Postal
Part-timers are not second class employees
(29 May, 2009): The payment of shift penalties to part-time employees when they work hours in addition to their normal rostered hours has become an issue again, this time at the Melbourne Gateway Facility and the Sydney Parcel Centre.
Part-time employees are not a repository of cheap overtime to cover any situation that Australia Post has not envisaged.
The Award provision requiring part-time employees to be paid at ordinary rates until they work 7 hours 21 minutes in one day rather than overtime rates is supposed to reflect equity but the reality is that Australia Post create inequities, ripping part-timers off by not paying the relevant shift penalties during additional hours, says the CEPU Vic Branch.
Part-time employees who work 7 hours 21 minutes should be paid the same shift penalties as the full-time employees, says the NSW Branch of the union. In fact this was the case at the Sydney Parcel Centre until recently when Australia Post unilaterally stopped paying the full-time shift penalty.
The result of not paying the relevant shift penalties is that part-time employees can start and finish at the same time as full-time employees working alongside them but receive less pay for the shift. Clearly this is not fair.
The matter has been raised with Australia Post nationally and we are awaiting their response.
Been affected by this issue? Let us know via feedback@cepu.asn.au