Leap of faith: is cutting penalty rates a sin?

THOU shall not kill, steal, commit adultery — ­most would agree the 10 commandments are still pretty compatible with modern life.

So what about the fifth commandment to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”?

The Turnbull government should really be soul-searching its current mission to abolish penalty rates, not least for the lesson from scripture, but for what it means for Australian society.

Ever since demand rose for shopping and services on weekends and holidays we’ve compensated those usually lower-paid workers for their unsociable hours.

While churchgoers on the Sabbath may have declined, it’s embedded in our culture the idea that workers deserve days of rest, and compensation for those who toil through them.

So it’s no surprise clergies of numerous creeds have taken issue with the Productivity Commission’s recommendation to bring down weekend rates for hospitality, entertainment, retail, restaurant and cafe workers.

Not just because Sabbath is part of God’s ten moral commandments for Christian, Jewish and Reformation folk alike, but because clergy members of all creeds are worried by the rise of inequality.

Central to those concerns is the assertion, supported by Prime Minister Turnbull, that we live in a “seven-day economy”.

Such assertions are concerning for clergy, and those concerns go right to the top.

Earlier this year Pope Francis made world headlines with his sweeping critique of the damage to society wrought by unfettered free-market forces.

“The economy accepts every advance in technology with a view to profit, without concern for its potentially negative impact on human beings. Finance overwhelms the real economy,” he wrote.

The Pontiff laid much of the blame at the feet of world leaders who have worsened inequality by allowing a reckless pursuit of profits.

At the time Roman Catholic convert Malcolm Turnbull urged everyone to heed the Papal encyclical, which was odd given its warning against free-market madness, a concept with which Mr Turnbull, a former Goldman Sachs partner, was no doubt well acquainted.

The Pope’s words also found favour with Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart who said: “A market that is solely profit-driven is one that leaves no room for moral consideration on how we can achieve the common good.”

Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart. Image: ABC

Yesterday the Anglican Church chastised employer groups for lobbying the government to cut Sunday penalty rates for the inequality it would create.

The church’s Dr Gordon Preece said such lobbying ignored the wider community’s preference for Sunday as a shared day of rest and worship and the need to compensate those deprived of it, “often the poorer members of society.”

“It’s not just that Sunday is a day of worship, but the Church should stand with those, religious or not, in protecting special shared days of rest,” Dr Preece told Fairfax media.

“For Christians, Muslims and Jews, weekly worship is a required religious duty, but preserving penalty rates protects the whole community.”

Tony Farley, executive director of the Catholic Commission of Employment Relations agreed, saying the debate about penalty rates is less about economics and more about what sort of Australia we want to live in.

“The capacity of businesses to operate viably is important as is the ability of workers to earn a living wage,” Mr Farley said.

“If reducing weekend penalty rates encourages business and organisations to operate, then surely encouraging 24/7 health care would be more important than creating more opportunities to buy coffee and clothes.

“The Productivity Commission knows that to reduce penalty rates you have to start by targeting the least powerful sectors and that means the low paid workers in precarious employment in the retail and hospitality industries.”

When Moses appeared on Mount Sinai, inscribed stone tablet under each arm, the Israelites did not question God’s Sabbath instruction for being a drain on productivity.

Likewise the penalty rates debate has more to do with a fair society than it does for cheap coffee.