Enterprise Agreements

Mr FULBROOK (Playford) (15:37): It is wonderful to be back and welcome back to all of my wonderful colleagues. I rise today to speak about a number of fairly recent enterprise agreements negotiated by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) between companies including IKEA and Bunnings. Before anyone gets too carried away, I want to express very clearly that I am not calling for any employer to follow in their immediate wake but instead to pay close attention to their outcomes over the next few years.

For those unaware, in recent times the SDA, on behalf of its members, reached agreements with companies like Bunnings and IKEA whereby their employees would receive five weeks' annual leave. I understand that it was in the 1970s when the last major increase to workers' leave rose to four weeks a year. Now that it has been 50 years since we have seen any major change on this front, I take this opportunity to encourage corporate Australia to pay close attention to the outcomes of these agreements.

Given that over the last decade we have not seen wages rise dramatically, an increase in annual leave could be seen as a perfect compromise between employers and workers, much in the same way as we saw other indirect benefits improve working conditions in the eighties and nineties. I am under no illusion that paid time off from work does cost money, which the employer must bear, but at the same time we are talking about some big firms with a lot of resources at their disposal, which I am sure reached their decision in full consideration of the bigger and broader picture.

Workers with an extra week off a year have the potential to be less stressed and therefore more productive, keeping in mind they will still spend 47 weeks a year in the workplace. An extra week of recreational leave also gives scope for workers to become tourists and circulate their earnings across the regions and our tourist destinations. It also allows families to spend more time with one another, enjoy each other's company and, while these days social costs can probably be measured in some form or another, I would argue the benefits are priceless. This is supported by 49-year-old mum, Paula, who works at Bunnings at Parafield, who said this in response to the agreement with her employer, and I quote:

When my kids were younger, I was always trying to secure more leave and stretch it over the school holidays. Having access to 5 weeks annual leave will help so many parents with young kids during the school holidays. It means they'll save money on vacation care, childcare and be able to spend more time together as a family.

Lisa from the same store added, and I quote:

I've worked for Bunnings for the last 15 years. By having the availability of 5 weeks of paid annual leave, it means we can afford our holidays and be better rested to do our work more safely.

Again, I point out that it costs money for this to happen, but it needs to be seen in a bigger and broader context. It will take some time before business, government and academic communities evaluate the outcomes of the agreements and gain a full grasp of the true cost, and indeed the opportunities that they may create.

In bringing this issue to the chamber, I urge that every effort is made to begin to analyse every facet of data that these changes create. While I am borrowing from the textbooks, we know employees with more leave options are better able to rest, recharge and maintain a healthy work-life balance. This in turn can lead to higher levels of job satisfaction and overall wellbeing, which I would argue is crucial in retaining talent and may give employers a significant cost saving on numerous HR fronts.

That said, we really need work done to determine if this is a wise move for companies to adopt more broadly. As I said earlier, I am not calling for any business to follow in the immediate wake, but I strongly encourage interested parties to look closely at these outcomes, as what may seem like a cost burden for business may deliver the opposite, with improved productivity not just within an isolated business but potentially across the entire economy.

Before anybody chastises me on the suggestion that an allocation of five weeks' annual leave could ever happen, I draw their attention to other leading economies such as Austria, France and across Scandinavia where this already is the norm.

We have several large companies that are the first big cabs off the rank, and they deserve praise for their decision. From where we sit at this point in time, I urge all of us to be curious, follow things closely, and ultimately have an evidence-led discussion on whether this delivers better outcomes for both workers and employers.