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Apr 25, 2024 13:12
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- Halo14
- Sep 11, 2001
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-04/backbencher-calls-for-action-on-youth-unemployment/5719194
Liberal backbencher Alex Hawke calls for penalty rates to be cut; Labor accuses Coalition of 'Trojan Horse' attack on workers' rights
quote:
Labor has seized on a Federal Liberal backbencher's call for weekend and public holiday penalty rates to be slashed for small business workers, saying it is a "Trojan Horse" for attacks on nurses and paramedics.
Western Sydney backbencher Alex Hawke said the country's youth unemployment "crisis" warranted immediate change.
"If you change penalty rates now, in six to 12 months you'd start to see an impact of more small businesses taking on more young people," he said.
"Given that Sundays are no longer sacrosanct ... having to pay a 75 per cent loading [is] an old concept.
"There's no real reason or modern defence for paying such a loading on the same trading day as any other."
His call flies in the face of the Coalition's election promise to make no changes to penalty rates in this term of government.
The Government has promised to set up a Productivity Commission inquiry into industrial relations and take any recommendations it supports from it to the next election.
But Mr Hawke said with youth unemployment at 13 per cent nationally, and more than 20 per cent in parts of western Sydney, the country cannot afford to wait that long.
"I think we have to act early and recognise, what are the reasons that we have youth unemployment? Well, the reasons are an inflexible system for many small businesses," he said.
"The small businesses I speak to tell me that if you could reduce penalty rates on Sundays, weekends, public holidays, they would add that extra person.
"You'd see a lot more shifts for young people on weekends, Sundays and public holidays."
In March, Mr Hawke was one of a group of Liberal MPs, including fellow western Sydney backbencher Craig Laundy and Victorian MP Dan Tehan, who called for a debate on cutting penalty rates.
But none have gone as far as Mr Hawke did on Thursday.
Labor says comments are prelude to attack on nurses, cleaners
Mr Hawke says he is not calling for public sector workers' penalty rates to be cut, but Opposition Workplace Relations spokesman Brendan O'Connor does not believe him.
"The Opposition knows that cutting hospitality penalty rates is a Trojan Horse to attack the take home pay of nurses, paramedics, aged care workers and cleaners, who rely on penalty rates to pay the bills," Mr O'Connor said.
"This is not just an attack on Sunday baristas, this is an attack on 4.5 million Australians who work in industries where penalty rates apply.
"If you earn penalty rates in this country, your take-home pay is under threat from Tony Abbott.
"How long will it be before Tony Abbott caves into pressure from his backbench and breaks his promise to not touch workers' wages or penalty rates?"
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has long argued the Coalition's true agenda involves cutting penalty rates.
He spoke to reporters before Mr Hawke's comments.
"I suspect that the Abbott Government's only recipe for workplace relations is indeed, as you suggest, to cut penalty rates. How on earth do you make working people better off by making them poorer?" Mr Shorten said.
Mr Shorten has also sought to highlight that it is a year since Prime Minister Tony Abbott promised to create 1 million jobs within five years.
"A Tony Abbott promise is not worth the paper it's written on, but he did say a year ago that under a Liberal government he led, there'd be a million jobs in five years and 2 million jobs in 10 years," Mr Shorten said.
"Now instead what Tony Abbott's given us is a 10-year high in unemployment.
"We have seen that the only jobs policy the Abbott Government has is to send jobs overseas."
A spokesman for Employment Minister Eric Abetz said "penalty rates are a matter for Fair Work Australia and not for governments to determine".
"The Productivity Commission review will report back to the Government later in the term and [Mr Abetz] urges all interested parties to make a submission to it," the spokesman said.
"[The Coalition] said before the last election that any changes we plan to make on workplace reform will be put [forward] at the next election."
Hawke 'calling it as it is', industry says
But the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has praised Mr Hawke's comments.
"You can't have unemployment at a 12-year high, with the youth jobless rates double the national average, and not be concerned," CEO Kate Carnell said in a statement.
"Alex Hawke is calling it as it is. He comes from the western suburbs of Sydney, where youth unemployment is running as high as 20 per cent in places.
"To ignore those figures is to turn your back on Australia's youth. It is irresponsible."
ACTU president Ged Kearney said the Coalition wants to cut wages across the board.
"Penalty rates right across the board would be at huge risk if we start this - nurses, all sorts of people, our emergency services workers, anybody who works evenings or weekends and who relies on penalty rates will effectively have a pay cut if we start in one industry ... there will certainly be a domino effect," she said.
quote:
Australian Unions
@unionsaustralia
Alex Hawke says "Sundays are no longer sacrosanct.” We’re reliably informed that parliament isn't sitting this Sunday Halo14 fucked around with this message at 00:40 on Sep 5, 2014
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Sep 5, 2014 00:37
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- Halo14
- Sep 11, 2001
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So it seems the washup of Gillard's royal commission appearance yesterday was essentially "nothing". We learned absolutely nothing yesterday that we didn't already know, and I don't think there's anything else to find at this point.
Is it weird that I'm actually quite interested in reading her memoirs?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-10/barnett-union-royal-commission/5734818?pfm=sm&wt.mc_id=newsmail
quote:To give an indication of the LNP's motives for chasing Gillard, LNP frontbencher Julie Bishop told the Sunday Telegraph in February 2013 that she only agreed to pursue Gillard after the Prime Minister accused Abbott of misogyny.
"Tony had always given Gillard the benefit of the doubt, he'd always thought there was a line she would never cross," the now Foreign Minister said.
"She crossed the line that day, and as far as he was concerned, all bets were off. So it ultimately backfired on her, because I would never have raised the AWU matter had she not done that."
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Sep 11, 2014 01:56
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- Halo14
- Sep 11, 2001
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Telstra takes over Medicare, Centrelink call centres
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/telstra-takes-over-medicare-centrelink-call-centres-20140917-10i5ku.html
quote:
Telstra will start taking over Centrelink and Medicare call centre services from the federal government in six weeks.
The giant Department of Human Services (DHS), which runs the agencies, made the announcement to its shocked workers on Wednesday.
The department says Telstra will "partner" with DHS to deliver the telephone services to millions of clients and will also train public servants in "industry best practice" due to their position as an expert in contact centre management.
It is unclear from the internal Human Services announcement what will happen to the 7000 public servants who work in about 28 "smart centres" around Australia.
Nor is it clear if Telstra will be allowed to use its network of overseas call centres in the deal.
DHS staff were told that the telco giant "may also work with a third party provider" when it begins its contract at the end of October but no further details were provided.
Do you know more? Send your confidential tips to ps@canberratimes.com.au
Sources say that staff were shocked to hear about the outsourcing and are worried it may lead to public sector jobs being sent offshore.
"Initially, the work would focus on Centrelink and Medicare public activities such as requests for replacement concession and Medicare cards, appointment bookings, general queries and other transactions like BasicsCard balance updates," the internal announcement said.
"Telstra will deliver the services from departmental premises located in Bunbury and ACT/Queanbeyan.
"This will provide coverage and help manage demand across the various Australian time zones."
DHS's 35,000 workers were told that a "framework" would be developed to ensure that client privacy was protected and that standards of service and behaviour from call centre workers were not compromised.
"The department will ensure through this arrangement that Australian Public Service standards and code of conduct and departmental values in regard to behaviour, quality and performance are maintained," according to the announcement.
"The department will specify a framework that will cover the performance of services during the contract period and matters such as fraud control, privacy and security."
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Sep 17, 2014 08:08
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- Adbot
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ADBOT LOVES YOU
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Apr 25, 2024 13:12
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- Halo14
- Sep 11, 2001
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Uh wtf...
New laws will give ASIO licence to kill
http://www.9news.com.au/national/2014/09/21/08/47/new-anti-terror-laws-will-give-asio-power-to-kill#HLiBrc9KIekpAtmA.99
quote:
Sweeping new anti-terror laws to be introduced to Parliament on Wednesday will give ASIO the power to kill suspects.
The new legislation will give ASIO agents a licence to kill in extreme circumstances, such as self-defence or to protect the lives of others.
Attorney General George Brandis will also push for a change to the criminal code and introduce a penalty for the offence of "advocating terror".
The change will mean radical preachers who incite "hate speech" can be jailed for up to five years.
But Mr Brandis said ASIO could never be authorised to torture.
"This is not something that any Australian government agency, no matter what the circumstances, would ever do," he said.
The Australian Greens are concerned giving agencies more power will overturn democratic rights and restrict civil liberties.
Labor's legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus said ASIO and the police already did "very fine work" without new laws.
A parliamentary committee wants changes made to the agency powers bill, including better oversight of provisions that give spies immunity from criminal prosecution, and the government has said it supports the committee's 17 recommendations.
ASIO and the federal police were happy with the planned changes, Mr Brandis said.
Additional reporting by AAP.
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Sep 21, 2014 08:08
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Sep 1, 2014 08:06
