Dubbo's small businesses are calling on the federal government to conduct a review of penalty rates, as they face a four-day long weekend.
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Sticks and Stones restaurant will be one of many local businesses to close its doors this Easter, and owner Glenys Hubbard said it's because it's not financially viable.
"Last Easter we chose to open one of the four public holidays - on the Saturday. We had a great busy day but it cost us $2500 in wages," she said. "It's too much and it's just not worth it." It was especially disappointing given the number of tourists that would be in Dubbo this weekend, she said.
"It's small local business that gives the town its personality, its flavour, [but] so many of us won't be showing our faces," she said.
Dubbo Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) President Matt Wright agreed the closures would be disappointing for visitors to Dubbo this long weekend.
"To drive up the main street of a small regional town, you lose a bit of that vibrancy of a hustling, bustling CBD when shops are closed," Mr Wright said.
"I'd love to be able to drive up the CBD [on a Sunday] and see that it's thriving, but it's just not the case at the moment."
The Dubbo chamber and its members are part of the 'too big to ignore' campaign, calling on governments to review "out-dated" penalty rates, Mr Wright said.
"It's really about being fair across the employees and employers, so to find that middle ground's going to be difficult.
"It's not about employees missing out on entitlements. I'm sure they'll still be rewarded for those weekends and public holidays. It's just finding a fair middle ground and getting the government to realise that [the system] needs to be overhauled."
But United Voice NSW secretary Mark Boyd said the union, which represented hospitality workers in NSW, did not support the push to review penalty rates.
"They are to ensure that staff that have to work on weekends and public holidays are properly compensated," he said.
"Our economy is not a 24-seven one - not everyone will be working the Easter weekend. For those individuals who have to, it's only fair to their families that they are compensated."
Mr Boyd added penalty rates were "vital for our economy" and said removing them would have a negative impact.
"Our members continuously tell us that the additional income these families receive is the backbone of their family budget, and it goes back into our communities and back into our local economies - back into the small businesses the Business Chamber claims to represent," he said.
"This is especially relevant in rural and regional areas, where millions in income would be lost if penalty rates were slashed."