By Alexandra Marriott
From the 1st of July this year, employers will assume the paymaster responsibility for the Federal Government’s paid parental leave scheme. Now we want to hear from all Victorian business owners and managers on the topic.
Parental leave paymasters – have your say
March 25, 2011
2 Comments | 
Your Say | Tagged: Alexandra Marriott, paid parental leave, Your Say | 
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Are you addicted to work?
January 7, 2011By The Editor
Technology has made it much easier to do work outside the traditional workplace, and it seems many can’t resist checking their emails or answering the work phone outside the office, even while we’re on holidays. So should rules be introduced to ensure that holiday time truly means holiday time?
2 Comments | Workplace, Your Say | Tagged: annual leave, email, holiday, technology, The Editor, Workplace | Permalink
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Your Say: Should CEO salaries be cut during tough times?
September 10, 2010By Andrew Lowcock
A survey released this week has found that top chief executives’ salaries were largely maintained, or in some cases increased, during the peak of the global financial crisis.
Vote in our reader poll!
7 Comments | Your Say | Tagged: global financial crisis, poll, Your Say | Permalink
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We’ve been lied to, but we sure ain’t liars!
September 10, 2010By The Editor
Recently we asked on the VECCI Blog whether you’ve ever lied in a job interview, or been lied to as an interviewer, and the results indicate we’re a suspicious bunch of people indeed.
1 Comment | Your Say | Tagged: interviews, poll, Your Say | Permalink
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Business confidence moderates over the June quarter
July 26, 2010
According to the latest VECCI-Commonwealth Bank Survey of Business Trends and Prospects, Victorian business conditions moderated over the three months to June 2010.
The survey showed business confidence continues to fall as Victorian businesses face a decline in profitability, resulting from low sales, discounted selling prices and rising labour costs.
Leave a Comment » | Your Say | Tagged: business trends | Permalink
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Sydney restaurant tells diners to eat up or else
June 15, 2010By The Editor
A Sydney restaurateur fed up with the waste left by diners has ordered her customers to eat everything on their plates for their sake of the earth or pay a penalty and not return.
Chef Yukako Ichikawa has introduced a 30 per cent discount for diners who eat all the food they have ordered at Wafu, her 30-seat restaurant in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills, that describes itself as “guilty free Japanese cuisine.”
19 Comments | The Lighter Side, Your Say | Tagged: Sydney, The Editor, Yukako Ichikawa | Permalink
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Dole Poll: Budget ‘carrots’ need to be balanced by more ‘stick’ to address concerns raised
May 13, 2010By Darin Ritchie
The latest VECCI poll shows a significant majority believe that unemployment benefits for those aged under 30 should be subject to reform, in order to address skills and labour shortages.
While Tuesday’s federal budget included new initiatives to address skills in young people and changes to eligibility for the disability pension, it is possible that further reform should be considered to address concerns raised by respondents over welfare cheating and systemic disincentives to work. The key is getting the right balance between the ‘stick’ and the ‘carrot’.
Leave a Comment » | Community, Economy, Workplace, Your Say | Tagged: Darin Ritchie, Economy, federal budget, Henry tax review, Tony Abbott, unemployment | Permalink
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AEU’s boycott of literacy and numeracy testing presents some hard lessons
May 6, 2010By Alexandra Marriott & Chris James
After lines were drawn in the sand by the Victorian branch of the Australian Education Union (AEU) over the NAPLAN tests, it has been reported that the AEU’s proposed boycott of the numeracy and literacy tests has been dropped following a meeting with Federal Education Minister Julia Gillard.
Gillard has made numerous public statements insisting upon the value of the NAPLAN tests, and ensuring that they are undertaken by students regardless of proposed boycotts. However, the AEU decided to cancel industrial action after federal Education Minister Julia Gillard this morning promised to involve the union in discussions about the website and set up a committee of educational experts to make sure the exam results are used properly.
If the boycott had gone ahead as planned, it would have raised many broader industrial implications.
What do you think about this the NAPLAN tests and the AEU’s proposed boycott? Cast your vote in our online poll!
1 Comment | Education, Your Say | Tagged: AEU, Alexandra Marriott, Australian Education Union, Chris James, Education, Fair Work Act, Fair Work Australia, NAPLAN, Victoria, Your Say | Permalink
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Dole threat for under 30s: Populist welfare bashing or next step in long term welfare reform?
April 22, 2010By Chris James & Darin Ritchie
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has proposed restricting access to unemployment benefits for Australians under 30 years of age.
Mr. Abbott is quoted as saying:
“There has got to be a system which encourages people to take up work where that work is available and certainly the idea of having people on the dole where there is relatively unskilled work freely available, I think the Australian public don’t like that idea very much.”
However, while people must be encouraged to move from welfare to work, an arbitrary approach runs the risk of putting employers in a difficult position. Coercion could lead to a conscripted labour force with individuals not committed to their job or industry. Job seekers lacking basic employability skills or relevant technical skills present an added burden to employers who would have to take primary responsibility for the failures of the education system.
What do you think of this plan to cut unemployment benefits? Take our poll to have your say!
8 Comments | Community, Economy, Workplace, Your Say | Tagged: Chris James, Darin Ritchie, Economy, Tony Abbott, unemployment, Workplace, Your Say | Permalink
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Close shave: poll results on bike licensing and road education
April 9, 2010By The Editor
Over the Easter break, we asked whether licensing and road education for cyclists was needed.
While the subsequent discussions grew heated at times, the net outcome brought forth some very valuable viewpoints from both sides.
5 Comments | Community, Infrastructure, Your Say | Tagged: bicycle license, Melbourne, The Editor, Victoria | Permalink
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