Employers’ pyrrhic penalty rates win reflects self-defeating economics

The Fair Work Commission unveiled its long-awaited decision on penalty rates for Sunday and holiday work. Penalty rates for most retail and hospitality workers will be cut, by up to 50 percentage points of the base wage. Hardest hit will be retail employees: their wages on Sundays will fall by $1...

The Fair Work Commission unveiled its long-awaited decision on penalty rates for Sunday and holiday work. Penalty rates for most retail and hospitality workers will be cut, by up to 50 percentage points of the base wage. Hardest hit will be retail employees: their wages on Sundays will fall by $10 an hour or more. For regular weekend workers, that could mean $6,000 in lost annual income. This is a pyrrhic victory for employers — it reflects self-defeating economics that will suppress the consumer spending their businesses depend on.