12 November 2013

Agriculture giving 220 staff the arse

| johnboy
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Government News has more from the killing grounds as “natural attrition” meets the same grim realities as “turning back the boats”:

An all staff email from Agriculture Department secretary, Paul Grimes, candidly admits that “natural attrition in recent months has proven to be lower than forecast” and that the department is now making “arrangements for a voluntary retrenchments program to further reduce our staffing levels.”

Mr Grimes’ recognition that natural attrition rates are materially less than anticipated is a double headache for the government because the retrenchments planned for Agriculture are a bitter hangover from the previous Labor government’s loathed efficiency dividend.

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Gungahlin Al10:12 am 22 Nov 13

With threats of massive layoffs, who could possibly have predicted that natural attrition levels would fall??

Geniuses.

kakosi said :

Robertson said :

dtc said :

I dont expect the property market to take off and it may shrink a little bit and not do anything for ages. But thoughts of it crashing are optimistic (for yet to invest but want to invest) – even in the 1990s, there was no crash, things just didnt improve for about 5 years.

I don’t know about that – the house I bought for $140k in 1998 had cost its owners $210k in 1994, and sold for close to $400k 5 years later. Easiest money you can make. As long as you don’t buy in Bonython or Crace, or any other worthless woopwoop suburbs.

It’s only easy money if you can sell it and buy a cheaper or same value home with that money.

I was thinking more in terms of the amount of dollars I managed to save out of my fortnightly pay over the same period.

Robertson said :

dtc said :

I dont expect the property market to take off and it may shrink a little bit and not do anything for ages. But thoughts of it crashing are optimistic (for yet to invest but want to invest) – even in the 1990s, there was no crash, things just didnt improve for about 5 years.

I don’t know about that – the house I bought for $140k in 1998 had cost its owners $210k in 1994, and sold for close to $400k 5 years later. Easiest money you can make. As long as you don’t buy in Bonython or Crace, or any other worthless woopwoop suburbs.

It’s only easy money if you can sell it and buy a cheaper or same value home with that money.

dtc said :

I dont expect the property market to take off and it may shrink a little bit and not do anything for ages. But thoughts of it crashing are optimistic (for yet to invest but want to invest) – even in the 1990s, there was no crash, things just didnt improve for about 5 years.

I don’t know about that – the house I bought for $140k in 1998 had cost its owners $210k in 1994, and sold for close to $400k 5 years later. Easiest money you can make. As long as you don’t buy in Bonython or Crace, or any other worthless woopwoop suburbs.

thebrownstreak69 said :

Robertson said :

thebrownstreak69 said :

Robertson said :

gungsuperstar said :

The bloodbath continues…

900 VRs from Tax this afternoon.

Up to 200 – a quarter of the workforce – at Geoscience Australia at risk because of non-ongoing contracts. (Just as well they don’t do any important work like the Tsunami Warning Centre or anything…)

Good. House prices should come right down.

Shame no-one will be able to get finance to buy them.

Good. They’ll come down even more.

It’s ridiculous that the jerry-built rubbish that passes for housing in this country attracts the ludicrously over-inflated prices it does.

In fact, I won’t be looking at buying a house next year – what I *will* be doing is making an extremely low-ball offer to a desperate builder in dire need of financing his matching his/hers pair of beamers/coastal property/collection of assorted power boats/jetskis/etc…, for him to do a number of projects around my house that I have been holding off on for a number of years in the expectation that this day would come.

Buy low, sell high.
I am amazed at the people who have been buying houses at today’s prices – one in my street sold the other day, I assume for some ridiculous $700K+price. Haw haw, fools and their money, eh?

Absolutely. Look at all those working poor who swept in and snapped up all those lovely homes in the US when their bubble burst. There’s practically no homelessness any more.

Oh, hang on…

Sad but true.

Robertson said :

thebrownstreak69 said :

Robertson said :

gungsuperstar said :

Buy low, sell high.
I am amazed at the people who have been buying houses at today’s prices – one in my street sold the other day, I assume for some ridiculous $700K+price. Haw haw, fools and their money, eh?

Did you make the same decision in 2008 when the GFC was going to cause housing prices to crash by 50%? That was a winner…

Tax, for example, has 26000 or so employees of which under 4000 are in Canberra. So a 900 reduction will probably be less than 200 in Canberra (of which a high proportion will be VRs).

I dont expect the property market to take off and it may shrink a little bit and not do anything for ages. But thoughts of it crashing are optimistic (for yet to invest but want to invest) – even in the 1990s, there was no crash, things just didnt improve for about 5 years.

thebrownstreak692:35 pm 21 Nov 13

Robertson said :

thebrownstreak69 said :

Robertson said :

gungsuperstar said :

The bloodbath continues…

900 VRs from Tax this afternoon.

Up to 200 – a quarter of the workforce – at Geoscience Australia at risk because of non-ongoing contracts. (Just as well they don’t do any important work like the Tsunami Warning Centre or anything…)

Good. House prices should come right down.

Shame no-one will be able to get finance to buy them.

Good. They’ll come down even more.

It’s ridiculous that the jerry-built rubbish that passes for housing in this country attracts the ludicrously over-inflated prices it does.

In fact, I won’t be looking at buying a house next year – what I *will* be doing is making an extremely low-ball offer to a desperate builder in dire need of financing his matching his/hers pair of beamers/coastal property/collection of assorted power boats/jetskis/etc…, for him to do a number of projects around my house that I have been holding off on for a number of years in the expectation that this day would come.

Buy low, sell high.
I am amazed at the people who have been buying houses at today’s prices – one in my street sold the other day, I assume for some ridiculous $700K+price. Haw haw, fools and their money, eh?

Absolutely. Look at all those working poor who swept in and snapped up all those lovely homes in the US when their bubble burst. There’s practically no homelessness any more.

Oh, hang on…

thebrownstreak69 said :

Robertson said :

gungsuperstar said :

The bloodbath continues…

900 VRs from Tax this afternoon.

Up to 200 – a quarter of the workforce – at Geoscience Australia at risk because of non-ongoing contracts. (Just as well they don’t do any important work like the Tsunami Warning Centre or anything…)

Good. House prices should come right down.

Shame no-one will be able to get finance to buy them.

Except for property investors.

thebrownstreak69 said :

Robertson said :

gungsuperstar said :

The bloodbath continues…

900 VRs from Tax this afternoon.

Up to 200 – a quarter of the workforce – at Geoscience Australia at risk because of non-ongoing contracts. (Just as well they don’t do any important work like the Tsunami Warning Centre or anything…)

Good. House prices should come right down.

Shame no-one will be able to get finance to buy them.

Good. They’ll come down even more.

It’s ridiculous that the jerry-built rubbish that passes for housing in this country attracts the ludicrously over-inflated prices it does.

In fact, I won’t be looking at buying a house next year – what I *will* be doing is making an extremely low-ball offer to a desperate builder in dire need of financing his matching his/hers pair of beamers/coastal property/collection of assorted power boats/jetskis/etc…, for him to do a number of projects around my house that I have been holding off on for a number of years in the expectation that this day would come.

Buy low, sell high.
I am amazed at the people who have been buying houses at today’s prices – one in my street sold the other day, I assume for some ridiculous $700K+price. Haw haw, fools and their money, eh?

thebrownstreak692:05 pm 21 Nov 13

Robertson said :

gungsuperstar said :

The bloodbath continues…

900 VRs from Tax this afternoon.

Up to 200 – a quarter of the workforce – at Geoscience Australia at risk because of non-ongoing contracts. (Just as well they don’t do any important work like the Tsunami Warning Centre or anything…)

Good. House prices should come right down.

Shame no-one will be able to get finance to buy them.

gungsuperstar said :

The bloodbath continues…

900 VRs from Tax this afternoon.

Up to 200 – a quarter of the workforce – at Geoscience Australia at risk because of non-ongoing contracts. (Just as well they don’t do any important work like the Tsunami Warning Centre or anything…)

Good. House prices should come right down.

Successive government have managed to f*** agriculture in Australia so I can’t see much use for a department of agriculture

gungsuperstar7:34 pm 20 Nov 13

The bloodbath continues…

900 VRs from Tax this afternoon.

Up to 200 – a quarter of the workforce – at Geoscience Australia at risk because of non-ongoing contracts. (Just as well they don’t do any important work like the Tsunami Warning Centre or anything…)

“Killing grounds”? Oh please. What an insult to people who have actually experienced “killing grounds” like Cambodians under Pol Pot or those caught up in Hutus vs Tutsis. I take it that you do know what the expression means. No wonder most Australians loathe us.

And, if past experience is any guide, people will be queueing up for VRs when they are (inevitably) offered.

Genie said :

davo101 said :

I can’t believe that no one realised that “natural attrition” is a meaningless term. How is setting up a super scheme that forces people out the door at 54-11 any more natural than a managerial buyout? Did people seriously think the government would just wait for a particularly harsh winter to thin out the herd?

Natural Attrition isn’t just for workers taking their 54-11.

This includes non-ongoing staff, staff who leave to take jobs elsewhere and just aren’t replaced. Could be that people on Mat leave aren’t covered for the 12 months they will take off. Roles may even be merged together so one person is doing the work that 3 people previously did.

Gosh, do they have to take 3 times as many coffee breaks as well? They’ll end up so wired they may be in danger of doing some actual work!

harvyk1 said :

Genie said :

Involuntary redundancies are also sooooo muc cheaper as the person shown the door gets $0 in payouts. Only whatever leave is owed to them.

You sure about that, whilst I’m no employment expert when I received an involuntary redundancy a few years ago I also received a payout beyond just outstanding leave.

I do believe that small businesses are not required to hand out redundancy payments (thanks to work choices), but I thought medium / big / PS are required.

Staff are usually given a “redeployment” period. Where say in the next 6 months they can look for work or the department will take all measures to find them a new role.

Yes they will be given a payout.. less salary paid during the redeployment period.

Genie said :

Involuntary redundancies are also sooooo muc cheaper as the person shown the door gets $0 in payouts. Only whatever leave is owed to them.

You sure about that, whilst I’m no employment expert when I received an involuntary redundancy a few years ago I also received a payout beyond just outstanding leave.

I do believe that small businesses are not required to hand out redundancy payments (thanks to work choices), but I thought medium / big / PS are required.

Pitchka said :

And if people dont take up their offer of 220 VR’s, what then?

The required number of staff are made involuntarily redundant. It’s not really rocket science.

davo101 said :

I can’t believe that no one realised that “natural attrition” is a meaningless term. How is setting up a super scheme that forces people out the door at 54-11 any more natural than a managerial buyout? Did people seriously think the government would just wait for a particularly harsh winter to thin out the herd?

Natural Attrition isn’t just for workers taking their 54-11.

This includes non-ongoing staff, staff who leave to take jobs elsewhere and just aren’t replaced. Could be that people on Mat leave aren’t covered for the 12 months they will take off. Roles may even be merged together so one person is doing the work that 3 people previously did.

Pitchka said :

And if people dont take up their offer of 220 VR’s, what then?

Then people get taps on the shoulder and shown the door, instead of being offered the door.

Involuntary redundancies are also sooooo muc cheaper as the person shown the door gets $0 in payouts. Only whatever leave is owed to them.

Pitchka said :

And if people dont take up their offer of 220 VR’s, what then?

A hot air balloon race from here to Batemans Bay! Last 220 to arrive get declared surplus.

And if people dont take up their offer of 220 VR’s, what then?

HiddenDragon12:32 pm 12 Nov 13

“With the first redundancies slated to come from Agriculture’s Border Compliance Division in Canberra and passengers, mail and cargo programs in the regions, Labor is already lining up new Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce for a punishing welcome to his portfolio.” (Government News) – this suggests that new Ministers and their advisors need to keep a very close eye on where redunancies are occurring within their portfolios.

It will be ironically amusing watching the now Opposition trying to pretend that they didn’t cut worthwhile functions and that the nasty stuff only started after the election.

54-11 only applies to the older members. Later joiners of the CSS (like me) had their preservation ages extended into their 60s (fair enough). but it’s clear that sensible people are doing the sensible thing: clinging on to their jobs with both hands, hopeful of juicy VRs to beef up their super.

Teh canberra labour market is in the TOILET at the moment, there’s squat, private or public.

I can’t believe that no one realised that “natural attrition” is a meaningless term. How is setting up a super scheme that forces people out the door at 54-11 any more natural than a managerial buyout? Did people seriously think the government would just wait for a particularly harsh winter to thin out the herd?

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