South Australia’s (SA) public holidays are being reviewed as a major union pushes for Easter Sunday to join the list.
The SA government on Monday called for residents to express their views on public holidays through a new survey as it moves to make Christmas Day one regardless of when it falls.
When a public holiday falls on a Saturday in SA, it moves to the following Monday, leading to some workers not being paid penalty rates.
Labor has pledged to amend the Holidays Act for the first time since 2012 to make both Saturday and Monday a public holiday when Dec. 25 falls on a Saturday.
But the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association has upped the ante, calling on Easter Sunday to join the list of official public holidays.
SA is the only mainland Australian state or territory not to recognise Easter Sunday as a public holiday, and the union said workers were being short-changed because of it.
“Victoria has fixed it, Queensland has fixed it, New South Wales has fixed it, the ACT has fixed it, and Western Australia has fixed it - it’s time South Australia does too,” SDA spokesperson Jordan Mumford said.
“It’s only fair that South Australian workers have the choice to spend Easter Sunday with their family and friends or the benefit of public holiday penalty rates.”
There are 13 public holidays each year in South Australia, including part-days on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
The government’s month-long survey will help shape its approach to amending the act before draft legislation is released and later introduced to parliament.
“The Labor government is committed to protecting the rights of South Australian workers,” SA Industrial Relations and Public Sector Kyam Maher said.
“Our legislation will ensure we avoid the unfair situation experienced under the former Liberal government when many workers did not receive penalty rates for working on Christmas Day in 2021.”
