The National Retail Association (NRA) has backed recommendations by the Productivity Commissions for inquiries into workplace relations laws.
It calls for measures such as varying penalty rates in the retail sector in a bid to boost jobs across the country.
NRA CEO Trevor Evans believes the government should be taking the recommendations from the Commission seriously.
“The Abbott Government handed the Productivity Commission the difficult job of setting out a new workplace regime to boost productivity and generate more jobs.
“The Commission has responded with a set of sensible, measured and well-considered recommendations.
“The government now needs to do its part and put these recommendations into action.”
Evans also said that consistent feedback from small businesses operating in the retail sector involved struggling with high penalty rates on Sundays and public holidays.
“There is a ready workforce, including youth, students and others wanting some additional weekend work, who would jump at the opportunity to work on Sundays, but they are being denied the chance because businesses can’t afford to open.
“So it’s irrefutable that penalty rates, far from helping unskilled workers, are actually hurting their chances of securing work and, for many, gaining a toehold in the workforce for the first time.”
Evans said that the NRA believes the solution is to apply similar rates to Sundays as retail works would receive during a typical Saturday shift.
He said that evidence from the Fair Work Commission suggests that consumers and workers perceive no significant difference between the two days.
“The NRA is not arguing for the abolition of penalty rates, and anyone who attempts to characterise this debate as an attack on workers simply fails to understand that what a worker needs more than anything else is a job.
“We support sensible reform that applies a more realistic penalty rate for Sundays and public holidays, ensuring businesses will open and there will be increased job opportunities.”