The proposed Fair Work Bill discriminates against small retailers the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) has suggested. The association said the Rudd Government’s proposed new industrial relations laws would force many small retailers to close their doors. ARA executive director Richard Evans said the proposed bill discriminates heavily against small business.Small business is not equipped to cope with the new industrial relations system, including an average retail wage bill increases between 11-22 percent. The limitations of SMEs, including small retailers, have not been considered in the final drafting of the Fair Work Bill.

We have to consider the combined effect of the National Employment Standards, the new modern retail award, the Fair Work Bill and an environment of economic instability. Retailers will now be confronted with an industrial relations environment which pays lip service to employer rights and provides unprecedented power to unions who may have no union members in a retail establishment – this will drive up direct and indirect labour costs and close small retailers unable to create wealth for the economy under the new system.

SME retailers are already expecting higher wage bills and payroll obligations with the new retail award and the ARA anticipates a real increase in SME retail wage bills averaging 14 percent or $28,500 nationall.

The 1.5 million employees in the retail sector who are mostly un-unionised are not working for mass employers. We’re mostly talking about SME’s who are not equipped, resourced or informed enough to be able to cope with the new expectations and obligations imposed upon them as a result of the constant changes in workplace laws.

Retailers create jobs – full-time jobs, part-time jobs and casual jobs – they provide most Australians with their first job. Retailers create wealth for the economy driven by consumer demand and they need flexibility in their workforce to meet this demand.

The one size fits all approach to the Fair Work Bill is old-world thinking skewed towards the practices of large employers and ignores this need for flexibility within a small retail business. Coupled with union demands on bigger employers the Bill will close many local stores – opportunity for employment will be lost and only less risk taking retailers well enter the market, Evans said.