sandwich at Election Day), has been urged to start opposing union deals. Picture Kym Smith

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will today release ­details of how union pay deals have short-changed fast-food, hospitality and retail workers by cutting deals with the big chains so their staff receive up to $10 an hour less on Sundays than family-run businesses.

Mr Turnbull will also move to ban secret payments between businesses and unions of the kind revealed by the Royal Commission into Trade Unions involving Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s former union, the Australian Workers’ Union, when the Labor leader was at the helm.

Mr Turnbull’s laws will involve maximum sentences of 10 years in jail and a $900,000 fine for individuals who infringe them, and a $4.5 million fine for corporations.

The Heydon royal commission uncovered a raft of payments between employers and unions, which it called “corrupting benefits” designed to ensure companies favourable treatment from unions.

It is estimated that more than 250,000 workers employed in the retail and fast-food sector receive a total of at least $300 million a year less, due to below-award EBAs.

Government figures show a family chicken shop pays its staff $29.16 an hour on Sundays — more than the KFC rate of just $21.19 an hour.

A family takeaway must also pay $29.16 an hour, while the McDonald’s Sunday rate in some regions is just $21.08.

Bed and breakfast businesses must pay $31.87 an hour — $10 more than the $21.63 paid by a five-star hotel. And while a family greengrocer is forced to cough up $37.05 an hour, Woolworths pays just $31.79.

Bill Shorten’s war on Sunday penalty rate changes has been torpedoed by revelations his union backers have signed deals leaving thousands of fast-food workers shortchanged.

Fast food chains like McDonalds Union are able to pay workers about $3 an hour less than they would receive under the new Sunday penalty rates thanks to Union-sanctioned enterprise bargaining agreements.

The differences are all due to union-sanctioned pay deals with big businesses.

There are several enterprise agreements across the country that fail the Better Off Overall Than The Award Test — or the former No Disadvantage Test.

In one instance, the royal commission into union corruption revealed packaging giant Visy was making payments worth $190,000 to the AWU. Research by Assistant Minister for Industry Craig Laundy shows that at the same time it was ­underpaying its workers

Small business owners like Melina and Frank Michalopoulos, who run Big Bunz, a burger shop in Malabar, pay workers a higher Sunday rate than big chains like McDonalds and KFC. Picture: Toby Zerna

“Bill Shorten is a complete hypocrite when it comes to penalty rates,” Mr Turnbull told The Daily Telegraph.

“He trashes the independence of the Fair Work Commission that he helped establish and whose decisions he pledged to support, while ignoring deals between unions and big business that leave many workers up to $10 an hour worse off on a Sunday.

“The government will not stand by and let union bosses and big business rip off workers, including some of the most vulnerable workers — 16- and 17-year-old students.

“If Bill Shorten is serious about protecting the take-home pay of low-paid workers, he should call on the unions and big business to back-pay every worker who is worse off because of these dodgy deals.”

A spokesman for Mr Shorten said: “Bill’s proud of his record putting workers first. All the agreements Bill negotiated were good for workers.”

The PM’s attack comes as the Coalition ­cut Labor’s lead in the opinion polls to 52-48 and lifted Mr Turnbull’s personal ratings, according to the latest Newspoll published in The Australian newspaper.

Assistant Minister for Industry Craig Laundy accused Labor figures of making a career off the back of doing the wrong thing by workers and underpaying them.

The Coalition’s primary vote was also sharply up, from 34 per cent to 37 per cent.

Mr Laundy’s research revealed that if the FWC decision to cut penalty rates were in place today, a small business in the fast-food sector ­operating under the terms of the award would pay a Level 1 worker $184.68 for a 7.6 hour shift on a Sunday.

The same Level 1 worker putting in the same hours for one of the big chains would be paid $161.04 at KFC (Queensland and NSW) and $158.54 at McDonald’s (Tasmania).

Mr Laundy, a former hotelier, said he was angry because he always paid award wages but the unions had allowed situations in other workplaces where this did not happen.

“I and every other small to medium sized business in this country operates under the award,” he said.

“I’ll be buggered if I’m going to be accused of being unfair to workers by people in Labor who have made a career off the back of doing the wrong thing by workers and underpaying them.”

Mr Turnbull’s move comes after the government was asked to make a submission to the FWC on implementing its decision to reduce Sunday penalty rates. It is understood that the government submission will recommend the phasing in of the new penalty rates over a period of years.

CHIPS ARE DOWN FOR THE SMALL BATTLERS

Shaya Laughlin and Annabel Hennessy

SMALL business owners have slammed the fast food giants’ sweetheart deal with the unions, which allows them to pay workers less on Sundays.

Frank Michalopoulos, who runs the Big Bunz burger shop in Malabar with his wife and mother, said it was hard to grow their business when they had to pay staff more on Sundays.

“It’s successful but how successful can it get?” he said.

Melina Michalopoulos said their family worked every Sunday because staff wages were too costly on that day. “We’re lucky because there is no competition from big chains in this area,” she said.

Marina Moreira and Veronica Abreu working at Silvas Portuguese chicken shop in Petersham. Picture: Justin Lloyd

At Petersham, owners Guila and Oslavaldo Da Silva said it was becoming harder for their Silvas restaurant to compete against large businesses such as KFC and McDonald’s.

Mrs Da Silva said they employed about 10 casual staff but the cost of Sunday penalty rates weekends made it hard to break even.

“We might be busier but once you take all the pay, it doesn’t end up very much at all,” Mrs Da Silva said.

She said it was unfair big businesses like KFC were able to pay their workers less: “They (pay rates) should be even, or support given to small businesses.”