FEELING POWER PAIN
We have received notification of both electricity and gas price increases of around 18 per cent.each
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However, also note “service to property” increases too. The Federal Govt. adds 10 per cent GST on top of this makes. It extremely difficult not only for pensioners but those that are already struggling.
They say it is due to increases in gas prices.
What does gas price increases have on “service to property”? We are not getting any better service.
Maybe it’s time the State and Federal governments intervened on gas prices?
Can it be purchased for Australian consumers at a reasonable rate? Overseas customers appear to get a better deal that we do
Terry Stretton, Dapto
PAYING THE PENALTY
In response to the letter by John Macleod "So who is picking up the bill?" (Illawarra Mercury, Saturday July 15, 2017), as I have stated previously "for businesses to exist, the workers need the management and the management need the workers".
You cannot have one without the other.
Penalty rates have an important place in the workplace, after all management and CEO's of large companies have salary packages that include moderate to large bonuses in addition to their wages.
And to my knowledge no workers have access to such financial benefits.
Clearly, small to medium size businesses cannot afford "high" penalty rates, but do not misunderstand me and consider what some of the unions have done to their own members.
I acknowledge penalty rates do help people who need extra income to make ends meet.
Penalty rates have become important as the hours per week have changed and people have been given working hours outside of normal "daily" work times.
In addition penalty rates and/or higher levels of pay have been given to those who work in dangerous environments such as mining, oil rigs and emergency services.
There is a sense of justice and morality for penalty rates.
Adrian Devlin, Fairy Meadow
DOING IT TOUGH
Ordinary Australian families are doing it tough under the current political system.
We are doing our best to raise our families and trying to manage in a sustainable way: energy costs, recycling waste, supporting our kids schools, those affected by natural disasters and undertaking voluntary work in a variety of community organisations.
Ordinary people are doing ordinary things despite the fact that there are no wage increases.
Workers are taking wage cuts or redundancy and penalty rates are under attack.
Add to that the real threat of the casualisation of work.
Meanwhile we have a conservative government led by a weak individual that hasn't got the guts to take on the fundamentalists in his government.
This is a government that gives tax benefits to big business at the same time attacking those on welfare and the take home pay of workers.
On the other side we have Labor that through its leader projects little confidence things are going to change for the better.
Then we come to the Greens.
Slowly they have become a " political party" with factions and personalities ready to interpret policy and procedures that best reflected their own ambition.
What the Australian Greens have forgotten is to maximise the environmental benefits there needs to be a social justice element that ensures all share in the benefits of a clean green environment.
Lets face it there is no stronger advocate for justice in the workplace and in society generally than Lee Rhiannon.
Ken Bone, Conjola Park