The Federal Court Just Decided That Penalty Rate Cuts Are Here to Stay, But There's Still Hope

It's another blow for young people in these sectors but it's not the end.

The ABC is reporting that the unions, who launched a legal battle against the Fair Work Commission's (FWC) decision to cut penalty rates earlier this year, have lost in the Federal Court.

The unions—United Voice and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA)—explained to the court that the FWC's decision didn't factor in how the changes would affect low paid workers who would earn even less than their current wage.

The Federal Court Judge, Mordy Bromberg, explained that the court's role was to determine whether the FWC actually made any administrative errors in its decision, not whether the ruling was fair.

"In the view of the court, the Fair Work Commission's decision read as a whole reveals no jurisdictional error," Judge Bromberg said.

And with that, the challenge to overturn the cuts was lost.

Boo-urns, indeed.

James Pearson, CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce (a peak voice for Australian businesses), released a statement in response to the Federal Court's decision.

"Now that the Federal Court has made its decision, employers should be able to get on with implementing these changes, and start offering longer opening hours and more shifts on Sundays," the statement read.

Many have taken to Twitter to express their disappointment.

Disappointing decision in the Federal Court. It's clear the best way to protect penalty rates is to vote Labor.

— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) October 10, 2017

The unions didn’t really think that a bunch of millionaire judges in the federal court would’ve helped anyone? #auspol @SkyNewsAust

— Daren Connor (@connor_daren) October 10, 2017

I suggest that the federal court starts to work weekends. #auspol

— RuaUílliam 🏳️‍🌈🌧🍀 (@RuaBrithem) October 10, 2017

But, as we reported last week, there is still hope that the cuts can be overturned.

A Senate committee found that the cuts were unfair to already low-paid workers (well, duh) and that the cuts wouldn't actually boost employment at all which was why they were cut in the first place.

"Research also suggests that rather than boosting employment, demand for lower penalty rates will likely spread across to other sectors of the economy, beyond the four awards directly affected by the FWC decision," the report stated.

So now, we just have to wait patiently and hope the Senate's findings are enough to convince politicians that this decision might not have been in the best interests of most Australians.

Photo: Netflix