‘Our offices are unattended’: Don’t call peak business groups on the weekend

‘Our offices are unattended’: Don’t call peak business groups on the weekend

The argument is self-evident: weekend penalty rates are out-of-kilter because in a modern, secular, 24/7 economy, Sunday has become just like any other day.

So why pay loadings for hours that are no longer unsociable – no longer deleterious to family and home life?

Here’s one reason. Because, it turns out, the loudest, clearest proponents of this change take a different view about their own leisure time.

Indeed, these new-economy warriors guard their Saturdays and Sundays so jealously, they close their offices on the weekend to guarantee quality family time.

Who knew?

While the Coalition parties, right-wing think-tanks and business groups defend the Fair Work Commission’s recent ruling to cut the pay of Sunday and public holiday workers in retail, fast food, and hospitality, their own weekends remain sacrosanct.

In the spirit of this 24/7 economy, Fairfax Media telephoned the switchboards of the main groups on Sunday afternoon: the Institute of Public Affairs, Business Council of Australia, the Australian Industry Group, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and even the small enterprise body, the Council of Small Business Australia also known as COSBOA.

And guess what? No answers. Not one of these offices – unless you consider an answering machine as service – was open or staffed on a Sunday afternoon …

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Fairfax