The discussion on working conditions for the everyman in Australia paints a grey picture. The incumbent Prime Minister successfully ousted his predecessor for being out of touch, and yet the comments being made by Malcolm Turnbull seem to be detached from reality itself. Recently, terms such as the ‘seven-day economy’ and flexible working hours have been used; somewhat ignoring the consequences this may have on the life of workers. He has also referred to Australia as if it were a tech start-up from the streets of San Francisco, saying that we should be agile and innovative. All of this is being pushed onto the general public in order to justify the proposed cuts to penalty rates in order to strengthen economic growth.
It seems groundless to encourage penalty rate reform when the level of people working at least one day at the weekend hasn’t shifted at all in the past 15 years. It is actually less common now. Unfortunately, it’s these types of rates that make living in Australia realistic for particular sectors of society; a Coles worker mentioned to the ABC that it would mean a 20 per cent cut to his take home pay if the proposed changes take place.
And the situation is similarly dire in the United States, where a number of states have raised the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Prior to this, the hourly rate for a fast food worker in one of the most expensive cities to live in, New York was $8.75. This has come about from two years of campaigning by a group called Fast Food Forward and several nationwide strikes, however the plan will only come into full effect in 2018.
Photo credit: Fibonacci Blue.
Why is this an issue? From a purely moral perspective, its unfair for the rates of those involved in the seven-day economy to come under scrutiny when the CEO of Wesfarmers Richard Goyder has a total remuneration of close to $7 million per year. And the former CEO of Coles Australia Ian McLeod was on a reported salary of over $15 million per year. Questionable moral actions from one of Australia’s major retailers are not uncommon. Earlier this year, it was discovered that a three-year workplace agreement between Coles and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association, the main union for Coles employees, left as many as 27,000 workers being paid nine per cent under the award wage. It is unlawful and arguably amoral to pay under the award.
If penalty rates are removed, employees will have to work more hours to received the same income. This can result in grave consequences on the health of workers, with these effects being widely reported. Those who work more than 60 hours per week increase their risk of developing coronary heart disease by at least 63 per cent and have 15 times the rate of depression one to three years later, compared to those who worked lighter schedules. More recently, a widely publicised study found that working 55 hours or more per week attributes to a 33 per cent increase in the risk of stroke compared with a standard working week. Other research links longer hours to increased anxiety and insomnia, as well as weight gain and higher divorce rates.
Perhaps it’s difficult for the Prime Minister and other politicians to experience empathy for those working long and unsociable hours in order to receive a liveable income, when their primary role has strayed away from satisfying the needs of their constituency. It must also be difficult for the top percentile of income earners to experience a seven-day working week when they rarely experience one themselves. However, there should not be a blatant disregard for the health and well being of the general public. The lack of compassion and understanding shown towards the common worker is a worrying sign of possible future actions made by Mr Turnbull.
Fred Johnston is a freelance writer from Central Australia who loves writing about topics he can add value to. Say hello to him on twitter at @FreddyKuma.