Riverina Labor candidate Mark Jeffreson has backed his party's call to reverse penalty rate cuts for award-wage workers but other candidates have called for more details.
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Mr Jeffreson said workers who took shifts over the Easter holiday period this year would be hundreds of dollars worse off after the second round of penalty rate reductions kicked in.
"It was meant to be about getting employers to hire more staff but the government's own reporting has show that hasn't happened," Mr Jeffreson said.
"We haven't seen more venues open on penalty rates days around here.
"Nothing really changed except for casual employees getting paid less money, and they will be paid even less after July...the more vulnerable people in the workforce are being paid less."
Mr Jeffreson said losing 25 percentage points off penalty rates was a "double whammy" for people who relied on the extra pay.
"People who rely on penalty rates, general speaking, have less surplus income at the end of the pay cycle," he said.
"If they have less money that have just got to tighten their belt even more."
Mr McCormack said the pledge on penalty rates was a "typical Labor misleading scare campaign".
"They are ignoring the fact that the independent Fair Work Commission sets penalty rates - not the Government," he said.
"Don't forget that as a union leader, Bill Shorten abolished penalty rates and overtime for low-paid workers. Labor has been and will continue to turn a blind eye to deals between the big unions and big business to cut penalty rates which creates an uneven playing field between big and small businesses.
"If Labor were genuinely concerned about penalty rates then why are they not calling out this behaviour?"
The Fair Work Commission, as the nation's independent industrial relations tribunal, made the decision in 2017 to reduce Sunday and public holiday penalty rates and staggered its reductions over a number of years.
One hospitality worker who was on shift for Easter Monday, and who asked for her name not to be used, said she didn't know if she would get less money for working the public holiday this year.
"I haven't discussed it with co-workers," she said.
A hairdresser who worked on Monday and who migrated to Australia this year for higher wages said he worked as much as he could.
"Of course more money is a big help to me," he said.
United Australia Party Riverina candidate Richard Foley said the Fair Work system was formed during the previous Labor government and he would need to see more detail on the opposition's proposed legislation on penalty rates.
"Personally, I don't agree with cutting people's wages but the party can't give a response until we have seen Labor's full details," he said.
"They man turn around and raise things in a ridiculous way or not change what they say; we just don't know."
Riverina Greens candidate Michael Bayles said he supported increases to wages.
"If you have a look at the economy, what is actually happening is that it is stagnating a lot as wages have been held down for so long," he said.
"People taking the time to work over Easter should be getting penalty rates."