In the last edition of The ARA Retailer members were alerted to the announced Junior Rates Review to be conducted by the Australian Fair Pay Commission. It had been expected that the terms of reference would be publically released by the AFPC in February 2007 however this has not occurred. It is now expected that the terms of reference will be released in late March 2007 or early April 2007. Therefore, at the time of writing, the exact parameters of the Review remain unknown.
What is known is that the AFPC’s wage setting powers include the power to determine or adjust a Special Federal Minimum Wage (SFMW) for junior employees. The AFPC may determine that the SFMW is to apply to all junior employees or to a class of junior employees. The AFPC must also determine, if it decides to set a SFMW for junior employees, if the SFMW is to operate as a minimum standard for all, or one more, Australian Pay Classification Scales (Pay Scales). Such a standardisation, should it occur, has the potential to result in very significant increases in labour costs for retailers.
The above table sets out the current junior rate percentages payable to junior employees under the key retail Pay Scales across Australia. The percentages can vary widely with anything up to a 20% difference for juniors of the same age. A guarantee for employees against any reduction in pre Workchoices rates of pay would appear to prevent the AFPC from any standardisation that resulted in any lesser percentages for employees covered by the guarantee.
It is anticipated that some unions and other community groups may well advocate the abolition of junior rates if the terms of reference are broad enough to cover such an outcome.
As was the case in the 1998 Inquiry into junior rates, the ARA will again take the lead in the fight to protect junior wages for retailers. ARA will make substantial submissions to the Review, when called for, and is seeking member support on an important survey to be undertaken by the ARA following the release of terms of reference. ARA has formed a Steering Committee to provide critical member input into ARA’s submissions to the Review. For more information on this important Review see the feature article in this copy of The ARA Retailer on page 8.
