PENALTY RATE CUTS WILL HURT LOW INCOME EARNERS

24 February 2017

Local Member of Federal Parliament Madeleine King has slammed the Fair Work Commission’s decision to slash Sunday and public holiday penalty rates for hospitality, retail and fast-food workers, saying the Labor Party would do everything it could to stop the cuts.

“This decision will hit people hard,” Ms King said.

“Workers will receive less pay for doing the same work and that is not something I can support.

Ms King said Labor would look at ways to remedy this disappointing decision, a decision Malcolm Turnbull and his Liberal Government had been campaigning for with no regard to those it would hurt.

“Cutting penalty rates will hurt families, will hurt students, will hurt every worker who works on days most people have off in order to put food on the table, in order to pay the bills,” Ms King said.

“This enforced pay cut is an attack on low income earners. It means people will now have to work unsocial hours for less money leaving them with a big gap in their pay packet.

“And it is a decision backed by the Liberal Government which wants to give big business a $50 billion tax cut. This Government is clearly out of touch with how people live.”