Labor to pledge to protect penalty rates in workplace awards

Labor will unveil a new legal push to protect the working rights of about three million Australians.

Labor is set to unveil plans to legislate new protections for penalty rates in workplaces awards should Anthony Albanese’s government be returned to office.

Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt will on Saturday vow to introduce legislation to enshrine penalty rates as a key feature of minimum terms and conditions.

The change would impact the workplace awards of about three million Australians, according to Labor analysis.

“Weekends are special times. That’s when we gather with our families, have weddings, birthdays, and hold grand finals,” Mr Watt said.

Labor is set to unveil plans to legislate new protections for penalty rates in workplaces awards. Picture: Jason Edwards / NewsWire

“So if you have to work during those times, we think you deserve to be rewarded for that.

“We will always stand with workers to protect their wages so that we can help them deal with the pressures of today and get ahead in the future.”

It comes after Labor claimed industry groups had asked the Fair Work Commission to vary awards to allow some workers to give up penalty rates in exchange for a pay rise.

If successful, the applications by employer groups would reduce the overall income of workers by thousands of dollars each year, according to Labor.

Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt said workers should be rewarded for working on weekends. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The move has been opposed by unions who argue workers will be worse off, however industry groups argue this is misinformation.

It comes about three weeks after Mr Albanese announced the date of the nest federal election, setting the stage for a showdown with Peter Dutton.

Labor has accused the Opposition Leader of not standing up to big retailers attempt to cut workers’ pay, and supporting cuts to penalty rates.

Mr Albanese has spruiked Labor’s investment in cost of living measures throughout the campaign, as well as wage growth since taking office in 2022.