Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / SDA Union secretary Josh Peak says the declaration of Easter Sunday as an NT public holiday is a win for retail and fast food workers and he’s calling for it to be made permanent

Transcript

SDA Union secretary Josh Peak says the declaration of Easter Sunday as an NT public holiday is a win for retail and fast food workers and he’s calling for it to be made permanent · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Well, we have heard about what some of the impact
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: is going to be there when it comes to Easter
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Sunday being declared a public holiday. But for a lot
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  Speaker 1: of our workers, particularly if you are a lower income worker,
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  Speaker 1: it could be a real boost for you working on
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  Speaker 1: that Easter Sunday. Now, joining me in the studio to
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  Speaker 1: tell us a little bit more is Josh Peek, who
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  Speaker 1: is indeed the secretary of the SDA here in the
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  Speaker 1: Northern Territory and also in South Australia. Good morning to you.
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  Speaker 2: Josh get Akatie. Thanks having me in.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, thanks for your time this morning. Now what does
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  Speaker 1: the public holiday declaration mean for workers in your industries?
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  Speaker 2: Well, look, it's really significant that workers will now be
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  Speaker 2: able to either have Easter Sunday off with pay like
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  Speaker 2: most other workers can get, and have had the opportunity
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  Speaker 2: to enjoy the Easter long long weekend like most of
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  Speaker 2: us can. So that's obviously the first, big, big and
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  Speaker 2: significant reason why this is important. But for those that
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  Speaker 2: are required to work or do still need to go
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  Speaker 2: to work on Easter Sunday, it does mean they'll be
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  Speaker 2: earning public holiday penalty rates. And when you do speak
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  Speaker 2: to many people out in the community. They genuinely, honestly
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  Speaker 2: surprised that Easter Sunday is not already public holiday, and
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  Speaker 2: most people think that already is. It's a public holiday
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  Speaker 2: right across the Eastern States. It's been fixed pretty much everywhere.
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  Speaker 2: Western Australia and the Northern Territory came on board. Actually
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  Speaker 2: last year. This is the second year we've seen the declaration,
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  Speaker 2: and we just don't think it would have made sense
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  Speaker 2: for workers in the retail sector, or the hospitality sector,
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  Speaker 2: or in our essential services to be getting paid less
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  Speaker 2: than their Eastern States colleagues on Easter, of all weekends.
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  Speaker 2: It's pretty significant.
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  Speaker 1: Why do you reckon it's not been just sort of
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  Speaker 1: gazetted for the year. I was talking to the Chamber
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  Speaker 1: of Commerce just a few moments ago, and you know,
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  Speaker 1: you sort of wonder why it's not permanently gazetted if
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  Speaker 1: it is something that the government's planning to do each year.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Look, and this is something that we've been calling
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  Speaker 2: on the government to do, which is to make permanent
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  Speaker 2: reforms to our Public Holidays Act. We've got a few
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  Speaker 2: issues that we want to see fixed, particularly as to
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  Speaker 2: what happens when Boxing Day and New Year's Day fall
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  Speaker 2: on the weekend, and what happens with Easter Sunday to
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  Speaker 2: see alignment with what's happening in most other states and territories.
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  Speaker 2: So we've been calling for that reform for some time.
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  Speaker 2: They're currently consulting on that, which is great, and we
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  Speaker 2: would love to see a permanent change to the Holidays
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  Speaker 2: Act to give alignment to really fixing up the Holidays
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  Speaker 2: Act soor it properly respects the role that workers who
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  Speaker 2: work on the weekend play, but that it also provides
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  Speaker 2: certainty to business going forward, because we think that's logical.
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  Speaker 2: Workers also want to know whether they can have east
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  Speaker 2: or off right now. They don't have that right if
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  Speaker 2: it's not a public public holiday. So you know, they've
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  Speaker 2: got to contemplate the idea of either having to take
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  Speaker 2: annual leave or go without pay on Sunday. That's been
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  Speaker 2: fixed by this, but it would be good to see
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  Speaker 2: some more certainty. We've been calling for it for some
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  Speaker 2: time and we're really hopeful that in twenty twenty three
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  Speaker 2: the government will change the law bring the Territory Holidays
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  Speaker 2: Act into the twenty first century. Because reality is the
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  Speaker 2: Holidays Act was ridden at a time, and the reason
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  Speaker 2: why Easter Sunday is not a public holiday was that
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  Speaker 2: so few of us worked. It really wasn't something but
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  Speaker 2: that many people would actually have to contemplate. But now
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  Speaker 2: in twenty twenty three, so many people above forty percent
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  Speaker 2: of our community can actually be required to be working
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  Speaker 2: over the week over the weekend. We're to bring our
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  Speaker 2: Public Holidays Act into the twenty first century and fix
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  Speaker 2: it and properly acknowledged the really important contribution that we
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  Speaker 2: can workers play.
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  Speaker 1: And I understand that you have met with Minister Paul
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  Speaker 1: Kirby as well. Have you just met with him on
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  Speaker 1: this topic or on other things as well, and how
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  Speaker 1: has it gone. Well?
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  Speaker 2: Look, yeah, absolutely, when we meet with the government pretty
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  Speaker 2: regularly here to make sure that we've continued to see
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  Speaker 2: law forming a whole range of areas we've really pleased.
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  Speaker 2: For example, with the recent announcement in relation to trespass changes.
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  Speaker 2: We've been calling for that for some time and really
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  Speaker 2: making sure that our members in retail and fast food
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  Speaker 2: have got the right to ban on unru ruly customers.
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  Speaker 2: That's fantastic. We're continuing to advocate for changes to our
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: Long Service Leave Act. We think again, we've got a
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  Speaker 2: pretty good Act act here, but there's some particular problems
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  Speaker 2: with the way it treats working women and the gender
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  Speaker 2: impact of our current Long Service League provisions here in
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  Speaker 2: the NT, and obviously making sure that our Public Holidays
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  Speaker 2: Act is fixed is really important to members across the territory.
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  Speaker 1: Josh, just on the trespass changes, how have things been
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  Speaker 1: going for your workers? I mean we saw earlier in
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  Speaker 1: the week Casuarina Square, for example, we spoke to Polly LeMond,
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  Speaker 1: the center manager, about the band that they've had to
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  Speaker 1: implement for the next month.
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  Speaker 2: For a couple of schools.
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  Speaker 1: How are things going from your perspective for your workers
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  Speaker 1: in this space When you look at some of the
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  Speaker 1: anti social behavior.
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  Speaker 2: It's really tough, Katie, And you know, the sort of
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  Speaker 2: situations that have beencurring at Casarina for some time just
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  Speaker 2: aren't good enough. You know, we've had workers be threatened
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  Speaker 2: with weapons, We've had workers had food thrown thrown out,
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  Speaker 2: the many workers who have been victimized and stalked after
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  Speaker 2: work for trying to enforce customer customer behavior, it really
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  Speaker 2: is appalling.
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  Speaker 1: What do you mean victimized in stalled?
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  Speaker 2: So yeah, yeah, absolute to follow to their car identified
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  Speaker 2: out outside of work, and obviously we're making sure that
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  Speaker 2: those reports are given to anti police. But we are
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  Speaker 2: really concerned about the ongoing situation at Casarina Square, not
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  Speaker 2: just there, but lots of retail outlets across across the territory.
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  Speaker 2: We are really pleased there has been some action here.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, it would be great if it wasn't necessary,
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  Speaker 2: but the idea that these fighting events continue to occur,
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  Speaker 2: the sort of swarming that's occurring at that center by
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  Speaker 2: students from these two schools is completely unacceptable. The trespass
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  Speaker 2: changes will help. It will give a legal right to
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  Speaker 2: retailers and shopping centers to ban unruly customers for up
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  Speaker 2: to twelve months. That's a really good thing. And then
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  Speaker 2: breaching that that trespass will be a criminal offense. That's
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  Speaker 2: currently not the case under our trespass laws. So that's
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  Speaker 2: a huge step forward. But the fact this is continuing
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  Speaker 2: to be an issue is truly appalling. Ultimately, the employers
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  Speaker 2: and the shopping center have to take every reasonable step
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  Speaker 2: to keep workers safe. They're required to do that under
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  Speaker 2: our Work Health and Safety Act. They've taken this measure,
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  Speaker 2: which is good. We've reached out to Casurin a square
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  Speaker 2: in the last few days to meet with them to
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  Speaker 2: really have a look at what other measures should we
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  Speaker 2: put in place. We're obviously continuing to communicate with the
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  Speaker 2: government to say that additional police presence whilst this is
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  Speaker 2: occurring is something that we think will send a really
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  Speaker 2: strong signal that this kind of behavior is just not
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  Speaker 2: going to be tolerated.
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  Speaker 1: Josh, you are indeed the secretary for the SDA here
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  Speaker 1: in the Northern Territory but also South Australia. Are you
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  Speaker 1: seeing any issues in South Australia like what you're seeing
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  Speaker 1: in the territory right now, you know, with what happens
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  Speaker 1: in the shopping centers and those threats.
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  Speaker 2: I think certainly the situation at Casurin it is unique.
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  Speaker 2: It's particularly concentrated across the country. This is big problem.
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  Speaker 2: Eight eighty five percent of our members report customer violence
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  Speaker 2: or abuse towards them each each year, and that's been
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  Speaker 2: a pretty consistent start. We've had really significant problems recently
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  Speaker 2: in Portagusta and we've been doing some work there, and
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  Speaker 2: there's been ongoing swarming events in many of small Adelaide,
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  Speaker 2: particularly liquocites, So it is something that's consistent. This kind
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  Speaker 2: of crowd behavior by young people, though that's occurring at
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  Speaker 2: Casuarina is particularly unique. We're not seeing things like that
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  Speaker 2: similar in other states and territories right now. It does
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  Speaker 2: happen from time to time. That's why we're saying swift
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  Speaker 2: action is really necessary here. Let's stamp it out and
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  Speaker 2: make sure this stops and that these young people start
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  Speaker 2: treating each other and workers and the community with respect.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, one hundred percent. People deserve to be able to
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  Speaker 1: go to work and feel safe and not have to
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  Speaker 1: worry about being threatened, and they certainly deserve to not
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  Speaker 1: have to be worried about being followed to their cars
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  Speaker 1: for example, Like that's appalling.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I've got to remember that retail workers are
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  Speaker 2: just serving the community. They are often really exposed. They're
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  Speaker 2: in our view there in many cases there aren't strong
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  Speaker 2: enough security presence that protect them. And the idea that
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  Speaker 2: they can be enforcing say a bag check or telling
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  Speaker 2: someone no, you cannot take that weapon into a store,
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  Speaker 2: that then later on in the day they'll see that
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  Speaker 2: person who they know had a weapon. It is an
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  Speaker 2: incredibly confronting and terrifying experience and it's not something that
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  Speaker 2: workers should have to put up with and we really
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  Speaker 2: are looking for some strong action here because retil workers
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  Speaker 2: deserve to feel safe.
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  Speaker 1: Well. Josh Peek, the Secretary of the SDA here in
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  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory and also in South Australia, really appreciate
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  Speaker 1: your time this morning. Thanks so much for coming in.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Gudie, thank you.