Australia : Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) called on Fair Work Australia to consider wage bill increases already facing small to medium retailers and apply a realistic and manageable minimum wage increase of $10.50 per week.

ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said ARA’s submission to Fair Work Australia indicated this year’s minimum wage review must not attempt to play ‘catch-up’ or compensate for last year’s nil’ minimum wage increase which was a landmark decision for the time and saved jobs.

“We are operating in a two-speed economy and small to medium employers, including retailers, are still struggling to recover after the economic downturn,” Zimmerman said.

“March retail trade showed a dull increase of 0.3 percent and followed February’s dismal 1.2 percent fall in retail sales. This is indicative of the sort of inconsistent and patchy recovery the sector is facing across the board, with smaller retailers fighting to stay on top of wage bills and hold onto staff while their revenues stagnate.

“The here-and-now for award-reliant small businesses must be the key consideration for any Minimum Wage increase. These are the very employers who will be impacted by the minimum wage rise and they don’t have the capacity to pay the exorbitant increases Unions are suggesting.

“Already retailers are dealing with increased tenancy costs, six interest rate rises in eight months resulting in dampened consumer spend and from 1 July their wage bills will increase under the new Award.

“In a recent ARA industry snap poll, over 40 percent of retail respondents said they planned to respond to wage bill increases by cutting staff hours* - a direct indication of their limited capacity to pay escalating employment costs during a period of patchy recovery.

“Fair Work Australia must look forward, not backwards when considering the Federal Minimum Wage for 2010 and once again make a decision that protects jobs – not one that threatens them,” Zimmerman said.

Source: http://www.retail.org.au/index.php/news/Retailers_call_for_manageable_minimum_wage_for_%E2%80%98here-and-now%E2%80%99

Australia : At the Senate hearing earlier today, peak industry body the Australian Retailers Association rejected the notion of retailers acting as ‘paymasters’ for Government-funded parental leave payments from January next year.

ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said retailers welcomed the 18 week Government funded paid parental leave scheme but saw no sense in retailers acting as the conduit to transfer money between Centrelink and the employee.

“This is a costly and time consuming administrative nightmare for employers that could be eliminated by parental leave payments coming directly from Government agencies rather than taking a round about route from Government to employer to employee.

“For a small retailer, administering Government parental leave payments means upgrading payroll systems, seeking professional advice from accountants and employment relations specialists, managing wages without normal benefits likes superannuation and work cover. All these operational changes create more red tape for retailers who are already dealing with major industrial relations changes.

“Under the current proposed paid parental leave initiative Government agencies will make payments direct to eligible employees for the first six months of the scheme before employers take over the role of ‘paymaster’’.

“The only reason the Government is handing over its paymaster task seems to be the conceptual idea that the scheme will be viewed as a ‘Government hand-out’ rather than ‘paid parental leave’ if payments don’t come directly from employers.

“Retailers burdened by these operational changes aren’t comfortable spending time and money upgrading payroll software and seeking professional advice about their new obligations for the sake of semantics.

“Retailers support any paid parental leave scheme as a community benefit that provides security to parents and families but it shouldn’t come at a cost to employers,” Zimmerman said.

A copy of ARA’s submission to the Paid Parental Leave Senate Inquiry and/or the ARA’s opening statement at today’s hearing are available on request.

Source: http://www.retail.org.au/index.php/news/Retailers_reject_%E2%80%98paymaster%E2%80%99_function_of_paid_parental_leave_%E2%80%93_ARA_represents_retailers_at_Senate_hearing_TODAY

Australia : Peak retail industry body the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said Union representatives appearing at the Fair Work Australia hearings continuing in Melbourne today are more concerned about increasing their membership dollars than saving school students’ jobs.

ARA Deputy Executive Director Jennifer Cromarty said yesterday Fair Work Australia heard from two school students who previously petitioned Fair Work Australia to allow casual student workers less than three hours per shift.

“Students want to be able to work in the two hours between the end of school at 3 – 3.30pm and close of business which is 5 – 5.30pm for over 70 percent of retailers*.

“The Union representatives at the Melbourne hearings have shown little regard for school students who are unable to work for the three hours per shift required under the General Retail Award. In fact, it seems Unions are more concerned about securing hours for permanent employees who are their bread and butter in terms of membership subscriptions.

“Unions are fighting to deny school students the right to legally work for two hours after school even if the student wants the shift to fit around their other obligations. The new national three hour minimum shift for casual workers is out of touch with typical student’s balancing school, study, sport and casual work and shows no consideration for typical retail close of business times.

“Since the beginning of the hearing, the ARA has received many emails from retailers across the country who are upset they will have to turn away school students looking for work because they can’t meet the minimum shift requirements under the under the new General Retail Award,” Cromarty said.

Examples of what the ARA is hearing from retailers include:

“There is no way we are able to grant school students three hours when we are not open long enough. We roster their work around sport and other extra curricular activities they are involved with,” Retailer who is preparing to shed student workers.

“I am looking to employ a school student, because my busiest times of the day can be after school hours, between 3.30 & 5pm. After looking at these new laws, there is no way I could afford to pay someone for orking when they aren’t,” New retailer in a small town.

Source: http://www.retail.org.au/index.php/news/ARA_calls_on_FWA_to_protect_students%E2%80%99_jobs_not_union_membership_

Australia : The AMA today called for more Government support for doctors to provide medical care to frail, elderly residents in aged care facilities.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said that he is not surprised by the alarming reports of poor care being delivered in some residential aged care facilities and that our senior citizens deserve better. These reports come at the same time as the results of a survey by Catholic Health Australia, which revealed that residents had poor access to medical care.

Dr Pesce said that the Government must ensure more doctors are encouraged and supported to provide medical care to older people living in residential aged care.

The AMA has already provided the Government with its proposals for access to medical care for residents in aged care.

“The health needs of older Australians are becoming more complex and numerous, so access to medical services in particular is crucial,” Dr Pesce said.

“There is currently no specific regulatory requirement that aged care providers must ensure residents have access to medical care on an ongoing basis. This is despite the fact that, too often, the reports on sanctions on aged care providers are about the poor medical condition of residents.

“Ensuring residents of nursing homes have access to doctors provides an extra safeguard for the wellbeing of residents and increases the likelihood of poor care being identified earlier.”

The AMA proposes:

• aged care accreditation arrangements which more closely monitor and guarantee that aged care residents receive medical care and supervision on an ongoing basis;
• specific financial support to allow approved residential aged care providers to enter into arrangements with medical practitioners, underpinned by a retainer, to ensure residents can access appropriate medical care;
• MBS rebates that better reflect the complexity of providing ongoing medical care to residents of aged care facilities for doctors and general practice nurses;
• Government support to residential aged care providers to ensure there are adequately equipped clinical treatment areas that afford patient privacy and information technology to enable access to medical records and to improve medication management; and
• sufficient numbers of registered nurses to monitor, assess and care for residents and liaise with doctors.

Dr Pesce said that recent announcements by the Government increasing the incentives for GP services in the aged care sector still do not reflect the time and complexity of work and are therefore inadequate to make a real difference.

“Every elderly person in Australia deserves a right to medical care, regardless of whether they’re in their own home or in a nursing home,” he said.

Source: http://www.ama.com.au/node/5647

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, tonight announced that this year’s Excellence in Health Care Award had been given to a surgeon who has developed an outstanding reputation as an educator and surgical trainer.

The Excellence in Health Care Award is made to an individual who has made a significant contribution to improving health or health care in Australia.

Dr Pesce made the announcement during a cocktail party at the AMA’s annual conference in Sydney.

“It gives me great pleasure to announce that the 2010 AMA Excellence in Health Care Award goes to Professor Guy Maddern,” Dr Pesce said.

“Professor Maddern has shown a commitment to integrating patient care, research and education in his role as Professor of Surgery at the University of Adelaide.

“This has led to the development of innovative teaching models and research endeavours within the Department of General Surgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, which Professor Maddern heads.

“He has also contributed his vast experience in research to improving public health, and has shown a willingness to work with all groups – from local multidisciplinary groups to groups of expert surgeons, universities and colleges – to address and develop innovative solutions to health sector challenges.”

Dr Pesce said that in his role as Clinical Director of Surgery at Country Health SA, Professor Maddern had also identified creative solutions to support general practitioners and surgeons in areas of need, particularly rural and remote areas.

“Professor Maddern is an outstanding achiever who has combined his detailed understanding of clinical education and research with his boundless energy to contribute to improving Australia’s health system,” Dr Pesce said.

“Many Australians will have enjoyed the benefits of Professor Maddern’s passion and dedication.”

Source: http://www.ama.com.au/node/5627

Australia : The Medical Journal of Australia/Wyeth Australia award for the best original research published in the MJA was tonight awarded to a research paper that examined the effectiveness of point-of-care testing for therapeutic control of chronic conditions.

The paper – authored by a team of researchers from the University of Adelaide, Flinders University and the Flinders Medical Centre – was published in the 1 June 2009 edition of the MJA.

The authors – Tanya K Bubner, Caroline O Laurence, Angela Gialmas, Lisa N Yelland, Philip Ryan, Kristyn J Wilson, Philip Tideman, Paul Worley, and Justin J Beilby – set out to compare the clinical effectiveness of point-of-care testing (PoCT) and pathology laboratory testing, as measured by therapeutic control in chronic conditions.

Between September 2005 and February 2007, they studied 53 Australian general practices in urban, rural and remote areas across three States.

The study involved 4,968 patients with established type 1 or type 2 diabetes, established hyperlipidaemia, or taking anticoagulant therapy.

In what is believed to be the first randomised controlled trial to investigate PoCT in general practice using non-inferiority tests, the results provide evidence that managing patients using PoCT for all tests except INR (international normalised ratio) and HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol results in the same or better therapeutic control than traditional pathology laboratory testing.

The authors say that the delivery of health care using PoCT provides an effective alternative to pathology laboratory testing which, in turn, can enhance good management of chronic disease.

Source: http://www.ama.com.au/node/5629

Australia : A Victorian writer, researcher and playwright has won this year’s Ross Ingram Memorial Essay Competition for her essay – Healing our communities, healing ourselves – in which she reflects upon her life and her work and how it equipped her to work as an Aboriginal Research Officer looking into the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal children.

Jane Harrison is a descendant of the Muruwari people of New South Wales, from the area around Bourke and Brewarrina. She grew up in the Victorian Dandenongs with her mother and sister.

Healing our communities, healing ourselves was published in the 16 May 2010 edition of the Medical Journal of Australia.

Currently the Aboriginal Child Rearing Stories Project Officer at the Secretariat of Aboriginal and Islander Child Care, a peak body representing the interests of Aboriginal and Islander children and their families, Jane, a mother of two daughters, has written award-winning plays, most notably Stolen and Rainbow’s End, and written an episode of the popular SBS series, The Circuit.

In her winning essay, Jane says her writing helps her to make sense of her world and her experiences, and to learn more about the history of Aboriginal people before and after colonisation.

“It is a privilege and a responsibility in equal measure,” she writes.

“I believe in the work I do, that it makes a difference in the world, and that, in doing it, I am contributing to something bigger than myself.”

The $5,000 prize is donated by the Australasian Medical Publishing Company, publisher of the MJA.

The essay competition is open to Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people who are undertaking work, study or research in Indigenous Health.

The competition was named in memory of Dr Ross Ingram, a young Wiradjuri GP who worked in Leeton NSW until his premature death from heart disease in 2003.

Ross Ingram typified the plight of so many Indigenous Australians – while seeking to improve the health of his people, he fell victim to the very forces he was working against.

Source: http://www.ama.com.au/node/5630

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that doctors would have a stronger voice in the management of public hospitals following the Government’s announcement of Lead Clinicians Groups in Local Hospital Networks.

Dr Pesce said the AMA had been seeking clarification of promised greater clinician input to public hospital decision-making since the Government announced its Local Hospital Networks policy.

“Doctors are best placed to know the needs of clinicians, other health professionals and patients in public hospitals,” Dr Pesce said.

“We know what works and what doesn’t work in the hospital system.

“We know the best and most efficient ways to provide quality care for patients.

“Lead Clinicians Groups will provide doctors with the platform to share their knowledge and expertise and provide leadership in decision-making to improve the performance of our public hospitals.

“The AMA looks forward to working with the Government in the establishment of the Lead Clinicians Groups and make our hospitals work better for patients and communities,” Dr Pesce said.

Source: http://www.ama.com.au/node/5625

Australia : The Commonwealth Government has been ranked first among Australian governments for making the most progress on combating smoking during 2009/10.

Ahead of World No Tobacco Day on 31 May, AMA Federal President, Dr Andrew Pesce, today announced results of the AMA/Australian Council on Smoking and Health (ACOSH) National Tobacco Scoreboard.

The scoreboard allocates points to each State and Territory in various categories, including legislation, to track how effective governments have been at combating smoking in the previous 12 months. For the first time, this year the Commonwealth Government was considered as part of the same ranking process as State and Territory governments.

Presenting the award to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the AMA’s annual conference in Sydney, Dr Pesce said: “The Australian Government is to be congratulated on its comprehensive and determined approach, which will make Australia the world leader in tobacco control.

“Recent measures by the Government have included a 25 per cent increase in excise duty on tobacco products, legislation mandating plain packaging for tobacco products, banning tobacco marketing on the internet and increasing funding for media campaigns on smoking.

“The Australian Government has also recognised the importance of tackling Indigenous smoking by committing more than $100 million to the Tackling Indigenous Smoking campaign over the next four years.”

Dr Pesce said that he hoped the results of the National Tobacco Control Scoreboard would encourage governments to do more to combat tobacco use.

The recipient of the AMA’s Dirty Ashtray Award for the Australian State or Territory that made the least progress on combating smoking during 2009/10 will be announced at the AMA National Conference tonight.

Source: http://www.ama.com.au/node/5623

Australia : The mobile telecommunications industry welcomes today’s release of the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s paper on capped mobile plans, which finds a high level of customer satisfaction and awareness of what is included in capped plans.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA), Chris Althaus, said the ACMA paper into consumers’ experiences and management of their expenditure had found 81% of mobile capped plan users reported being satisfied and 68% reported being aware of what was included in their capped plans.

“Capped plans are very popular, representing around 40% of Australia’s market of over 24million mobile subscriptions, which is testimony to the excellent value for money they provide consumers,” Mr Althaus added.

• The ACMA says that its report (p 21) finds:
• High levels of satisfaction with their mobile service (81 per cent)
• Relatively high levels of satisfaction (72 per cent) with options available to track expenditure, but with only 43 per cent exercising such options

Based on the main reasons quoted why capped plan users do not track expenditure between bills (‘can’t be bothered’, ‘low usage of the phone’, or ‘never/don’t exceed cap’), that consumers are arguably indifferent to, or generally comfortable with their mobile phone expenditure.

On the basis of these findings, there are some areas of consumer concern with capped plans for industry to address, however these do not appear to be as significant as other areas of consumer concern (such as customer service and coverage issues).

Mr Althaus said the findings were important because they provide valuable insights to enable both industry and regulators to design any responses with the benefit of solid evidence-based information as opposed to anecdotal or perceived issues.

“Mobile capped plan users reported high levels of satisfaction (72 per cent) that they could track their spending with self-help tools, such as spend alerts, provided by mobile service providers to assist in the management of their bills,” he said.

Mr Althaus said the study found 57 per cent of mobile cap users did not monitor their expenditure between bills with 33 per cent of users stating that they “cannot be bothered” in monitoring their spending, 19 per cent saying they do not exceed their cap and 26 per cent had “low usage”. Only 4% reported they “don’t know how”.

The ACMA’s study says:

…these findings suggest that the majority of those consumers who don’t track expenditure do so as a deliberate choice, because, in the context of behavioural economics, the benefits of these services outweigh the cost or risk of exceeding their cap at times. Furthermore, such data may suggest that additional efforts to raise awareness about the importance of tracking expenditure is unlikely to change behaviours, given there is arguably an apparent level of indifference to tracking expenditure or comfort with the expenditure patterns…

Mr Althaus said the mobile telecommunications industry remained committed to educating consumers about capped plans, including the importance of taking steps to monitor usage of mobile services and resultant expenditure.

Consumer awareness of mobile service usage is also very important given the rapidly growing demand for mobile data services such as mobile broadband, he said.

“It is in no one’s interest to have customers in debt as a result of unexpectedly high bills – so industry is actively promoting consumer awareness in this regard,” Althaus said.

“Mobile operators offer a number of self-help tools to assist consumers keep track of their usage and spending on a range of services. These are free online accounts allowing them to monitor their usage on a daily basis,” he said.

“Consumers should check with their service provider to see if they offer a service to contact them if their expenditure is particularly high compared to previous bills. They can also request the barring of some services at the network level.

“Consumers can also ask if they offer an SMS notification service that lets them know when they have reached 80% or 100% of their cap. Some providers offer free text services that consumers can use to monitor their usage.”

Source: http://www.amta.org.au/articles/Mobile.industry.welcomes.ACMA.report.showing.high.customer.satisfaction.with.capped_.plans