Tag Archives: Australian Retailers Association

A landmark decision by the Fair Work Commission requires retailers to offer casual staff part-time employment after being with the business for 12 months. The decision was welcomed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), which has campaigned against what it calls the “epidemic of casualisation”. “Too many employers …

Earlier this week, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) Executive Director Russell Zimmerman showed his support for the government’s Youth Jobs PaTH (Prepare-Trial-Hire) program. According to a statement released by the ARA, the organisation has been working with the federal government to help young people in Australia looking to enter the …

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) retail trade figures for April 2017 show minimal growth from March, with food retailing faring better than most other segments. Australian Retailers Association (ARA) Executive Director Russell Zimmerman says that, although April’s growth figure (1 per cent) is quite modest, the past few months …

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) says it will strongly oppose any application from the SDA (Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees Association) for judicial review of the Sunday-penalty-rates decision. ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman says the penalty-rates decision was initially approved by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) as the evidence presented …

The federal budget has brought some relief for retailers through reducing Government debt, but at the undesirable cost of increasing taxes on Australian individuals and businesses, according to the Australian Retailers Association. ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman says budget measures such as strong infrastructure investment and additional skills funding are …

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics retail trade figures represent lower-than-expected growth for the industry, with 2.68 per cent total growth year on year. While clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing attracted a disappointing increase of 0.85 per cent year on year, supermarkets achieved slow but steady improvement with a …

The Australian Retailers Association has proposed a two-stage transition for Sunday penalty-rate reductions. ARA has issued a submission to the Fair Work Commission that recommends permanent and casual Sunday penalty rates be reduced to 175 per cent from July 1, 2017 and then to 150 per cent from July 1, …

Australian Retailers Association Executive Director Russell Zimmerman says retailers are continuing to face a difficult operating environment and a 1.2 per cent minimum-wage increase is the best way to preserve employment within the retail sector. “Given economic uncertainties, historically low inflation along with rising costs for retailers, this 1.2 per …

The Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has proposed a phased approach to Sunday penalty rates, which it claims will allow retailers to implement the benefits of the penalty-rate reduction, in terms of additional hours of work and employment opportunities, in a reasonable manner. The proposal is for the Sunday penalty-rates reduction …

The Palaszczuk government in Queensland will overhaul the state’s retail trading hours, which it says will “create jobs, end confusion and increase choice for consumers, and protect workers”. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says existing trading hours are confusing for consumers and complex for retailers. “Under the current trading-hours regulations, you can …