Labor makes retail shift

BUSINESS lobby groups have largely welcomed the move by new state Labor leader Mark McGowan to support Sunday trading, one of two key policy initiatives he launched after a bloodless takeover from Eric Ripper.

The Retail Traders’ Association of WA, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA, and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy all welcomed the shift, which is likely to bring deregulation through this year and nullify it as an election issue.

However, not all business representatives welcomed the move. The Independent Grocers Association questioned Mr McGowan’s understanding of Western Australia’s retail sector and industrial relations.

Mr McGowan has sought to reshape Labor’s stance on two issues it has previously opposed – retail deregulation and uranium mining.

While Mr McGowan was clearly in a mind to ditch rules stopping Sunday trading, his policy on uranium mining was less convincing – guaranteeing that Labor would not close any operation that had gone ahead before next year’s election. 

It appears unlikely that WA will have an operating mine by March 2013 when the next election is due.

The member for Rockingham also had a clause in his backing of retail deregulation – wanting workers to be guaranteed they would not have to work Sundays if they didn’t want to – but he appeared to offer room to move on that front, given the state government has limited jurisdiction over industrial relations.

CCI manager industrial relations policy, Marcia Kuhne, said retail workplace laws were largely the domain of the federal government.

Ms Kuhne said that, typically where staff had been employed without the opportunity to work Sunday, their employer would need to offer them the additional workday, something they may not accept.

However, Independent Grocers Association president John Cummings said employees of big supermarkets such as Coles or Woolworths would have little say in their rosters because of enterprise bargaining agreements signed off by the unions involved.

Mr Cummings said the state government’s IR powers in the retail sector only extended to sole traders and partnerships. Any state regulations giving employees special rights would mean those smaller businesses would be at a disadvantage.

But the Retail Traders’ Association of WA executive director Wayne Spencer said retailers had been cut off from their customers for too long because of archaic trading hours legislation, which discriminated against retailers and consumers who wished to shop on Sundays.