Reply With Quotemarty 17 (04-02-14)
Seems that the allowances as quoted in The Australian have mostly been phased out. See
SPC Ardmona says claims made by Tony Abbott and other ministers about its industrial conditions are wrong and exaggerated.
The government has explained its decision not to contribute $25m to the retooling the fruit processor says is essential for its survival on the grounds that its parent company, Coca Cola Amatil, is profitable and because SPC offers employees overly generous working conditions. It has called on companies to get their industrial relations “house in order” before asking for taxpayer money.
“Ultimately it comes down to the partnership between employers and employees. And if that is what they negotiate, then please do not come to the government asking for other taxpayers’ money when those agreements fail. I say to you, emphatically, everyone in Australia must do the heavy lifting now. The age of entitlement is over,” the treasurer, Joe Hockey, said on Monday.
But in a statement issued on Tuesday, SPC managing director Peter Kelly said many of the claims made about pay and conditions at the plant were untrue and “need to be refuted by the facts”.
He said that in 2013 the total cost of allowances for all of SPC Ardmona’s production staff was $116,467, less than 0.1% of the business’s cost of goods for the year.
The so-called “wet” allowance, listed by Abbott as one of the generous conditions offered by the company, was not paid at all in 2013 and staff did not get the claimed nine weeks’ paid leave but rather the standard 20 days.
SPC has also been criticised for offering a five-day holiday for the Melbourne Cup. Kelly said this came about because “production staff accrue rostered days off (RDOs) during the year which SPCA requires them not to take during the peak season. Instead these RDOs are taken at the start of November, the optimum time for a plant shutdown to allow maintenance in preparation for the canning season from December to April. RDOs are not additional leave.”
“We are doing our best to reduce all costs across the business, however the serious problems that have beset SPCA have not been because of labour costs and certainly not from the allowances, a fact borne out by the Productivity Commission’s recent analysis,” Kelly said, breaking his silence since cabinet rejected the company’s request for assistance last week.
His statement comes as Coalition backbencher Sharman Stone, the local member for the Victorian regional seat that houses the fruit processor, upped her already strident attacks on the government’s handling of the issue to directly accuse her own government of “lying” about the issue.
“The government is scapegoating the company … denigrating a good company ... and trying to link it to a witch-hunt against the unions rather than face up to the real problems which are the continuing high dollar, the failure of our anti-dumping regime and the failure to properly safety test competing products that come in from overseas,” she told Guardian Australia on Monday.
In his statement, Kelly also insisted the real reasons for SPC’s difficulties had nothing to do with industrial conditions.
“The business has been severely damaged in recent times by a ‘perfect storm’ created by external economic factors – the high Australian dollar, which appreciated more than 50% from 2009 to 2013, has both enabled the flood of cheap imported product to be sold in Australia below the cost of production here, and also decimated the company’s export markets.
“In that period market share of private label canned fruit grew to 58% today, while SPC Ardmona’s canned fruit share declined to 33%. Our export market volumes declined by 90% in the past five years. The other major factors not of our making have been the dumping of cheap imported fruit and vegetable products into the Australian market from countries which do not have anything like the stringent safety, labour and environmental standards as we do; and the fact there are no, or very low tariffs imposed on imported fruit products from countries such as China and the EU while these same countries impose tariffs of up to 20% on average on SPC Ardmona products into their markets.
“Since 2011, 32% of positions across the business have been made redundant. In December 2013, 73 employees in the maintenance and trade function at SPC Ardmona … were made redundant, and the function outsourced to an external maintenance services provider.”
Speaking on the ABC’s 7.30 report Monday, Abbott said Coca-Cola Amatil could well afford to pay for the retooling itself.
“What we're trying to do here is ensure that businesses act responsibly,” the prime minister said. “And let's never forget … that SPC is a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Amatil. Coca-Cola Amatil is a $9bn business in market capitalisation. In the last six months it made a $215m after-tax profit. Coca-Cola Amatil has a better balance sheet than the commonwealth of Australia, a stronger balance sheet than the commonwealth of Australia and it really is up to management to put the plans in place, to put the funding in place to ensure that this very historic and potentially very good business can continue far into the future.”
marty 17 (04-02-14)
The media release:
Abbotts' point about profitable multinationals paying their own way is a valid one (ignoring previous contradictory actions) - we do live in a free-enterprise, capitalist society, don't we?
But dumping it all on the workers? Straight out of the Tea Party Hymn book.
It's a bit funny really - listening to a politician castigate others for overly-generous allowances.
It's a pleasing thing to see this company come out and let people know the facts.
We ( yes me too) can google 'till your hearts content, linking up stories that none of us can truely vouch for as being correct.
There is a lesson in this for us all, and it is an old one......When you ASSUME means that you make an ass out of you and me.
Enough said, facts are there now, little if anything to be garnered from this thread.
Ahh there is nothing like a back bench er calling her leader a liar, politics as normal
There is a fine line between "Hobby" and "Madness"
Re: SPC workers allowances
I can assure you that CCA only let you know the facts they have to give you.Originally Posted by viewer
Godzilla (05-02-14)
Regardless of the Employment conditions, why are they asking for a handout.
The time to make a stand was years ago, as soon as Tariffs were removed.
This applies to all Australian Business.
We have been sold out by all sides of politics. Labor, who represent the workers HA HA, have been the worst.
We sign so called FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS where we are the only one not supporting the farmers.
allover (05-02-14)
In reference to the local Liberal Minister talking on radio, when asked to repeat on tv, declined
There is a fine line between "Hobby" and "Madness"
She has no need to repeat anything. Tony Abbott exposed himself as a liar simply by changing his argument. Initially SPC was not worth saving because of these so called over generous entitlements and when that turned out to be a load of horseshit it's now because the parent company is making million dollar profits. That point might have more credibility if the Government wasn't prepared to throw money at Cadbury or at marriage counseling... you know you have issues when even that Pickering dude thinks it's stoopid
Coca Cola Amatil make more money than the commonwealth government in Australia.
viewer (05-02-14)
What I say in paragraphs, you do in sentences...THANKSShe has no need to repeat anything. Tony Abbott exposed himself as a liar simply by changing his argument. Initially SPC was not worth saving because of these so called over generous entitlements and when that turned out to be a load of horseshit it's now because the parent company is making million dollar profits. That point might have more credibility if the Government wasn't prepared to throw money at Cadbury or at marriage counseling... you know you have issues when even that Pickering dude thinks it's stoopid
So explain this one to me. If your a worker in this particular union, you get additional pay for having something like a CPR license? 19.07 an hour is considered lower middle class in the US, but it's not too bad; especially in parts of the country that are a tad poorer.
Wasn't the Cadbury money a pre election promise? I can't remember.
I'm disappointed at the lack of nouse really. He's sunk to Julias level. I didn't think it was likely. Clearly Coke need the money.
The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.
Many large organizations and companies are more than willing to have these trained/approved first aid attendants. Not only is it good business sense, many times, it is a requirement on OH&S. In most cases these days, allowances have been withdrawn through eba updates, and replaced by the company paying employees to undertake courses similar to those conducted by St.John Ambulance etc. I personally think an allowance is no longer the right way as well.
Yes, it was a pre promise.
You cannot simply have one rule for one, and not the other....it's just not practical.
Any party has to be consistent.
I would not have thought that the new govt. would have put itself in this corner as well...I thought they would be far smarter than that, and have seen Labor slip up as well, and learnt from it.
@Thomas as viewer said allowances for a CPR certificate are a thing of the past. Forklift drivers usually get additional pay whether it's a higher grade or an allowance. I've noticed the SPC agreement doesn't have a stand alone forklift allowance so it's obviously incorporated into the bright cans (50c/hour) or a container allowance (73c/hour).
$19 an hour is considered poor in Australia given the cost of living but there are still plenty of those jobs around.. usually casual manual labour such as unloading containers and the like. It's the sort of job you hold onto until you can find find something better - large profitable companies pay in the region of $25-$30/hour for permanent warehouse staff and $30+ for casuals which is OK if you're up for a bit of hard yakka
marty 17 (07-02-14)
Hang on, I'll just start to bake the humble pie!
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Statistically, if you wait long enough, everything will happen!
Hey? I don't get it. I've never said the man was perfect OR that the Coalition would fix anything. Your the one that has bagged everything and been wrong nearly every time. Any humble pie you have you already own.Hang on, I'll just start to bake the humble pie!
I'm a little surprised that he's allowed himself to be backed into this corner as is everyone else apparently, even labor supporters in this thread.
The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.
Just say "viewer"........
I just hate the "born to rule, blue blood attitude" of most liberal pollies. Labor don't really float my boat either.
I make no secret of being a socialist but recent, past decade, ALL govn. have only had their own self interests at heart and NEVER the people who put then there, generally the worker, there are more of them than CEO's you know.
There are those here that bagged every breath the previous govn. made, so like the ABC I am just balancing!
I also value your and others opinion, as I would trust you value mine.
Did you by chance see my wink at the end???
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Statistically, if you wait long enough, everything will happen!
I can't vouch this for accuracy in this linked information, but it makes for interesting reading. I'm not too sure what the local workers can (no pun intended) do about the flood, and dumped illegal produce though?
Maybe the company should have their own weather allowance, and when things are crook for growing and harvesting locally, the workers take a pay cut?
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