|
Issue No. 228 | 09 July 2004 |
Thai-ed in Knots
Interview: Power and the Passion Unions: Tackling the Heavy Hitters Industrial: Seeing the Forest For The Wood Housing: Home Truths International: Boycott Busters Economics: Ideology and Free Trade History: Long Shadow of a Forgotten Man Review: Chewing the Fat Poetry: Dear John
Politics The Soapbox The Locker Room Postcard
Libs have Got To Go A Boring Bastard A Home Of Their Own
Labor Council of NSW |
News "Super Sopper" Soaks Up Funds
Labor Council assistant secretary, Mark Lennon, said some operators would use Howard's announcement that they would only be required to report super payments annually, to return to practises that had seen workers dudded of millions of dollars. The Prime Minister intends scrapping quarterly reporting which was introduced after widespread rorting left workers across the country without super they had earned. In recent months, Workers Online has reported two cases in which Sydney employers rorted their staff out of hundreds of thousands in accrued super. Angry workers picketed an Alexandria print shop in March after they learned, one of the principals, Alan David, had been involved in an operation that deprived 70 employees of $1 million in super, salary sacrifices and medical insurance payments. In April, six former employees of Stratti Ocean and Earthworks, explained how they had lost up to $30,000 worth of super a head, when their boss, Troy Stratti, put his company into voluntary liquidation. They claimed that Stratti's failure to provide documentation had been a key factor in their loss of retirement savings. Lennon labelled the Howard announcement an "election sop". "There was a big announcement about cutting red tape for small business but what has been cut?" Lennon asked. "Principally, the rights of employees to keep track of their retirement incomes. "Many people find it difficult to keep track of contributions made on their behalves. The fact they will only receive information every 12 months will only make it more difficult. "While, legally, they still have to pay quarterly, you just watch how many will take this as a green light to go back to annual payments. "This is discrimination against people employed by small businesses and it won't help our retirement income problems." ASU secretary, Michael Want, said the move to quarterly reporting had given people greater income security at a time when thousands of employers were declaring bankruptcy every years.
|
Search All Issues | Latest Issue | Previous Issues | Print Latest Issue |
© 1999-2002 Workers Online |
|