The Federal Government has reaffirmed it’s ‘unequivocal support’ for penalty rates in modern awards, specifically over weekends and public holidays.

 

Federal Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten ruled out any future reduction to penalty rates in awards, saying they remained a key feature in the economy.

 

“Penalty rates, additional payments to employees who work on weekends, late at night  and on public holidays, have long been a feature of the Australian workplace relations system,” Mr Shorten said.

 

“Often, the people who work these less family friendly hours are among the lowest paid – workers in retail and hospitality industries. Penalty rates comprise an important proportion of their salaries.”

 

The announcement by Mr Shorten comes after the Government finalised its submission to Fair Work Australia, which is currently in the process of reviewing public holiday and penalty rates provisions in a number of modern awards.

 

The Federal Government’s submission is available at:   http://www.fwa.gov.au/index.cfm?pagename=awardReview2012&page=allAwards