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ARA calls for minimum wage decision to save jobs
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Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has submitted to Fair Work Australia's Federal Minimum Wage review calling for special consideration of retail conditions and an exemption of General Retail Award reliant businesses from any minimum wage increase.
ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said Fair Work Australia's (FWA) Minimum Wage Panel must give consideration to poor trading conditions specific to the retail sector's incapacity to cope with further increased wage bills when considering the Federal Minimum Wage for 2011.
"Lumping the retail sector in the same category as other award-reliant industries is unreasonable considering the retailers are operating in the slowest gear of a two speed economy, as well as facing wage bill increases due to the second transition to the modern award already set for July 1 ," Zimmerman said.
"Over 400 retailers responded to the ARA's Minimum Wage Survey and almost 70 percent of respondents described the past eight months of trade (from July 1, 2010) as worse than the year before.
"This is a direct indication of their limited capacity to pay escalating wage bills during a period of stalled recovery confirmed by over 34 percent of retail respondents saying the second transition to the Modern Retail Award would mean reducing staff hours.
"Under the simplified modern award structure it's entirely suitable for the Minimum Wage Panel to acknowledge particular circumstances of individual industries and make a decision that saves jobs rather than threatening them," Zimmerman said.
For over 100 years, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has been the peak industry body in Australia's $240billion retail sector which employs over 1.2million people. As an incorporated employer body under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 and with a range of member services including employment relations, policy and advocacy and training, the ARA promotes and protects over 5000 independent and national retailers throughout Australia.
- Almost 35% of retailers planning to cut staff hours from 1 July 2011
- 70% of retailers say trade is worse than last year
- Almost 30% of retailers plan to decrease casual staff in the next year
- Over 29% of retailers plan to decrease part-time staff levels in the next year.
- Over one quarter of retailers plan to decrease permanent staff levels over the next 12 months*
www.retail.org.au
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