Latest news

Most retail stores are designed to rely on air conditioning as the primary source of airflow. This means that regardless of whether customers are present, the air conditioning should remain on during work hours to ensure a comfortable and safe environment for team members. Without this airflow, the store can quickly become uncomfortably hot. If air conditioning is broken or switched off, workers can experience discomfort or even heat-related illnesses, including headaches, dizziness, and other symptoms that affect people differently.

Superannuation is designed to earn interest by investing. Super also helps pay for insurance and advice to keep you on track for a decent retirement. Super should be paid on top of every dollar you earn and should be paid each pay day. At present, it’s paid on most, but not all earnings.

Under the current Labor Government, unions and union members have won huge improvements to their pay, conditions and workplace rights. Significant changes the SDA has long campaigned for have become law including super on paid parental leave, paid family and domestic leave and stronger rights for union shop stewards and delegates. Wages have started to trend upwards again, bargaining is expanding and delivering new and improved agreements and new rights are helping provide better, safer and fairer workplaces for everyone. SDA members should be proud of what we’ve achieved but also consider that it could be at risk this Federal Election.

Big retail businesses have backed in an attack by the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) to cut key minimum employment rights for retail workers including evening and weekend penalty rates, overtime, rostering rights and rest breaks.

Personal Leave is in every SDA Agreement and is one of the National Employment Standards (NES). Personal Leave covers Sick Leave and Carer’s Leave. Sick Leave can be used when the employee is sick. Carer’s Leave can be used when an employee provides care or support to a member of their immediate family or household who is unwell or has a medical emergency. The NES provides that permanent employees accrue 10 days of Personal Leave per year.

On 26 February 2025, new laws came into effect which will give casual workers more power to convert to permanent employment.