Better Read Than Dead: Union’s bookshop pay deal puts small business on notice | smh_andrew niltiac
, was a landmark deal that increases hourly pay and restores Sunday penalty rates, provides 20 days paid domestic violence leave and 26 weeks paid parental leave.Cullinan said the agreement was significant because it sets “substantially higher standards in the retail sector than anywhere else in Australia”.“I’m happy that long-term casual staff members will now have access to permanency if they want it, and my younger colleagues will be paid the same amount for the same work,” she said.
The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia chief executive Alexi Boyd said workers joining unions was “not something our members have raised as a concern”.Boyd said small business owners found it hard to navigate the award system. “What is better for small business is simplicity which will ultimately improve compliance.”
With a tight labour market, Cullinan said an employer with superior conditions will often attract employees.