Opposition Leader Bill Shorten pledges to reverse penalty rate cuts

SUNDAY penalty rate cuts for retail, hospitality and fast food workers from this weekend would be reversed if Bill Shorten wins the next election, the Labor leader has pledged.

National MP defies govt on penalty rates Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has flagged a major shift in his party’s stance on penalty rates. picture: AAP Image/Joe Castro

• Penalty rate cuts loom for workers
• Weekend penalty rate cut coming
• Waging war on Sunday penalty rates
• Bill Shorten’s burglary with the lot

SUNDAY penalty rate cuts for retail, hospitality and fast food workers from this weekend would be reversed if Labor leader Bill Shorten wins the next election.

The Opposition Leader has flagged a major shift in his party’s stance during the last election to establish the pledge as a key campaign pledge to take to the polls.

Mr Shorten made the promise at the Australian Council of Trade Union’s 90th anniversary dinner in Sydney tonight.

The Labor leader is likely to face further political attacks for “backflipping” on another policy — having repeatedly pledged during last year’s election he would respect the independence of the Fair Work Commission whatever it decided on weekend worker penalties.

Labor leader Bill Shorten says he would reverse penalty rate cuts if he wins the next election. Picture: AAP Image/Joe Castro

Mr Shorten said tonight from July 1 all MPs — including Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull — would get a “considerable tax cut” through the demise of a temporary deficit levy but a mum working a Sunday shift in retail would get her rates cut.

“Cut this Sunday and cut again on 1 July 2018. And again on 1 July 2019. And again on 1 July 2020,” Mr Shorten said.

“Not traded for a better base rate of pay, not negotiated for improved conditions — just a straight-up cut to wages.”

He has also promised, if elected, to change the law to protect the take-home pay of working Australians into the future.

The commission has ruled that penalty rates paid to workers on Sundays will be cut by 5 per cent from July 1.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Picture: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Retail workers will lose double-time Sunday rates and instead be paid at 150 per cent of their normal pay by 2020.

Penalty rates for fast-food employees will drop from 150 per cent to 125 per cent by 2019, while hospitality workers face a cut from 175 per cent to 150 per cent.

The Turnbull government has accused Mr Shorten of hypocrisy over the issue — pointing to his record as a union leader where low paid cleaners working at Cleanevent while his union accepted payments from the company.

“Bill Shorten has no problem with reducing penalty rates when he himself does it, and when his union mates do it in deals with big businesses,” Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said earlier this month.

“He only objects when an independent umpire does the same thing for small business.”

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