All Territorians deserve a break
THIS year, while most of us will be spending Boxing Day eating leftovers, catching up with family and friends or watching the Ashes, thousands of workers across the Territory may be forced to work without the reward of public holiday penalty rates.
These Territorians are the ones who have been slogging it out. They work in healthcare, transport and logistics, emergency services, hospitality, cleaning and retail – our essential workers.
They are mums and dads, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters – all who have already gone above and beyond for us throughout the pandemic.
These are the ones who will have to go to work on Boxing Day and not get public holiday penalty rates.
To make matters worse, the Northern Territory is the only mainland state or territory where this is the case when December 26 falls on a Sunday.
From Brisbane to Melbourne and Sydney to Perth, December 26 and December 28 are being recognised as public holidays. If it is good enough for them, why not Territorians?
Many of our essential workers do not have the luxury of working Monday to Friday, 9 to 5.
They cannot work from home, and they cannot always take time off on days where so many other Territorians are able to stop, take stock and enjoy some time away from the hustle and bustle.
So many workers who work Tuesday to Saturday or Wednesday to Sunday rosters are denied their public holidays, when the day is shifted to a weekday.
These workers who usually work Sunday could be forced to take unpaid leave if they want Boxing Day off, costing them hundreds of dollars in the week of Christmas.
Most other states have fixed this but the problem remains in the Territory.
The Territory’s Public Holidays Act – written in 1981 – is no longer fit for purpose. It is as old as the first IBM computer and it is leaving Territorians behind.
From time to time, Territory governments have corrected the anomaly by declaring a day a public holiday.
Last year, after a sustained campaign by retail, fast-food and warehousing workers, the NT government declared December 26 a public holiday.
While announcements like this are welcome, a legislated fix is needed to fix the issue for good.
It has been obvious for some time now that our Public Holidays Act needs to change to cater for those who work a seven-day roster.
This has been increasingly evident since the federal Liberal government decided to slash penalty rates for essential workers across the Territory in 2017.
Working in the Territory should not make you a second-class citizen. If workers in the mainland southern states get penalty rates on Boxing Day, why should not Territorians have the same benefits?
The Territory government needs to prioritise fixing the Public Holidays Act so that no Territorian should ever have to choose between spending time with their family over the festive period or having to go to work without public holiday penalty rates.
2021 has been a tough year for all Territorians. The fact that essential workers in the Territory will be ending the year without their Boxing Day penalty rates is a disgrace.
The Territory government has the power to fix this with a simple legislative change.
If things do not change, it will be the
While (announcing extra public holidays from time to time) are welcome, a legislated fix is needed to fix the issue for good
essential workers who have kept the Territory going during the pandemic who will suffer.
It will be the workers who help keep food on the table and make sure that we can put presents under the tree over Christmas who will suffer.
Just like they did last year, the Northern Territory government should declare Boxing Day a public holiday.
Once they have done that, they need to fix the Public Holidays Act and bring us into line with the rest of the country so that Territorians do not lose out on entitlements that the rest of mainland Australia already gets.