SAIR's 2017/18 POLICY STATEMENT

SAIR’s 2017/18 POLICY STATEMENT

SAIR advocates on behalf of the 120 owners representing 235 independent supermarkets stores which are branded Foodland, IGA and Friendly Grocer. This sector employs 15,000, which also includes staff in the sector’s major wholesale distribution centre. As a collective group, this sector is the largest private employer in the State, maintaining a 26% market share, is very competitive and punches well above its weight with a respectable circa $2b annual turnover, equating to circa 2% of South Australia’s Growth State Product (GSP).

Independent supermarket owners across the State are now experiencing unprecedented challenges in the costs of doing business. Even though some of these challenges stem from a national level, our owners’ low business confidence is compounded by South Australia’s current and future economic outlook.

Across the board the independent supermarket businesses are now seeing national economic indicators of 3 out of 5 months in negative growth; high household debt; no wages growth; falling wages in relative terms; unemployment; rising costs of living; reduced discretionary spending; cost of doing business increases now in a range of 3% to 7% and in an environment of flat to negative sales, having material impacts on margins. Added to this is the recent national wage case decision of a 3.3% increase, which is the highest increase over the last 5 years.

The State’s fragile, costly and unreliable energy market is a predominate factor coupled with significant losses in the local manufacturing industry, consequently having negative impacts on local business communities and confidence.

South Australia’s supermarket landscape is also rapidly changing with the introduction over the past 2 years of international competitors Aldi and Costco. There is now the threat of additional new competition of Lidl and Kaufland and online creating a negative business sentiment.

POLICY ISSUE/RATIONALE

1. ENERGY COSTS SAIR seeks relief from SA Gov’t to Independent supermarket owners are paying the price due to the huge impacts of spiralling out support SA retail business owners of control power costs, with no immediate relief. The energy market and system in SA remains regarding their power usage vulnerable and is stressed…

Further, that the SA Gov’t recognises Independent supermarket owners need a reliable and secure power system the local community benefits provided by independent businesses, which ‘Loss in trade’, due to blackouts and an unreliable system can never be recovered significantly invest and achieve energy improvements. Making significant power efficiency improvements creates less reliance on the local community’s power needs

______2. SHOP TRADING HOURS SAIR believes that the Shop Trading Do not support any changes to shop trading hours as we believe that the current shop trading Hours Act 1977 should not be changed hours in this State is well balanced and structured………..public holidays need to be preserved

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3. PLANNING SAIR is opposed to the indiscriminate Independent supermarket owners and other SME’s need to be consulted by the Government’s re-zoning of local industrial areas for Planning Department and involved with the process of all applications, including DPA’s that commercial use involve any future shopping developments in the State. Involvement in planning is important to future growth of the independent supermarket sector and those local communities that it Rezoning of this type needs full public serves. disclosure and consultation Industrial & rural pieces of land are being re-zoned to commercial with little or no consultation………………….

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‘advocating for all independent owners of Foodland; IGA and Friendly Grocer supermarkets in South Australia’ PO BOX 2176, KENT TOWN SA 5071 | M: 0413 282 641 | E: [email protected] | ABN: 82 804 971 951

4. LIQUOR BILL - SALE OF LIQUOR IN SUPERMARKETS SAIR seeks SA Gov’t support and In line with independent supermarket owners who are leading the promotion, stocking and assistance for SA independent selling of local produce. supermarket owners to work across industry sectors particularly with the Research suggests customers enjoy the diverse and broad range of local quality branded SA Wine Industry & local brewers to products that independent supermarkets offer enhancing choices ……… achieve this outcome. Liquor availability will complement the local gourmet experience and offer by our supermarkets…..supports South Australia’s winemakers & brewers particularly smaller boutique regional businesses…… ______

5. FUNDING FOR TRAINING It is SAIR’s view that training funding Training investment needs to be targeted to increase job participation and skills should be linked to employment & up- skilling Retail industry’s traineeships and apprenticeships are critical for new jobs and up-skilling………

SAIR seeks SA Gov’t to consider Retail industry needs to lead the process of training programs/initiatives matched to local jobs Payroll Tax/RTWSA exemptions for SA demand/supply …… ‘Employers Guarantee’ up to 12 months will assist in screening process businesses in taking on trainees or apprentices Over 50% of young people from Year 10 to Year 12 will work casually in the Retail Industry and gain critical people/life skills… specific funding needs to be viewed as a priority for industry SAIR seeks SA Govt support for an ‘Employer’s Guarantee’ after Retail skills that accommodate rapidly changing technologies are now needed……… completing a t’ship/a’ship Policy should view new rapidly changing retail management and new technology skills in moving goods and services as a priority ______

6. NATIONAL & STATE WHS REVIEW Work Health & Safety compliance is too complex, heavily prescriptive, adds significant costs, It is SAIR’s view that the current WHS whilst exposing owners of business to unwarranted stress and potential litigation. Act 2012 needs review.

SAIR consults with SafeWorkSA, working with independent supermarket ‘best practice’ initiatives That the ‘red tape’ around WHS compliance be dramatically simplified The National implementation of the ‘Model of WHS’ by SafeWork Australia requires that at the for all SA industry sectors’ needs and State level there is local industry ‘WHS educated’ representatives involved in is flexible consultation/feedback and needs to be expanded to include the retail industry

WHS legislative and regulatory information needs to be more simplified and educated/provided

to retailers in a ‘keep-it-simple-silly’ (KISS) format – cut the red tape

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7. RETURN TO WORK Employers experiencing rapid resolution challenges with the 2 RTWSA agencies i.e. Employer’s SAIR believes that the State’s recently Mutual & Gallagher Bassett introduced Return To WorkSA system requires more streamlining and RTWSA mobile case workers, whose role it is to get workers back to work, are experiencing business premiums should be further ‘local’ knowledge challenges within regions regarding understanding the ‘real’ issues relating to reviewed. employees

Business premium rates for supermarket owners are still too high and many owners do not

understand the why and how to reduce their premiums, including self- insured

Note: SAIR believes that business owners need to be advised and informed with improved and simplified education regarding better practices in local WHS legislation and regulations including owners and staff obligations. It is SAIR’s view that this would lead to preventing potential workplace accidents, mitigating RTWSA claims and potentially lowering premiums ______

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