Late buses affect retail workers

Late buses are getting a number of retail workers into trouble for being late for work, says SDA Secretary Peter Malinauskas.

In the past six weeks, the union has intervened on behalf of a disproportionate number of members who were formally warned by their boss for not being at work on time due to late buses, Peter said.

"It's become apparent that SDA members who use public transport have had substantial difficulty with arriving at work late because their buses have been late," he said.

"This has presented problems for both employees and employers."

This afternoon, SDA Secretary Peter Malinauskas met Minister for Public Transport Services Chloe Fox to explain the concerns of retail workers.

"I put forward a suggestion that in the event of a bus running more than 15 minutes late, passengers would be able to get a 'late slip' from the bus driver to present to their employer to demonstrate they are late for a genuine reason," Peter said.

"If an employee does not get to work on time because a bus is five minutes late, then the worker should catch an earlier bus, so we're being sensible about this and we're not blaming the buses across the board.

"But we think where a bus is running late by more than 15 minutes it is useful for both employee and employer if the worker can demonstrate the legitimacy of their circumstance."

Peter said he was grateful Minister Fox took the time to understand the concerns of retail workers and said that she would give the proposal consideration.

"While it's the case that employers are entitled to expect their staff to be at work on time, we encourage all employers to be understanding about why some employees are running late because of the bus situation at the moment and give employees a chance to explain before issuing a formal warning."

Peter said he looked forward to getting feedback from the Government on the 'late slip' suggestion.

New Public Holidays set to

become Law!

SDA Secretary Peter Malinauskas has welcomed the successful passage through the State Upper House of the historic reform to create two new part-day Public Holidays for South Australia.

"It's an Australian first but most importantly it's a fantastic reform that will benefit our SDA members," Peter said.

"I'm extremely pleased that retail, fast-food and warehouse workers who are working late on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve now have the right to spend these nights with family and friends - or to choose to work after 7pm and receive higher pay.

"Previously, they received no recognition or extra money for working unsociable hours on these festive occasions – and now that has all changed."

Peter said police, nurses, bar attendants, bus drivers will also benefit from the Public Holidays if they work after 7pm on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve.
He thanked Upper House MPs John Darley, Kelly Vincent, Mark Parnell and Tammy Franks for taking into account the concerns of South Australian working families.

"While the entire Liberal Party behaved like Ebenezer Scrooge these MPs showed some compassion by supporting the part-day Public Holidays" he said.

Peter said the successful vote in Parliament was in step with a recent Newspoll which showed 81% of South Australians support the higher rates of pay for those who work late on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve.

"The overwhelming majority of South Australian employees have finished work by 7pm on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve," he said.

"For those who are still working late on these important festive occasions, it is absolutely fair they earn a higher rate of pay, and the greater South Australian public believe this too."

SDA Info Hotline hours

extended

Got a problem? Need advice? Ring the SDA Info Hotline!

(08) 8139 1000

This popular Hotline is now open longer hours:
SDA members can now call the confidential Hotline between 8.30am and 9pm Monday – Friday and from 9am to 5pm on Saturdays.

SDA Secretary Peter Malinauskas said the extension of the Telephone Hotline reflects the SDA's commitment to members and their welfare.

"SDA Information Officers are ready and waiting to take your call and members can also email their queries via sda.com.au," he said.

Peter said the SDA is already available 24/7 to members through exclusive access to sda.com.au, the official website of the SDA which contains invaluable snapshots of every SDA member's wage rates, pay rise dates, annual and personal leave, overtime and penalty rates and public holiday entitlements.

"The website made a big difference to our members and now, we're improving our service even more with extended telephone advice," Peter said.

Cutting wages no answer

to retail downturn

Cutting wages and conditions and allowing 24/7 shopping will not solve the current downturn in retail, says SDA Secretary Peter Malinauskas.

Peter said recent claims by the Productivity Commission that deregulating shopping hours and ensuring less reliance on enterprise agreements were "flawed."

"Slashing wages and conditions and making employees work on public holiday will not improve the efficiency of the retail industry," he said.

Peter said retail sales are down because Australians are saving more and although consumer confidence is currently low, there is no reason to believe retail sales won't pick up.

"It's worth remembering that many retailers are doing well and their profits are increasing," he said. "Monthly retail sales rose in July by a seasonally adjusted 0.5%."
Peter said regular and fair pay rises skilfully negotiated by the SDA put more money into the pockets of retail, fast food and warehouse workers and, therefore, into the economy.

Productivity Commission submissions highlight that Australian retail workers are highly paid in comparison with the rest of the world – and this is the result of the SDA's hard work and expertise in negotiating enterprise agreements for members.

"The SDA's core business is negotiating the best pay rises and conditions possible for our members and we'll continue to do so," Peter said.

"When it comes to trading hours, it's nonsense to suggest that deregulating shopping hours in Adelaide and depriving retail workers of their right to public holidays will magically conjure up more money for consumers to spend."

Shops were already open 355 days of the year and few retailers in metropolitan Adelaide were taking advantage of their right to open until 9pm weeknights.

Peter said the retail industry must be dynamic and continue to value and enhance the vital role customer service plays in the success of the industry – and customer service can only be delivered by well-paid retail workers.

"Good customer service is what differentiates bricks and mortar retails from internet shopping. Retailers can also innovate and enhance customer experience by making customer service a 'point of difference' between them and their internet competitors," he said.

Pay rise due?

You’ll hear from the SDA!

Whenever a pay rise is due, you’ll hear about it from the SDA: via post and all new pay rates are there for you to check out on sda.com.au. Now, SDA members also receive an SMS with the good news that they have a pay rise.

“We started texting members because it’s an easy medium to use and most people have a mobile phone these days,” said SDA Secretary Peter Malinauskas.

“It’s a great way to deliver pay rise updates instantly and it’s important to inform our members their pay rises come through.”

SDA members can always go to sda.com.au to check their new pay rate table, which will also be included in the pay rise letter. Click here to update your details so we can stay in touch!