Newsagents fight minimum hours law

The Australian
Monday, 24 May 2010
Page 4

Summary
Rudd Government requires newsagents as employers to employ their delevery staffes for three hours a day when they were often needed for only one or two hours. But the newsagents did not accept this and applied to Fair Work Australia to vary the minimum three hours shift provisions of the retail award.

According to the chamber's manager of the workplace relation policy, Alexandra Marriott, the minimum and maximum hours for part-time workers could be varied by the use of an Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA). In contrast, federal Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gilard found that the Australian people did not like condition-stripping AWAs which workers did not have any job protection in the workforce like compensation.

Tonny Abbott did not agree about the new law. In this case, opposition workplace relations spokesman Eric Abetz supported the capacity of employers and workers to have more flexibility.

My personal reflection
In my opinion, Rudd Government made an attempt to protect part time workers. But in other side I agree with Ms. Marriott that this new law does not support to employ young and vulnerable workers who often need less than three hours work a day.