unemployment
(SMH) Soaring house prices, rising interest rates and a winding back of the first homeowners grant all contributed to housing affordability taking a nose-dive at the end of 2009. The deterioration was widespread in all capital cities and regional areas, with the largest falls recorded in Sydney, Brisbane and Canberra, according to a Housing Industry Association (HIA)/Commonwealth Bank of Australia survey. The association is forecasting a moderate housing recovery in 2010 with about 152,000 dwelling starts. But that's still below the 190,000 required to keep pace with Australia's population growth. [..] "Without the required new home building to keep up with underlying requirements, house prices and rents are expected to continue pushing upwards through 2010," Mr [senior economist Ben] Phillips said. read more
(SMH) A government rapid response team has been sent to investigate the best available options to save the jobs of hundreds of meat workers on the Darling Downs, west of Brisbane. [..] The Leitch Pastoral Group on Monday stood down 230 staff at an abattoir at Killarney, near Warwick, and a food processing plant at Pittsworth, near Toowoomba. [..] Queensland Premier..said on Tuesday the state government would be working with the company and its workers to try to keep the company afloat. [..] "We have a rapid response team that will be out there talking to those workers and providing them and the company with options about how they can keep the organisation afloat." read more
Wow, a "rapid response team" for Queensland meat workers, and only "human wreckage" for 300 NSW meat workers. Do we all live in the same country? Considering the federal government is letting foreign cattle possibly with dieses into Australia, there seems to be an odd pattern of local Australian abattoirs having problems.
(SMH) THREE days after 300 workers at an abattoir in Young were told to get out and go home on Tuesday afternoon, marriages were under severe stress, children had been removed from local childcare centres, real estate agents were threatening eviction and families were begging for food. The Burrangong meatworks, made famous for hiring 90 Afghan asylum seekers early last decade, was Young's biggest employer until it collapsed this week and went into liquidation and receivership, owing all of its workers one week's wages totaling $150,000 and millions of dollars in entitlements and debt. The effect on the town of 8500, north-west of Canberra, has been swift and devastating. read more
Have a look around their website before it goes offline. They seemed to be in an ideal place with the right people doing the right thing for staff and customers. Did you work there, or know of anyone that did? If so, can you leave us a feedback comment about the general atmosphere between the workers. Was there any teething problems over the years between the original Australian workers and the later included 90 Afghani asylum seekers?
(SMH) The 300 workers left without jobs after an abattoir went bust in southwestern NSW will not immediately receive their entitlements. Burrangong Meat Processors in Young, a producer of mutton and beef products for Australian and export markets since 1985, went into receivership on Tuesday. More than 300 workers were stood down immediately. read more
