Union fear silence over Qld penalty rates

Queensland's unions are worried the Liberal National Party has remained silent about whether it would support keeping current penalty rates.

The federal government has directed the Productivity Commission to examine penalty rates in a wide-ranging industrial relations review, which will also look at the minimum wage, collective bargaining and unfair dismissal.

Queensland's Council of Unions asked the LNP and Labor to declare before Saturday's state election whether they would make a submission to the review outlining their support for leaving penalty and weekend rates as they are.

The deadline for a commitment passed at 9am AEST on Monday and council president John Battams says while Labor has declared it would make a submission, he hasn't heard back from the LNP despite an acknowledgement that their request had been received.

Mr Battams says the silence from the Queensland government is deafening.

"The fact that they've been silent, worries people very much," Mr Battams told AAP.

"After the election they can do whatever they like."

Mr Battams said society still operates on a Monday to Friday timetable, and those who work weekends or public holidays deserve compensation for missing out on quality time with family and children.

He also dismissed a suggestion that penalty rates hurt small business owners, suggesting the amount of cafes and shops he could see open for business on Australia Day contradicted that argument.

"It's not true that all these days are alike and as a consequence of that we believe the case for penalty rates is significant," he said.

"It's a real standard of living issue and ... the reality is if you cut penalty rates people lose pay and they've got less take home pay which affects their standard of living and ability to pay the bills."