Recently, the Victorian Government gazetted Easter Sunday as a new public holiday, making four public holidays in a row over the Easter break. The Government is also considering creating an additional public holiday for the AFL Grand Final Eve; a move that MGA/LRA considers a disastrous for small businesses.
Jos de Bruin, CEO of MGA/LRA said: “The Andrews Government might argue that there are social and economic benefits for Victoria by introducing additional state public holidays, but there is also a massive downside for employers.
“The declaration of Easter Sunday as a Public Holiday has cost our members more than $1.3 million in additional wages.
“Should the Friday before the AFL Grand Final become a Public Holiday, this will cost our members, independent supermarkets and liquor stores, more than $3m in additional wages. In fact, for a full time employee it will cost an additional $27.00 an hour. This is economic vandalism and is simply unsustainable for small businesses, let alone big businesses to absorb.”
Mr. de Bruin stated that a casual adult employee working on a public holiday would receive $50.94 per hour under the retail award, almost $14.00 per hour more than working on a normal Sunday. Working a usual shift on the Friday before the AFL Grand Final on a non-public holiday would attract an hourly rate of $23.15 per hour, but under the pre-election promise by Mr. Andrews, a retail employee would receive $50.94 an hour if the Andrews Ministry allows this to happen.
“How can a small independent grocer or liquor store, who is already struggling with high penalty rates, carry this additional cost burden?” Mr. de Bruin asked.
“This is a poor economic decision at a time when unemployment figures are increasing, productivity levels are declining and there is increasing homelessness amongst young potential casual employees.”
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