Salvo's staff in pay dispute

[Gozu]

They work with Victoria's most troubled youth, dealing daily with prostitution, drug and alcohol problems and abuse victims.

But Salvation Army workers say their pay is so bad they are almost eligible to seek the help they provide for others.

About 90 employees at Salvation Army Westcare at Sunshine in Melbourne's west walked off the job for eight hours on Monday, demanding better pay and conditions from the charity.

The Salvation Army has made a final offer to the workers after more than three years of Enterprise Bargaining negotiations, but staff held their fourth strike in recent months in a bid to get the charity to come back to the negotiating table.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8276806

[hottie]

Salvos are certainly a business now,sold most of their aged care facilities and licences about 5 years ago.The charity shops prices have also increased dramatically to a stage that wasnt meant to be the original plan to help people who are struggling to make ends meet.Good luck to the staff wanting a pay increse.

[Sojourner]

This is one of the few areas I actually agree with the Greens on, "Faith Based" or religious groups should not be doing Government welfare work full stop, these places should be run by the respective State Government and not Charities. If they cant pay them the equivalent of what a Government Social Worker is paid then they need to hand it back to the Government promptly and do the right thing by those who campaign for fair working conditions and wages.

[Gozu]

Stephen Mayne in 2005:

Further to Friday's item about the need for Australia to follow New Zealand's lead and establish a Charities Commission, some fascinating correspondence about The Salvation Army has arrived at the Crikey bunker.

It seems today's Salvation Army is not “The Salvos,” esteemed by soldiers in two World Wars. Instead, The Salvation Army is now a commercially-driven organisation motivated by money, which can be quite ruthless with its staff and enjoys a privileged relationship with the Federal Government.

The Salvation Army's Employment Plus division is the largest player in Job Network, a multi-billion dollar Federal Government initiative. It receives about $250 million a year for its efforts, some of which disaffected former staff believe is squandered on large salaries, entertainment and other benefits for senior management. However, being a church, Employment Plus is not accountable to anyone in relation to its fiscal affairs and competes with private operators in the Job Network who must pay full tax.

and

The Salvos raised a record $53 million in last year's Red Shield appeal, but few donors would appreciate that they are Australia's fourth biggest church with 2004 revenues of $625 million.

http://www.maynereport.com/articles/200 ... -5450.html

[Gozu]

I remember the Salvos Employment Plus being busted for cooking the books too:

ELEANOR HALL: Three employment agencies involved in the Federal Government’s Job Network have been found to have misused more than $10 million worth of taxpayer-funded grants which were designed to help the unemployed.

The Federal Government has forced Australia’s biggest employment agency, the Salvation Army’s Employment Plus, to repay $9 million and two other agencies have now repaid $3 million for wrongly reclassifying jobseekers as highly disadvantaged, thereby attracting a higher service fee.

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/conten ... 604688.htm

[RustyCage]

I remember the Salvos Employment Plus being busted for cooking the books too:

ELEANOR HALL: Three employment agencies involved in the Federal Government’s Job Network have been found to have misused more than $10 million worth of taxpayer-funded grants which were designed to help the unemployed.

The Federal Government has forced Australia’s biggest employment agency, the Salvation Army’s Employment Plus, to repay $9 million and two other agencies have now repaid $3 million for wrongly reclassifying jobseekers as highly disadvantaged, thereby attracting a higher service fee.

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/conten ... 604688.htm

I had to go through them when I was put on a work for the dole scheme, it was all, well, questionable to say the least....

[overloaded]

Im on the disability pension and spent a lot of time with them, they nice people