Turnbull refuses to rule out cutting weekend penalty rates - Productivity Commission report

Team Abbott's hero's, the far right wing nut thingo that calls itself the "Productivity Commission" has released it's latest report on how to fuck over the workers because capitalism. It has recommended to the Turnbull gov a cut to Sunday penalty rates for the lowest paid workers in the country.  Yes, rich people who don't have to rely on penalty rates to live are telling low paid people that they need a massive pay cut.

Or to put it another way, telling them to throw themselves over the bonnet and think of mother Australia as they get shafted.

Why am I not surprised. The Productivity Commission was started by the dastardly Howard anti-worker gov in the year 1998 of his evil reign. It has never once offered a worker friendly recommendation to any gov, from my memory at least. Particularly in recent Team Abbott times, the Commission has shown itself to be nothing more than a business wish list and fuck the bloody workers and their evil unions, etc.

So the Commission recommends a cut to penalty rates as in the above graphic. Turnbull hasn't ruled it out. The unions are now threatening political blood spilling over it, and a fight akin to the anti-WorkChoices campaign that resulted in Howard losing gov and his own seat in parliament.

ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver said that given wage growth was weak despite productivity sitting at a 25-year high, now was not the time for industrial relations reform that increased inequality. 

“Make no mistake, if the Prime Minister accepts these recommendations, he will be starting the biggest industrial relations fight over workers’ pay and conditions since Work Choices,” he said. 

Labor Shadow Minister for Employment Brendan O’Connor slammed the Turnbull government for refusing to rule out a cut to weekend penalty rates. 

“If the government didn’t agree with the recommendation they would have said so,” he said. “We usually have weddings, christenings, birthdays, sporting events, most often are on weekends, yet of course we have millions of Australians who work on those days providing services and goods to the bulk of Australians. 

“They should be rewarded for the deprivation that they have insofar as spending time with their friends, their family, and others.” The New Daily

The first thing I thought of when I looked at the pay rates proposed was "WTF? They expect someone to work a full 8 hours on a Sunday for a pathetic $200 or so?" Seriously, that's just ridiculous. Who the fuck is going to want to do that for a start? I don't imagine many hands would be put up to volunteer for it.

To compare, when I was working in industry Sunday work was a rarity. But when it came the money came with it. An 8 hour shift would have been about $450.