Western Australian businesses will lose more than $100 million each year, under a proposal to add two extra public holidays to WA’s calendar.
In its submission to the government’s review of WA’s public holidays, CCIWA calculated the cost to employers for the extra public holidays would reach $115.42 million every year.
Increased public holiday wages costs for the proposed Easter Saturday holiday would total $67.87 million, while the addition of an as-yet undecided weekday public holiday would cost $47.55 million.
CCIWA Acting co-Chief Executive and Chief Economist, Aaron Morey, said the extra public holidays would be a direct hit to small and family businesses.
“It’s clear that WA businesses can’t afford another two days where they’re paying someone $65 an hour to wash dishes,” Mr Morey said.
“The sad fact is that many small and family businesses in WA are doing it very tough at the moment.
“Base wage costs have spiraled, along with virtually every other cost you can think of, and almost 10% of businesses in the WA hospitality sector alone have closed their doors in the year to April.”
The two additional public holidays will mean WA would have the second highest number of public holidays in the nation.
Mr Morey said the proposed changes could have unintended consequences for workers.
“We’ve spoken to businesses who say they simply can’t afford to open on public holidays because of the wage cost,” he said.
“For a small business that mostly employ casual workers like university students, that’s a day of lost profit for the business and a day of lost income for their workers.
Mr Morey said businesses that add a public holiday surcharge would still be left out of pocket.
“A 10% or 15% surcharge doesn’t come close to covering wages that are, on average, 250% above base rates,” he said.
“Businesses that do choose to have a surcharge often face a backlash from their customers, and we know many consumers will reduce their spend when a surcharge is applied.”
In its submission to the review, CCIWA backed calls to align WA’s public holidays with those on the East Coast.
