http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10316278%255E2702,\
00.html
Lost job, pay and marriage for nothing
By Michael McKinnon, FOI editor
02aug04

FRANK Tanti has just about given up on the $15,000 of wages,
redundancy pay
and holiday leave owed by his former employer, a furniture company
that went
broke two years ago.

The collapse of the Melbourne-based business has cost Mr Tanti his
job, his
marriage and any faith in the Howard Government's General Employee
Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme.
The first indication of trouble came in April 2002 when wages started
being
paid late. Four months later employees were locked out and sacked, leaving
them about $240,000 out of pocket.
But their claims under the GEERS system were rejected because the company
was not insolvent, although the factory never reopened.
Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union industrial officer Dick Lowe
said the decision was appealed but the federal Employment Department,
which
manages GEERS, stood by its original position, forcing the union to take
legal action to put the company into liquidation.
"Fresh GEERS applications were submitted and again denied because the
matter
had been previously dealt with and the Employment Department's
decision was
final," Mr Lowe said.
He said the department was now reconsidering its decision.
Mr Tanti has since found work as a wood machinist but the loss of his
entitlements still haunts him.
"It put stress on my relationship and was a big part of my marriage
break-up," he said.



http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,10316274%255E2702,\
00.html

Scheme short-changes workers $35.3m
By Michael McKinnon, FOI editor
02aug04

MORE than $35million is owed to workers who are waiting months to receive
money for unpaid wages and leave entitlements under a Howard government
scheme set up to protect employee rights after companies go broke.

The General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme was established in
2001 after the Prime Minister's rescue package paid out 100 per cent of
entitlements for sacked workers at National Textiles, chaired by John
Howard's brother Stan.
Department of Employment documents, obtained by The Australian using
Freedom
of Information laws, show the scheme's performance falls short of the
Government's promised target and that almost 4000 workers have been
short-changed, with one in five claimants still owed an average of
$9000 in
wages or leave entitlements.
The documents also reveal 38 per cent of claimants had to wait more
than 16
weeks to get money, with some waiting up to 56 weeks.
A spokesman for Federal Employment Minister Kevin Andrews said the GEERS
scheme was a safety net but the primary responsibility for
entitlements must
always remain with employers.
The spokesman said that more than 80 per cent of claimants receive 100 per
cent of their entitlements under GEERS.
But when announced on September 20, 2001, the then Minister for Employment
and Workplace Relations, Tony Abbott, promised "over 90 per cent of
workers
who lose their entitlements" would "receive 100 per cent of entitlements"
under the scheme.
Because GEERS does not pay 100 per cent of money owed from bankrupt
companies - redundancy payouts are capped at eight weeks - workers
were out
of pocket by a total of $35.3million at March 31 this year, documents
show.
Mr Andrews's spokesman said the Government had delivered more than
$200million in GEERS assistance to more than 33,000 Australian workers.
"For 13 years the Labor Government did nothing and provided no
assistance to
employees who lost their entitlements," he said.
The spokesman said GEERS was not designed to cover all employee
entitlements
in all circumstances.
He said GEERS payments were made in "a timely manner" but delays occurred
because of the need to gain information.
Opposition Workplace Relations spokesman Craig Emerson said a Latham
government would reform the GEERS scheme to cover 100 per cent of
entitlements, a move supported by the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
"The only people who have received their full entitlements from the Howard
Government are the employees of John Howard's brother Stan," said Dr
Emerson.