HARDLY ‘FAIR WORK’
How an organization can use Fair and Work in the same sentence is beyond me.
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When men and women are given equal pay across the entire workforce, then,and only, then can any sort of fairness be introduced into wages and penalty rates.
Any business that struggles to stay open and pay penalty rates is better off pulling the pin and finding a different venture to invest in. Australia cannot justify removing incentives to work from its business structure.
Workers always have to stand back and watch capitalists stick their noses in the wealth trough. Fair Go For All.
Dave Cox, Corrimal
THE GAP WIDENS
The ABS has announced that the latest wages growth has set a new record low. Wages growth continues to zigzag across the zero growth line.
The main reason why household debt levels are now at record levels is because wages have lagged behind productivity growth.Productivity growth over the last five years has been well above the growth of wages.
Where does the income that the worker’s lose by being unable to gain wages growth in line with productivity growth go?
Mostly to profits. Some may claim that investment will be stimulated. Some of the redistributed National Income has gone into the massive and obscene executive salaries.
Recent labour force data has revealed on-going weak employment growth - 2.1 million Australians are either unemployed or underemployed. With household debt so high, the Reserve Bank has limited capacity to raise interest rates, further any government policy that undermines wages growth – like changing penalty rates for weekend workers etc - will inflame mortgage stress.
With wages growth so low there is no income bracket creep happening (people paying higher tax because they move into higher brackets) and tax receipts are falling well below forecasts.
Don Kelly, Kanahooka
IT’S JUST TAKE, TAKE, TAKE
Ann Sudmalis needs a reality check, our grandparents spend a long time fighting for those rights like penalty rates, free healthcare and education. All your government wants to do is take it all away.
Our grandparents went to war to protect our rights, our politicians sit on their fat ass do nothing apart from fudge travel expenses, and think they have more knowledge about how youth live?
As a 34yo I can not could not claim my dependent spouse as a dependent, because we are too young, now penalty rates are cut, how exactly does Ann think this is going to help people my age pay a mortgage? Or rent?
Ann you need a reality check, why don't you meet me on a Sunday for coffee, and we can chat to the barista and the wait staff about how thrilled they should be about losing money.
And then we will have coffee in the same cafe in two months, lets see then how many new staff the cafe has, because according to you, cheaper wages equals more jobs,
By that definition, maybe if we paid politicians less we could have more? Or maybe if we paid less we would get a better quality?
I look forward to meeting you personally Ann. Of course since you earn so much more than me, I will expect you to pay.
Michael Jones, Warrawong
BURSTING THE BUBBLE
I hate to burst John Macleod's bubble "Advance Australia Fair" (Illawarra Mercury, Wednesday March 1) , but natural gas is not actually classed a "renewable" energy.
True, it only creates half the CO2 that coal does for the same energy, but it is still a fossil fuel that really needs to be left in the ground.
Wind, sun, waves, tides, and even geothermal energy are all found in profusion in Australia and all come free of charge once the infrastructure is built. A much better way to Advance Australia.
Tom Hunt, Oak Flats