The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia has estimated businesses could lose $115.42 million per year if the state government’s proposed public holiday changes are introduced.
CCI calculated the Easter Saturday public holiday would cost businesses $67.87 million with increased public holiday wages.
An additional weekday public holiday was estimated to cost $47.55 million.
CCIWA acting co-chief executive and chief economist Aaron Morey said the change would be felt by small and family businesses the most.
“It’s clear that WA businesses can’t afford another two days where they’re paying someone sixty-five dollars an hour to wash dishes,” he said.
“Base wage costs have spiralled, along with virtually every other cost you can think of, and almost ten per cent of businesses in the WA hospitality sector alone have closed their doors in the year to April.”
Even businesses with public holiday surcharges would be left out of pocket, Mr Morey said.
“A ten per cent or fifteen per cent surcharge doesn’t come close to covering wages that are, on average, 250 per cent above base rates,” he said.
“Businesses that do choose to have a surcharge often face a backlash from their customers, and we know many consumers will reduce their spend when a surcharge is applied.”
Tourism Council WA objected to the Easter Saturday public holiday for similar reasons, as well as stating the additional day would not increase visitation.
Its survey of WA tourism operators found 76 per cent of respondents would either be forced to increase rates to match inflated operating costs or would close during the Easter long weekend.
Tourism Council WA chief executive Evan Hall said the extra public holiday would offer no additional revenue while staffing costs would rise.
“Tourism Council WA estimated that a family of four undertaking a day-trip activity or event on an Easter Saturday public holiday would pay an additional sixty-five dollars, or an additional $204 for an Easter long weekend trip,” he said.
Evan Hall is concerned with the public holiday putting pressure on struggling families and businesses. Photo: Michael O'Brien
The survey showed 56 per cent of respondents were in support of additional public holidays on Mondays outside of school holidays.
In response, the council recommended in its submission additional public holidays should fall between August and September.
Mr Morey said two additional public holidays could have consequences for workers.
“We’ve spoken to businesses that say they simply can’t afford to open on public holidays because of the wage cost,” he said.
“For a small business that mostly employ casual workers like university students, that’s a day of lost profit for the business and a day of lost income for their workers.”
Last week, the Australian Hotels Association WA announced its opposition to the Easter Saturday proposal.
A survey of its members found 89.3 per cent of participating hospitality businesses were against the classification of Easter Saturday as a public holiday.
In addition to the proposed changes to the long weekend, the review considered aligning WA’s public holidays with the east coast and moving WA Day outside of winter.
AHA WA expressed its support of the other changes, and CCIWA backed the idea to match up the state’s holidays with those in other states.
After the WA Public Holiday Review received almost 10,000 submissions, Premier Roger Cook said preliminary analysis suggested majority were in support of changes to the state’s calendar.
Roger Cook was more optimistic on support for the changes.
“This strong response reflects widespread interest in the opportunities presented by public holiday reform,” Mr Cook said.
"As I have said before, we recognise that any decision to reform the state's public holiday schedule needs to include consideration of the impact of the change, whether the private and public sectors or the WA community.
“We are listening, and we’ll use this feedback to shape a public holiday schedule that reflects who we are as Western Australians, while also boosting productivity and make life easier by aligning with other states and territories.”
Any changes to the state’s public holidays are set to take effect in 2027 or 2028.
Alongside written submissions, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier Daniel Pastorelli met with key stakeholders to discuss the proposal.
"It is important that with any change to our public holiday calendar that we get the balance right, so workers can get the break they deserve, and economic activity can continue to thrive in WA,” he said.
