The AMWU has defended the right for manufacturing workers to be paid penalty rates on Christmas, Boxing and New Year's days, in a hearing of the full bench of Fair Work Australia. 
 
The AMWU was responding to a submission from the peak manufacturing employer association, the AiG, who have sought a ruling which would mean penalty rates are not paid for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, all of which fall on weekends this holiday season.
 
Dave Oliver, the National Secretary of the AMWU, said that the AiG needed to catch up with modern community standards.
 
"The AiG are stuck in the past. Every worker who has to work on Christmas day this year would rightly expect be compensated for being away from their family."
 
Mr Oliver said that the union had argued to Fair Work Australia that the Award modernisation process had seen employers benefit enormously, and employers also had to accept concessions as part of the new workplace system.  Manufacturing workers in NSW have lost a public holiday as a result of that process, and the AiG's claim is yet another attempt to claw back family time from employees.
 
"The AiG should accept that in the modern workplace, families expect to have reasonable time off over the Christmas period or to be paid reasonable compensation. The public holidays replacing the weekend holidays are also days that families should enjoy together wherever possible, and if employers want to open their businesses, they need to compensate for that day as well."
 
"If the AiG's application is upheld, it will be employers who are 'double-dipping' into workers' family time. The standard is clear in the community's mind and we hope FWA reflects that reasonable expectation.
 
"The AiG are attempting to confuse the issue and should be ashamed of themselves for trying to rip a day out of their hard working employees annual breaks," he said.
 
"The AiG needs to move into the 21st century and recognise that time familty time for workers is an important part of the modern workplace."
 
The AMWU has countered the AiG application by applying to bring the modern manufacturing award in line with a range of other awards, such the hospitality, and road and transport awards, which apply a penalty of 50% extra for working on Christmas Day when it falls on a weekend, and it has not been proclaimed as an additional public holiday.
 
Fair Work Australia will hand down their ruling next week.