"Houses too expensive for nurses, service workers" ?

rosiered said :

i meant to say that I dispute the assertion that politcians are paid megabucks…..

in comparison to key service personnel, they are…

i meant to say that I dispute the assertion that politcians are paid megabucks…..

I dispute that we pay megabucks to politcians.As much as we don’t like them, politicians wages are not inflated especially considering what is required of them – and they’re not all bad. http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/pollies-set-for-pay-freeze-rudd/2008/02/14/1202760482091.html

@steveu I think salary packaging for nurses has tightened up considerably recently altho in saying that, nurses are still able to salary package mortage repayments and rent.

Igglepiggle said :

I suspect the nursing figures are base salary and don’t include shift penalties and qualification allowances either. That being said, their pay doesn’t recognise the great work that nurses do.

The figure referenced in the BankWest data comes from ABS figures so probably is the average income for registered nurses (the code used for the figures doesn’t include enrolled nurses who earn even less). The figure that they use is equivalent to the base salary of a nurse who has been working in the hospital system for 5 years. That might actually be a reasonable reflection of the experience of the average nurse given that annual attrition rates are quoted as being somewhere around 20% (see the link below for the reference on that last bit of info)

http://news.csu.edu.au/director/regionalnews.cfm?itemID=53FF92FBE6AE8992D5A3728247D1EC39&printtemplate=release

Qbn Gal said : +1

Qbn Gal said :

Isn’t it odd that as a society we pay megabucks to politicians and CEO’s and don’t value or pay near enough to those in service industries such as nurses, teachers, police etc. And to add insult to injury those CEO’s who do a lousy job get a very lucrative golden handshake. When are we going to get our priorities right?

Hear hear.

I always thought that nurses, because they worked in a hospital, could salary package almost anything (including mortgages) as you were exempt from FBT by virtue of this fact. I am sure years ago many people working at Canberra Hospital were doing just that. Im not disputing the pay of nurses, Im just suggesting that there were (maybe still are) generous salary packaging options by working in the hospital.

ant said :

Dead-set, Qbn Gal. And while most of us will never, ever NEED those CEOs, it’s pretty much a given that at some point, those CEOs will be in desperate need of those essential service workers.

It’s all topsy turvy.

What would Tyler Durden do?

Dead-set, Qbn Gal. And while most of us will never, ever NEED those CEOs, it’s pretty much a given that at some point, those CEOs will be in desperate need of those essential service workers.

It’s all topsy turvy.

In the US, some areas have outrageous real estate prices, often resort areas, so the people who staff the resorts and other services can’t afford to live there. So in some areas, they haev to commute in, and canny employers cream off the best staff by organising accommodation for their staff. Smart town councils compel/encourage major resorts to build staff accommodation and in some places that’s worked very well.

Isn’t it odd that as a society we pay megabucks to politicians and CEO’s and don’t value or pay near enough to those in service industries such as nurses, teachers, police etc. And to add insult to injury those CEO’s who do a lousy job get a very lucrative golden handshake. When are we going to get our priorities right?