Thread: Proposal to cut wages on Labor Day long weekend!

Couple of points re Aus Post.
Smaller PO are loss making enterprises. My parents own one and are trying to sell it. The best thing we can all do is post a letter. Not email, (no profit in that), no parcels either (parcel delivery couriers make the money on that). Small letter post is dead. Don't try to fight it, it's over. Parcel/freight (due mainly to internet orders) and e-means have killed it.

Case in point. AusPost have a partnership with a certain parcel carrier. The carrier carrys the box on the trunk and distribution backbones ending at a PO where Auspost then delivers door to door. Prob is, the parcel delivery cost has been paid to the parcel courier at lodgement. The Small PO operator is then obligated to deliver (via the partnership) for free. When my parents first bought their PO 25 years ago, it was 10-15 bags of letters for every bag of parcels. Now it's 1-2 bags of letters per day and 6 landcruisers of parcels. It's not viable.

As for penalty rates. I have mixed views. On the one hand I believe that OT should only be paid after you have done 38 (or however many) hours. This includes public holidays. My solution to paying penalty rates is to close the business on w/e and public holdidays.

Just my thoughts.

Cheers

[QUOTE=Ralph1Malph;2003357

As for penalty rates. I have mixed views. On the one hand I believe that OT should only be paid after you have done 38 (or however many) hours. This includes public holidays.

Just my thoughts.

Cheers[/QUOTE]

Not sure how you could do that. OT is just that, hours worked beyond the normal days work. EG, you work 8hrs 30 min. Monday , any time worked after that is subject to OT rates. & so on during the week. Bob

Originally Posted by Ralph1Malph

Couple of points re Aus Post.
Smaller PO are loss making enterprises. My parents own one and are trying to sell it. The best thing we can all do is post a letter. Not email, (no profit in that), no parcels either (parcel delivery couriers make the money on that). Small letter post is dead. Don't try to fight it, it's over. Parcel/freight (due mainly to internet orders) and e-means have killed it.

Case in point. AusPost have a partnership with a certain parcel carrier. The carrier carrys the box on the trunk and distribution backbones ending at a PO where Auspost then delivers door to door. Prob is, the parcel delivery cost has been paid to the parcel courier at lodgement. The Small PO operator is then obligated to deliver (via the partnership) for free. When my parents first bought their PO 25 years ago, it was 10-15 bags of letters for every bag of parcels. Now it's 1-2 bags of letters per day and 6 landcruisers of parcels. It's not viable.

As for penalty rates. I have mixed views. On the one hand I believe that OT should only be paid after you have done 38 (or however many) hours. This includes public holidays. My solution to paying penalty rates is to close the business on w/e and public holdidays.

Just my thoughts.

Cheers

Sounds like they were there in the days of Post Agencies when the operators were paid a salary by Australia Post. Post Agents were given the option of changing to an LPO or accepting a surrender package. Licensed Post Offices are a quite different arrangement. LPO's have to generate their own income by sales and commissions. Some are absolute gold mines getting commission on banking, bill paying, Western Union transfers and so on and on. Your parent's shop might be in a bad location. Our local PO is busy all day.

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Sounds like they were there in the days of Post Agencies when the operators were paid a salary by Australia Post. Post Agents were given the option of changing to an LPO or accepting a surrender package. Licensed Post Offices are a quite different arrangement. LPO's have to generate their own income by sales and commissions. Some are absolute gold mines getting commission on banking, bill paying, Western Union transfers and so on and on. Your parent's shop might be in a bad location. Our local PO is busy all day.

Ah. That would explain a bit about our LPO, which no doubt makes a fortune.

Originally Posted by bob10

Not sure how you could do that. OT is just that, hours worked beyond the normal days work. EG, you work 8hrs 30 min. Monday , any time worked after that is subject to OT rates. & so on during the week. Bob

NSW Police work 10 or 12 hour days, standard working is 4x 10hr shifts in a week, or 3x 12hr shifts in a week.

Coal Mines here have 4 watches or shifts. 2 of them are 5 day M-F jobs, 2 are 12hr Fr+Sat+Sun jobs.

You get your hours in by working less number of longer shifts with no Penalty Rates paid for working longer than 8hrs.

Working 3 12 hr shifts can be draining, but is offset with having 4 days off a week. For some it is a lifestyle choice, for others it presents an opportunity to get a 2nd casual job.

Originally Posted by 303gunner

NSW Police work 10 or 12 hour days, standard working is 4x 10hr shifts in a week, or 3x 12hr shifts in a week.

Coal Mines here have 4 watches or shifts. 2 of them are 5 day M-F jobs, 2 are 12hr Fr+Sat+Sun jobs.

You get your hours in by working less number of longer shifts with no Penalty Rates paid for working longer than 8hrs.

Working 3 12 hr shifts can be draining, but is offset with having 4 days off a week. For some it is a lifestyle choice, for others it presents an opportunity to get a 2nd casual job.

Makes sense, what would the hourly rate be? Also, with the police, how difficult is it to have overtime allowed? Bob

One of the hotels in my town did not open last Labour day(March in Vic) due to the wages bill.

As for the 17% holiday loading, my understanding is that it was introduced to cover the loss of overtime when taking leave.

A lot of workers(applied to me once) used to have regular OT and it just became part of their pay. When taking leave it feels like a pay cut.

The small post office in my town makes a killing out of bill payers etc. They do not deliver any parcels, just a note with the mail telling me there is one to be picked up.

In a previous job we worked ALL public holidays at the normal rate, but got the days added to our annual leave, so we got 6 weeks and 3 days off instead of 4 weeks. Was a very popular system because we could take the days off when we wanted them, in longer blocks.