Australia's biggest business and employer groups cancelled a high-powered phone hook-up planned for Tuesday night to discuss how to counter a Labor-union political campaign opposing cuts to Sunday penalty rates.
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While they are divided on how to challenge the campaign, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has written to every member of the crossbench to pressure them to support Labor's bill to stop a cut to Sunday penalty rates.
In Parliament on Tuesday, Malcolm Turnbull and Mr Shorten traded blows again over the issue, with the Prime Minister pointing out the review had begun under Labor.
He also accused the Opposition Leader of hypocrisy for previously defending the independence of the Fair Work Commission, but now proposing legislation that would override the Commission's decision.
The Business Council of Australia had called for the phone hook-up and invited the chief executives of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Australian Industry Group, Restaurant and Catering Australia, the Council of Small Business and the Australian Mines and Metals Association among others.
It was intended to help the organisations co-ordinate a fightback against a potential Workchoices-style campaign by Labor and the unions against the penalty-rate decision.
Employer groups have welcomed the Commission's ruling, which would see penalty rates for an estimated 700,000 retail, hospitality and fast-food workers reduced, arguing it will allow more businesses to open and for them to offer more shifts to workers.
But the BCA's decision to attempt to hold the phone hook-up caused disquiet among some of the other business groups, who believe the BCA's members - Australia's largest 100 companies - have limited exposure to the penalty rates ruling as their members' typically use enterprise bargaining agreements.
One person invited to participate in the meeting told Fairfax Media that"we already have a vehicle in place, the ACCI, that coordinates all of these issues and they should continue to do so".
"The BCA's members are not affected and big-business feed-in is not what we want on this issue."
Another person invited to participate said the meeting had also been called at very short notice and that there was "no question the government is looking for our support" on this issue.
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has spoken to BCA chief Jennifer Westacott, ACCI chief James Pearson and other business group leaders in recent days as the campaign against the penalty-rate ruling has started to hit home.
In his letters to the crossbench, Mr Shorten said the Labor bill would "protect the take-home pay of Australian workers".
"What the opposition is proposing is not unusual . . . the government has intervened to take similar action in relation to independent tribunals.
"While the Parliament did make the decision to cut penalty rates, we have the opportunity to fix it."
In Parliament, Mr Shorten asked Mr Turnbull to explain why, with company profits increasing and record low wages growth, "he does nothing to stop wage cuts of up to $77 a week for Australians?"
The Prime Minister pointed out that the review had begun under Labor, the penalty rates decision had been made by a panel led by Commission president Iain Ross - a former ACTU official - and that "we support the independent umpire and the Labor Party did and the Labor Party should again".
"The hypocrisy of the Labor Party in suggesting that penalty rates can never be varied flies in the face of one enterprise agreement after another, including many signed by the leader," he said, referring to Mr Shorten's period as the head of the Australian Workers Union.
"We stand for small business. Labor invariably lines up with big business. How is it that a small takeaway business pays $29.16 on a Sunday for an employee under the award, whereas McDonalds down the street can pay $21.08 for the same worker doing the same work?"
