Unhappy With the Penalty Rate Cuts? Some Senators Want the Gov to Hit 'Undo' Too

A Senate committee has deemed the ruling unfair and is now calling for the government to overturn the changes.

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Fair Work Commission (FWC) had decided to lower penalty rates for hospitality and retail workers, arguing that it would help create more jobs; a theory that hasn't got a whole of evidence behind it.

Now, a Senate committee made up of politicians from Labor, Greens and the Liberal Party has determined that the penalty rate changes made by the FWC don't actually boost employment and, in fact, are part of a drive to boost profit margins in the retail sector.

It's something most of us understand already, but still. Boom.

"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," their report outlines.

Quoting from JobWatch, the report also argued that retailers and hospitality businesses want their customers to buy their products, but fail to take into account that their customers may also be paid by the industries they are trying to slash wages from.

"Each individual employer may want cheaper labour, but they want their customers—who work for somebody else—to be well paid," the report quoted.

The FWC's decision, which came into effect on July 1, effectively cut the rates of casual and part-time workers who work in industries with varying (and sometimes downright dreadful) opening hours and some of the lowest paid work in the country.

So, now that the Senate committee's findings are out, it's up to the government to overturn the unfair changes to penalty rates as soon as possible. Considering that already failed only a few months ago, it might still be a while until something changes.