United Voice, the hospitality union, initiated the appeal on behalf of not only all hospitality workers directly impacted by the Commission’s decision, but also on behalf of all workers whose rights are under attack.
The Federal Court decision, sanctioning the undermining of existing entitlements, delivers a new low blow for Australians who work weekends. United Voice believes that the system has once again failed to protect workers and warns that business groups will attempt further attacks on worker entitlements in other industries.
Jo-anne Schofield, National Secretary of United Voice, has hit out in response to the Federal Court decision, "This is a new low point for workers in Australia. It shows that the laws in this country do not protect workers and are out of step with community values. Those laws have to change.
"We pursued this appeal against the penalty rate cuts, to stand up for hospitality workers, and for all workers in this country. Employer groups have led a sustained attack on the penalty rates of hospitality workers, in what is a fundamental attack on working people. We fear that employer groups will now continue to attempt to attack the weekend pay of workers in other industries.
"When our industrial relations laws are used by employers to cut pay and undermine the existing entitlements of workers in our country, when the Courts refuse to intervene and when our government refuses to utter a word in support of these workers, the system is broken.
"The wage-setting system has failed to protect some of our country’s lowest paid workers. Hospitality workers have been delivered a pay cut they can’t afford and don’t deserve. They will lose thousands of dollars a year from their pay packets as these cuts are fully implemented.
"We’ll keep challenging the system if it fails to restore the central principles of our wage setting system. In the meantime, we continue to call on all employers to do the right thing by their hard-working employees and to not to pass on these unjust cuts. Businesses can make the choice to support their staff.
"Eight in 10 people in the community opposed these pay cuts. A majority of the Australian Senate supported legislation to overturn them. Our message to the government and the employer groups who mounted this sustained attack on the wages of hospitality workers is – ‘Our rights are not up for grabs, and we will not stand by and watch you come after them’.
"We will continue to challenge this harsh and unfair pay cut and will continue to speak out on behalf of all workers."