Queensland workers to get fair pay deal for Christmas break

Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations

The Honourable Cameron Dick

14/09/2010

Proper pay for Christmas-New Year workers this year

Workers forced to be away from their families on Christmas Day this year will receive the penalty rates they deserve, thanks to law changes to be introduced into Parliament this week.

Industrial Relations Minister Cameron Dick said the minor change would bring major benefits for the small number of people who have to work on Christmas Day.

"This change finally puts right a situation that has been wrong for some time," Mr Dick said.

"The only person likely to object to workers being paid their proper entitlements on Christmas Day would be Ebenezer Scrooge himself."

Under the Holidays Amendment Bill 2010, which will be introduced to Parliament today, people who work on Christmas Day this year and New Year's Day 2011 will be entitled to receive penalty rates.

In adopting this position, the Queensland Government will ensure that Queensland workers will be treated the same as their counterparts in New South Wales and Western Australia in relation to Christmas Day, and NSW, WA and Victoria in relation to New Year's Day 2011.

"On previous occasions, when Christmas Day and New Year's Day have fallen on a Saturday, the public holidays have been transferred to the following week, giving most workers consecutive long weekends," Mr Dick said.

"But for those occupations that have to work over the Christmas-New Year period, it means that they are not entitled to penalty rates for the inconvenience of being separated from their families, particularly on Christmas Day.

"Making this situation even more inequitable is the fact that the occupations most affected are those that either protect the community or make the holiday period more convenient and enjoyable for the rest of us.

"This includes many health workers, fire fighters and ambulance officers, who sacrifice so much of their family lives for their communities.

"That is why the government has decided to change the law to allow Christmas Day 2010 and New Year's Day 2011 to be designated as public holidays as well.

"These changes will also benefit the hotel and hospitality workers who work at numerous Christmas Day functions throughout the state, the bus and train drivers who provide public transport, the staff at fast-food outlets, and even workers at suburban medical centres.

"The government has made this decision after workers and unions outlined to the government how the existing arrangements disadvantage many people."

Mr Dick said the decision would have virtually no impact on most Monday-to-Friday workers and businesses.

"We acknowledge that there will be some cost to those businesses that open on Christmas Day and New Year's Day but we believe that this inconvenience is far outweighed by the benefits it will bring for workers," he said.

"We are announcing the proposed change now to give any affected businesses the chance to prepare for the change.

"But for those people directly affected, this decision will have significant benefits and remove an inequitable situation."

Police warning over online car scam

QT.com.au

POLICE are warning Ipswich residents to be wary when buying or selling
on the internet, following reports that overseas crooks are targeting
people advertising used cars online.

Ipswich district crime manager Acting Senior Sergeant Greg Smith said
police had heard complaints from people who had been fleeced of up to
$2500 after being caught up in the scam.

Senior Sergeant Smith said this type of hi-tech crime was being
reported more frequently.

"The scammer will contact the victim who is selling their car online," he said.

"They will say they are not in Australia and that the vehicle is for
their dad or for a church custodian."

The dodgy buyer will then tell the seller that the only way they can
pay is via a dedicated online payment service.

Although the payment service is legitimate, the buyer will then advise
that they will be using an agent to pick up the vehicle and requires
the victim to transfer money into the agent's account – promising to
reimburse them via direct payment from the online payment system.

Senior Sergeant Smith said the criminals would often send through a
fake email, claiming to be from the payment service, advising the
victim that the money was ready to be reimbursed once they deposited
money in the agent's account.

"If they manage to get that first bit of money off you, they'll then
ask for money for things like insurance costs and any other feasible
expense," he said.

"We've heard of people being asked to pay for the cost of forklift hire."

Police have encouraged people who receive such requests to ask as many
questions of the potential buyer as possible.

Senior Sergeant Smith said there was nothing wrong with being
sceptical, especially if the cost of shipping the car was high in
proportion to the car's value.

Police have also warned of a scam targeting PC owners where a person
calls and claims to be a representative of a Microsoft-associated
company.

The scammer claims the victim's computer is at risk and requests
remote access to fix the problem.

They will ask for up to $400 for a non-existent, ongoing "monitoring service".

For more information on fraud prevention or to report advance fee
fraud, visit www.police.qld.gov.au.