Relaxed and comfortable? Ask Marty

Date: 07 August 2001

Labor Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations, Arch Bevis, said today that the case of TriStar employee Mr Marty Peek demonstrated comprehensively that the Howard Government's Employee Entitlements Support Scheme was totally unfair and inadequate.

"Marty Peek is a worker at TriStar who have given 30 years service and he has accrued over $120,000 in employee entitlements in that time. It is workers like Marty who are hit hardest in cases of company insolvency because the Howard Government's inadequate scheme penalises long serving employees through the operation of an arbitrary capping system.

"Employees like Marty Peek who have given long and loyal service to their employer deserve nothing less than to have 100 per cent of their legally accrued entitlements protected.

Under John Howard's scheme Marty would lose $100,000.

"Labor has said from the very beginning that the scheme put forward by the former Minister Peter Reith was inadequate and unfairly placed the burden of loss on those least able to afford it. The Howard scheme comprises a maximum of 4 weeks unpaid wages, 4 weeks annual leave, 4 weeks' pay in lieu of notice, 12 weeks long service leave and 5 weeks redundancy pay - a maximum of 29 weeks pay altogether - to a maximum of $20,000.

"The scheme the Government has put forward is a cut rate scheme, unlike the Rolls-Royce scheme made available for the workers of National Textiles, the company associated with the Prime Minister's brother Stan Howard.

"Under Labor's proposal employees like Marty Peek would be secure knowing that in the event that their employer fails they will be paid 100 per cent of their life savings and not be expected to lose over $100,000.

"John Howard thinks that giving workers back a little bit of what was all theirs to begin with is somehow good enough. The Government is just trying to sweep this under the carpet again," said Mr Bevis.

TriStar worker, 30 years service (Marty Peek) Federal GovernmentEmployee EntitlementsSupport Scheme Maximum Payout Marty'sPayout

Salary per week* 800 Salary per week* 800

weeks unpaid wages 0.00 4 weeks unpaid wages 3,200.00

2 weeks annual leave 1,600.00 4 weeks annual leave 3,200.00 1,600

weeks in lieu of notice 5 weeks in lieu of notice 4,000.00 4,000

128 weeks redundancy 102,400.00 4 weeks redundancy 3,200.00 3,2000

22 weeks LSL 17,600.00 12 weeks LSL 9,600.00 9,600

Total 122,400.00 Total 24,000.00 18,400
Amount payable to workers is capped by the Federal Government. 20,000.00
Difference 104,000.00
Per cent of total entitlements worker could expect under federal scheme. 15.03267
*Note approx gross salary

For further information

Contact:	David Tansey
Union:	ALP Federal
Phone:	(02) 6277 4518
Contact Mobile:	0416 136 164
Fax:	(02) 6277 8534
Email:	david.tansey@aph.gov.au
WWW:	http://www.alp.org.au

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