"As a result of individual contracts that the Howard government's new IR laws allow for, employees at Morgans IGA Supermarket in Meadow Heights will be working on ANZAC Day without being paid public holiday penalty rates" Ms Vamvakinou said.
"The example of employees at Morgans IGA Supermarket in Meadow Heights having to work on ANZAC Day without holiday pay is a stark reminder of just how far the Howard government's new IR laws have gone towards eroding the very values of fairness and decency that this country was built on. A fair days pay for a fair days work is an Australian tradition, and it's being undermined." Ms Vamvakinou said.
"'WorkChoices' robs Australian workers of their basic protections, and strips away their basic rights."
"Under individual contracts, employees at Morgans IGA Supermarket in Meadow Heights will be paid a base rate of $15.02 an hour on ANZAC Day, which is $24.52 an hour less than they would have otherwise earned on a public holiday under their old collective agreement."
"ANZAC Day is a day of national significance for Australia, and as a mark of respect, it is recognized nation wide as a public holiday. Shouldn't this be observed in Australian workplaces as well?"
"The Howard government's IR laws swing the pendulum too far in the one direction. They concentrate too much power in the hands of those employers who choose to take advantage of the new 'WorkChoices' legislation, and they take away any sense of fairness or balance in the workplace."
"AWAs erode job security and make it increasingly hard for working families to either plan for the future, or maintain a healthy work-life balance" Ms Vamvakinou said.
"We need an industrial relations system that restores a sense of balance in the workplace, one that upholds core Australian values like fairness and decency and that does the right thing by workers and working families."
Contact: Alex Kouttab
