The union representing retail and fast food workers is renewing calls for the South Australian government to make Easter Sunday a public holiday.
Key points:
- South Australia and Tasmania are the only jurisdictions in Australia that do not consider Easter Sunday to be a public holiday
- The SA retail workers’ union is renewing calls to make it one
- SA’s premier has ruled out making it a public holiday this year, but says it is being considered for the future
While Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday are public holidays in South Australia, Easter Sunday — which falls on April 9 this year — is not.
Easter Sunday is a public holiday in every other Australian jurisdiction except South Australia and Tasmania.
Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) state branch secretary Josh Peak said reform was “long overdue”.
“To think that South Aussie workers will be one of the only [groups] in the entire country that won’t be getting paid on Easter Sunday public holiday penalty rates or public holiday pay is simply shameful,” he said.
Mr Peak said he would be surprised if any businesses “were out there advocating to say that workers giving up their time to work on Easter Sunday should just be paid exactly the same as any other Sunday”.
“We think the business community should recognise that the rest of the country has fixed this, they’re getting on with it, paying public holiday penalty rates on Easter Sunday,” he said.
Part-time retail worker Talisha Sales said receiving public holiday penalty rates on Easter Sunday would have a “really big impact” on her life amid the current cost-of-living crisis.
“It’s really quite ridiculous, I think, because every other state is recognising it and giving all of their workers the benefits they should be receiving for working throughout this period,” she said.
South Australia’s Premier Peter Malinauskas said Easter Sunday’s status would be considered as part of the government’s wider review of the Holidays Act.
Public consultation for the review closed earlier this month.
“The change around Easter Sunday is all but one proposition and we’ll consider it accordingly,” he said.
“I would note this, that South Australia is pretty much the only jurisdiction in the country where Easter Sunday isn’t a public holiday.”
“So that does appear to be a deficiency from some people’s perspectives.”
But Mr Malinauskas ruled out making any changes in time for this Easter, saying there would not be enough notice for businesses.
“I understand that there are a lot of workers out there in our community that would love Easter Sunday to be a public holiday this year,” he said.
“We’re not in a position to do that. We’re not going to rush this.
“We’re going to consider our options and make an informed assessment and judge accordingly.”