The Government will vote against a shameful move by the Liberals to strip South Australian workers of public holiday penalty rates.
David Speirs and the Liberal Party have today introduced last-minute amendments to the Public Holidays Bill 2023 to remove Easter Saturday as a public holiday, potentially costing workers, including those in emergency services, retail and hospitality, hundreds of dollars each year.
The Liberal amendments would mean South Australian workers required to work on Easter Saturday would miss out on public holiday rates – unlike workers in VIC, NSW, QLD, ACT and the NT, which all treat Easter Saturday as a public holiday.
Easter Saturday has been a public holiday in South Australia for over 110 years.
This attack on workers’ pay follows the former Marshall Liberal Government forcing workers to work without receiving public holiday penalty rates on Christmas Day in 2021. At that time, the Liberals voted against laws which would have ensured Christmas Day was treated as a public holiday.
This latest Liberal attack on workers’ take-home pay makes one thing clear: the Liberals cannot be trusted on public holidays, and will always side with big business instead of working South Australians.
As put by Kyam Maher
¬This is a desperate, last-minute attempt to strip workers of their hard-earned public holiday penalty rates.
In a cost of living crisis, David Speirs wants to cut the pay of workers who sacrifice their long weekend to care for and serve others.
The Liberal Party need to explain why they think South Australian workers are less deserving than workers in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland – who all treat Eater Saturday as a public holiday.
This attack on workers’ hip pockets makes clear that the Liberals will always side with big business over working South Australians.
