Labor will overrule the independent workplace umpire and legislate to fully restore Sunday penalty rates if it wins the next election.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten made the promise in a speech to the Australian Council of Trade Unions on Tuesday, as workers across four industries prepare for the pay cuts that begin rolling out this weekend.
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Shorten makes penalty rates election pledge
For the first time, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten makes an election promise to legislate against the Fair Work Commission's move to cut Sunday penalty rates.
"My team and I have stood with you to fight this cut in the Parliament and the community ā and I know you're still fighting it in the courts," Mr Shorten said.
"Tonight I give you this solemn pledge for the fight beyond 1 July.
"I promise you this: a new Labor government will restore the Sunday penalty rates of every single worker affected by this cut. And we will change the law ā to protect the take-home pay of working Australians into the future."
It is the first time Mr Shorten has committed to reversing the cuts if Labor wins office.
Labor sought to overrule the Fair Work Commission's February decision ā which affects workers in the retail, fast food, hospitality and pharmacy sectors ā with a private members' bill designed to prevent the cuts taking effect.
The bill passed the Senate with Greens and crossbench support but stalled in the lower house, where the government has a slim majority.
![Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has promised to restore penalty rates.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630072717im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/h/r/9/m/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gwzfbm.png/1498630122352.jpg)
Government MP George Christensen crossed the floor to vote in support of a Labor-led bid to stop penalty rate cuts last last week, but that legislation still failed 73 to 72.
Unions have also been fighting the cuts, with United Voice launching a last-ditch legal bid in the Federal Court last week to prevent workers losing pay.
![Changes to Sunday penalty rates for hospitality and retail workers.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170630072717im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/u/k/1/u/o/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gwzfbm.png/1498630122352.png)
Mr Shorten's new commitment will anger the business community, which says the cuts will help employers extend trading hours and hire more people.
But Labor argues the cuts ā which affect up to 700,000 people ā could not come at a worse time, with wage growth stalled at an all-time low.
Mr Shorten says the cuts are doubly unfair given wealthy Australians will get a tax cut on the same day, as the high-income earner deficit levy is abolished.
The government has backed the penalty-rate cuts, saying they affect only 3 to 4 per cent of workers and will create a level playing field for small business. It has called on Labor to respect the commission's independence.
The cuts, which also affect public holiday rates, will be phased in over the next four years to take full effect by 2020. The first cuts, of up to 5 percentage points, will occur on July 1.
"This weekend in Malcolm Turnbull's Australia: someone who earns $1 million will get a tax cut worth $16,400," Mr Shorten said in his speech.
"And a mum working a Sunday shift in retail will get her penalty rates cut .... Not traded for a better base rate of pay, not negotiated for improved conditions ā just a straight-up cut to wages."
The ACTU event was held to mark the organisation's 90th anniversary.
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