Latest news with #MicheleO'Neil
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fresh blow ahead of $14,500 superannuation boost for 180,000 Aussies: 'Deeply worrying'
Superannuation will be paid on government paid parental leave from July 1 this year. The change passed through parliament last year, but the Coalition has confirmed it plans to change the scheme should they win the election. Around 180,000 Australian families are expected to benefit from the scheme each year. The Super Members Council calculated it would boost a mum-of-two's retirement savings by about $14,500. New Coalition costings confirm plans to make paying super on paid parental leave optional. It has been proposed that families would be able to take extra weeks off work or get a $2,900 lump sum payment instead of being paid super. RELATED Worker forced to push back retirement after superannuation drained: '$50,000 vanished almost overnight' Superannuation change to give Aussie workers pay rise in weeks: '$29,000 boost' Woolworths confirms double hit for shoppers in Everyday Rewards points change: 'Very disappointing' Super Members Council CEO Misha Schubert has urged for the policy to be reversed and said it undermined the purpose of the policy, which was to boost the retirement savings of mums and reduce the gender super gap. 'Telling new mums to cash out their parental leave super payments is a deeply worrying departure from the longstanding bipartisan principles of universality and compulsion in super that are key to a more financially secure retirement for all working Australians,' she said. 'Why is it that women are being asked to choose between financial security now and in retirement?' The ACTU said the move represented a 'large hit' on working women and their families and meant $158 million would no longer flow into the super accounts of working women and their families over the next four years. 'Cutting super on paid parental leave not only hurts women, it makes no sense if the goal is to lift workplace participation,' ACTU President Michele O'Neil said. Women In Super found that due to compound interest, the impact on a woman's finances would be $7,500 at retirement, not just the $2,900 lump sum amount. Time out of the workforce is a key reason why woman approach retirement with around a third less super than men. Super Members Council analysis found the typical woman was retiring with about $50,000 less than their male counterpart. From July 1, parents who access government paid parental leave will receive superannuation on their payments. The government's legislation passed parliament last year, so the change will come into effect regardless of who wins the election. Parents will receive 12 per cent of their payment as a contribution to their super fund. That's because the super guarantee rate is also increasing from 11.5 to 12 per cent on July 1 for all workers. The amount of parental leave pay available will also increase to 24 weeks, up from 22 weeks. The amount of leave will increase by two weeks until it reaches 26 weeks from July 2026. The amount is shared between parents. From July 1, three weeks of leave will be reserved for the parent who is not using the majority of the leave. Parental leave pay is paid at the national minimum wage and usually. changes on July 1 each year. It is currently $915.80 per five day week.
Perth Now
22-04-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Nuclear power could take the shine off Aussie aluminium
Australia's position as the world's sixth-largest aluminium producer could be put at risk by a shift to nuclear power due to higher energy prices and lower generation. Three out of Australia's four aluminium smelters would be "at severe risk of closure" under the change in energy policy which could affect thousands of jobs, a study warns. A group of more than 70 organisations under the banner of Renew Australia for All released the report on Tuesday, analysing modelling conducted by Frontier Economics for the coalition. The federal opposition has pledged to develop seven nuclear power plants in five states if it wins government, which its modelling indicated could cost 44 per cent less than Labor's renewable energy plan. But an examination of that modelling, conducted by Springmount Advisory, found it assumed industrial energy use would drop by 15 per cent in 2028 and 50 per cent by 2035, leaving little energy to power aluminium smelters. Australia produces aluminium at facilities in Tomago in NSW, Gladstone in Queensland, Portland in Victoria, and Bell Bay in Tasmania. While the Tasmanian plant relies on hydro-electricity, the other three smelters use electricity from coal-fired power stations, with the Queensland plant's agreement due to expire in 2029 and the NSW plant's contract ending in 2028. The gap between these contracts and the arrival of nuclear energy could be many years, the study found. Findings from the CSIRO's GenCost report indicated nuclear energy could cost significantly more than aluminium producers could absorb. The four aluminium smelters employed 7594 people directly, the report found, in addition to another 5886 people indirectly. The loss of on-shore aluminium production and jobs could hit the local economy hard at a time of global uncertainty, Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O'Neil said. "This new analysis has confirmed the real price of this policy - that nuclear power is not just expensive, but it puts at risk a critical industry and the well-paid jobs of thousands of Australians," she said. "It is reckless and dangerous to put such a critical industry at risk to pursue an expensive nuclear pipe dream." Climate Energy Finance founder Tim Buckley said adopting nuclear power would also force Australian industries to rely on coal-powered electricity and gas for longer and could undermine existing investments in renewable energy projects. "This will further erode our manufacturing sector's competitiveness," he said. The coalition policy has claimed small nuclear power plants could be operating by 2035, and Australia's first large reactor could be working by 2037. The policy has faced strong opposition in recent days, with Christian and Muslim leaders protesting against nuclear policies in Brisbane on Tuesday, and an open letter against nuclear power issued on Sunday by a group of 60 economists. Coalition campaign spokesman James Paterson said claims about its nuclear policy, including cost estimates exceeding $600 billion, were "dishonest" and misleading. "We think our nuclear plan is a better plan, but there's no question Labor is running a scare campaign on that," he said.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pay rise coming for half a million Aussies after 'landmark' ruling: 'Up to 35 per cent'
More than half a million Australians working in female-dominated industries are in line for pay rises following a 'landmark' ruling by the Fair Work Commission. Pay rises of up to 35 per cent have been recommended to try to fix gendered pay imbalances. The Fair Work Commission found workers covered by five awards, including childcare workers, health professionals, dental assistants and pathology collectors, had been the subject of 'gender-based undervaluation' and should receive pay rises. The 'game-changing' ruling would see pharmacists receive a 14.1 per cent pay rise over the next three years, starting from June 30, 2025. Workers covered by the remaining four awards would have their exact pay rises determined at a later date. RELATED Tax tricks the rich use to save $71,172 that ordinary Aussies can learn from: 'Can and do work' ATO warning for every Aussie who plays lottery after $70 million Oz Lotto jackpot $6,000 superannuation cash boost for Aussie workers as retirement 'drain' halted However, the Commission has proposed phased pay rises of up to 35 per cent for some health professionals, 27.8 per cent for early childhood workers, and up to 10.9 per cent for pathology collectors. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) said the changes would directly increase the wages of 175,000 workers paid under the awards and indirectly help 335,000 whose wages were underpinned by the awards. 'Unions welcome [the] landmark ruling by the Fair Work Commission, which recognises that working Australians should not be undervalued and underpaid because of their gender,' ACTU President Michele O'Neil said. 'For too long, jobs where the majority of workers are women have been paid less. 'Discounting women's work has contributed to the gender pay gap and worsened cost-of-living pressures for households.' While it's a win for workers, business groups have said it would present difficulties for employers. Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said the decision would have a 'profound impact on employers' and many would struggle to meet the increased costs. "If the provisional views are maintained, there will be a dramatic increase in costs for affected employers, many of which are small not-for-profit organisations in mostly government-funded sectors that lack any capacity to meet additional costs,' he said. The Fair Work Commission noted there was the possibility parents could face higher childcare costs if the government doesn't commit to funding further pay increases. The government has committed to delivering a 15 per cent increase for early childhood education and care workers, with $3.6 billion in funding set aside. The decision followed amendments made to the Fair Work Act by the Albanese government in late 2022, known as the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act. The laws added gender equality as an objective of the Fair Work Act and allowed the Commission to order wage increases for workers for jobs that had been undervalued on the basis of in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Australian election battleground is working from home
By Alasdair Pal SYDNEY (Reuters) - A plan by Australia's opposition to force government workers back to the office full time could affect millions, a trade union grouping said on Monday, with the issue featuring in a nationwide election due within months. This month the Liberal party said if elected, it would bar hundreds of thousands of government employees from working from home, except for exceptional circumstances. But the resulting increased traffic congestion would have a knock-on effect on millions more workers, said the Australian Council of Trade Unions, whose 38 members together represent almost 2 million workers. "Forcing hundreds of thousands of workers back on the roads will mean less time with kids and more time in traffic," said the grouping's chief executive, Michele O'Neil. The Liberal Party pledge puts it at odds with the ruling Labor Party in campaigning for the election that must be held by May, at which the high cost of living tops voters' concerns. On Sunday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said allowing employees to work remotely had allowed workers to spend more time with their families, as well as save on commuting. "We know that working from home has had a range of advantages," he told a news conference, calling the opposition "out of touch" for the plan to curb it for government workers. Labor and the Liberal-led centre-right coalition are near-deadlocked in the latest opinion polls, with swing seats on the outskirts of major cities - among the most exposed to the high cost of living - likely to be crucial. Labor has seen a modest bounce in outer metropolitan areas in recent weeks, in part due to the Liberal Party's proposed curbs on working from home, polling by YouGov and the Australian Associated Press showed on Saturday.
Reuters
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
New Australian election battleground is working from home
SYDNEY, March 24 (Reuters) - A plan by Australia's opposition to force government workers back to the office full time could affect millions, a trade union grouping said on Monday, with the issue featuring in a nationwide election due within months. This month the Liberal party said if elected, it would bar hundreds of thousands of government employees from working from home, except for exceptional circumstances. But the resulting increased traffic congestion would have a knock-on effect on millions more workers, said the Australian Council of Trade Unions, whose 38 members together represent almost 2 million workers. "Forcing hundreds of thousands of workers back on the roads will mean less time with kids and more time in traffic," said the grouping's chief executive, Michele O'Neil. The Liberal Party pledge puts it at odds with the ruling Labor Party in campaigning for the election that must be held by May, at which the high cost of living tops voters' concerns. On Sunday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said allowing employees to work remotely had allowed workers to spend more time with their families, as well as save on commuting. "We know that working from home has had a range of advantages," he told a news conference, calling the opposition "out of touch" for the plan to curb it for government workers. Labor and the Liberal-led centre-right coalition are near-deadlocked in the latest opinion polls, with swing seats on the outskirts of major cities - among the most exposed to the high cost of living - likely to be crucial. Labor has seen a modest bounce in outer metropolitan areas in recent weeks, in part due to the Liberal Party's proposed curbs on working from home, polling by YouGov and the Australian Associated Press showed on Saturday. Alasdair Pal Thomson Reuters Alasdair leads the team covering breaking news in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. Before moving to Sydney, he covered general news in New Delhi, where he reported from the front-line of the coronavirus pandemic in India and the insurgency in Kashmir, as well as extended periods in Pakistan and, most recently, in Sri Lanka covering its ongoing economic crisis. His reporting on Islamic State suicide bombings in Sri Lanka in 2019 was highly commended as the Society of Publishers in Asia awards. He previously worked as a financial reporter in London, with a particular interest in hedge funds and accounting frauds.
