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The Forum > Article Comments > What is fair pay for hospitality workers? > Comments

What is fair pay for hospitality workers? : Comments

By Tanel Jan Palgi, published 16/1/2012

The real problem in the restaurant industry is the number of exploited workers paid under the table less than award rates.

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For someone who has had "4-years hospitality work experience in Melbourne", the experience clearly didn't tell him much about work.

A centrally-planned wage structure is never going to please everybody, since it has been arrived at through a series of generalizations, assumptions and compromises on both sides. To imagine that it will not be the direct cause of both sides to complain "we're hard done by" is to ignore reality.

Here we have a worker, complaining that he is badly paid, and that many restaurant owners are flouting the law. We also have a restaurant owner saying that keeping within the those laws is causing him grave management problems, in balancing service in his establishments with the need to make a profit.

The consistent thread is therefore that the law does not work as it is intended. We now need one more contribution, that analyses the law's failures to both sides, and proposes a better solution.

But as we know, actually thinking through a problem and coming up with an answer is far too hard. And anyway, someone else should do it.

By the way, this is not a good look:

"Business owners get hit with these costs, but it is not fair to pass these costs on to workers"

Better by far, I suppose, for the business owner to go out of business entirely, than to pass on the costs of doing business to those involved. Unemployment is clearly being proposed as an attractive option, so long as your principles of fairness are maintained.
Posted by Pericles, Monday, 16 January 2012 10:20:50 AM
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[Deleted for abuse.]
Posted by The Blue Cross, Monday, 16 January 2012 10:31:10 AM
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[Deleted.]
Posted by rpg, Monday, 16 January 2012 10:54:08 AM
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Posted by The Blue Cross, Monday, 16 January 2012 11:08:53 AM
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I have no problem in paying a premium for eating out on a public holiday, Sunday etc, becasue it is my choice to do so. I could easily, and more cheaply, eat at home.

If you want people to serve you, then must pay them for providing that service and you must value that service. If an employer wants staff to work unsociable hours then they should pay penalty rates. If they want loyal and motivated staff then they should employ them as permanent not casual. Expecting good quality staff at cut-price rates is just plain dumb. The employee will not really value the employer in such circumstances - because they will not feel valued.

If we let the industry we'll get the situation, as in the good ol' USA where people can work full-time and still qualify for welfare becasue the wages are so low - in effect the government subsidising particular sectors (which is hardly free market).
Posted by Phil Matimein, Monday, 16 January 2012 12:05:23 PM
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"Posted by Phil Matimein, Monday, 16 January 2012 12:05:23 PM"

I am guessing you (and "Blue Cross" with his vitriol) have never owned or run a successful business ?

One of the biggest income earners for the country is Tourism. I guess we can send them over to your place to have you cook them a meal ?
Posted by Valley Guy, Monday, 16 January 2012 12:12:41 PM
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