Unions accuse restaurants of profiteering from Holidays Act

The Council of Trade Unions has accused the Restaurant Association of "profiteering" and misusing the new Holidays Act by urging members to add a 20 per cent surcharge on Christmas holidays.

Many cafes and restaurants only stayed open on public holidays because they did exceptional business, CTU president Ross Wilson said yesterday.

"New Zealanders clearly don't mind a small surcharge as the price of cafe staff getting the rate-and-a-half (from) the Holidays Act.

"But the Restaurant Association is now getting into profiteering."

The Restaurant Association has claimed the Holidays Act, which also requires staff who work on public holidays to get a day off in lieu, imposes unreasonable demands on food businesses that stay open.

But Mr Wilson said: "It is time for business organisations to stop their whingeing and get into the Christmas spirit.

"The Holidays Act requires a bit of minimal fairness in encouraging employers to give staff the day off, or paying them more if they can't."

Mr Wilson said it was "nonsense" to suggest tourists would be surprised to find many shops and cafes closed on public holidays.

"In most comparable countries, most shops and cafes are firmly closed not only on public holidays but Sundays as well," he said in a statement.

Business New Zealand warned this week that some businesses might lose money if they opened on public holidays because the Act could double pay rates for some workers.

Some businesses' holiday pay costs would exceed their takings, Business New Zealand chief executive Phil O'Reilly said.

- NZPA