Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to urge those opposite to support this private member's bill, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Take Home Pay) Bill 2017. As we know, the Fair Work Commission decision has slashed Sunday and public holiday rates for around 700,000 workers in the hospitality, hotel, retail, fast-food and pharmacy industries. Many of those workers—most of them—are women, and many of them have lost up to $77 a week. The bill that is before us at the moment would prevent those losses occurring.

I have heard so many stories in recent weeks about the effect that this will have on the budgets of ordinary Australians. I heard from one woman in particular: Lititia Richardson, who works as a food and beverage attendant. She said:

It's the difference between fresh vegetables and frozen vegetables. If you take that $20 away—well, I mean I live on a shoestring anyway, I don't know how I'd manage. It's not much to ask to be able to be paid enough to give your family the basic necessities and maybe if you're lucky a little something extra like a dancing lesson.

Those opposite claim that these cuts will result in extra jobs being created. Frankly, this is difficult to believe. Most of us know from our experience, from our time in the workforce, that the most likely outcome of these wages cuts is that people will do the same amount of work for less money. That is it—the same number of hours and the same amount of work, just paid less to do what they used to be paid more to do.

In their latest submission to the Fair Work Commission on Friday, the government should have said that they do not support this change. They should come in here and vote to protect people's pay. Instead of going to the Fair Work Commission and arguing to protect people's penalty rates, they have said, with their hands up in the air: 'There's nothing we can do.' If only someone in a real position of power or authority took an interest in people's pay and conditions! In contrast, Labor put in a submission arguing to protect the penalty rates of not only the workers who have already been affected by these changes but also workers under other awards who will potentially be affected.

I want to particularly draw attention to the gender pay gap and how these changes affect women. Fifty-seven per cent of hospitality workers are women, and 57 per cent of takeaway food workers are women, as are 62 per cent of retail workers and 85 per cent of pharmacy workers. We have shown that a significant majority of people working on Sundays are women. We already have a gender pay gap in this country. The Prime Minister is very fond of saying that women hold up half the sky, but we are doing it for 17 per cent less pay. Changes like this will exacerbate the gender pay gap in Australia. This is just the thin edge of the wedge. We know that up to another 323,000 workers under other awards, including the clubs award, the restaurant and cafe award and the hair and beauty award will potentially be the next cab off the rank when it comes to losing penalty rates.

I have worked in many of these industries. As a uni student, I worked in cafes, in restaurants and in clubs. I know that, for me as a uni student, it would have made a big difference to lose those penalty rates. But I will tell you who it really makes a big difference to. It will make the biggest difference to people who are trying to raise a family on these wages. They are being told that they will be expected to do the same amount of work for less pay. They are supposed to give up their time on Sundays and public holidays, when they should be home with their families, celebrating as families do at these times, having a bit of time off, enjoying each other's company and establishing the relationships that carry you through life. Instead they are giving up that time, they are giving up pay and they are expected to turn up to do the same work. In the next lot of awards that are being examined, 54 per cent of club workers are female, as are 59 per cent of restaurant workers, 86 per cent of hairdressers and 99 per cent of beauticians. If the government do not think this will exacerbate the gender pay gap, they are dreaming.

We are also very concerned about the effect on the economy, the effect on demand and the effect on taxes that have been described in the papers today. The government should back this private member's bill and prevent these pay cuts.

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