The Illawarra Business Chamber has joined a campaign to end penalty rates over Easter, claiming hefty wage bills prevented businesses remaining open in the holiday period.
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According to the chamber, cafes and shops can’t afford to open their doors during the holidays due to higher wage rates.
‘‘We know this Easter will create enormous pressure on the owners of cafes, restaurants and shops across the Illawarra region who want to remain open to serve their customers, but at the same time simply can’t afford to open their doors due to the excessive penalty rates for their staff,” chamber chief executive Debra Murphy said.
The chamber has urged businesses to join a campaign to end excessive penalty rates paid to workers over the Easter period by placing posters in their windows asking political leaders to change workplace-relations laws.
Graze Cafe is one Wollongong eatery with plans to close over the Easter break, but its owner Andre Gacesa said higher staff wages were a minor factor in the decision.
‘‘We haven’t had a holiday since New Year’s Day so we’re planning on taking my daughter to Sydney, plus we would only be able to open Saturday night and we wouldn’t have the customers during the holiday to justify it,’’ he said.
Mr Gacesa said a recent oversaturation of restaurants represented a larger threat to the hospitality industry than penalty rates.
‘‘There’s definitely an overkill in cafes and restaurants that have opened recently, plus the GPT food court,’’ he said.
Ms Murphy said there was a direct link between Wollongong’s youth unemployment and penalty rates.
‘‘We are pricing young people out of their first job with the skyrocketing cost of employing people on week nights, weekends and public holidays,’’ she said.
‘‘Our penalty rates system is out of touch with community standards.’’
President of the South Coast Labour Council Jo Kowalczyk rejected the assertion that penalty rates weren’t supported in the community.
‘‘Personally, I would be interested to see if any businesses in the Illawarra actually put up these posters,’’ she said.
‘‘It doesn’t strike me as fitting with what I know about our community – we have a little more heart and generosity than that.’’
Ms Kowalczyk said penalty rates were a fair compensation for workers missing out on time spent with family and friends.
CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story said the chamber had called for an end to penalty rates over Easter. It should have read an end to excessive penalty rates.