Feds pressured on NGO worker paycut

Date: 18 June 2008

As a result of the ASU campaign launched on 5 June 2008, Federal Ministers Jenny Macklin, Joe Ludwig and Wayne Swan have received hundreds of emails from workers affected by the changes that are being made to the way that income is calculated by Centrelink for the purpose of determining Family Assistance payments.

Many employers and peak organizations have also been contacting the Ministers describing the devastating effect this change will have on the social and community sector workforce who have been utilising salary packaging because of the Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) status of their employer.

This morning on the ABC radio program AM the Hon Jenny Macklin Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs said:

"We're only made aware of the impact on a wide range of people, particularly in the non-government sector fairly recently and I think they to have only come to be aware of this recently. So, we'll certainly ask the Department of Families, Housing, Community services, to look into the issue and to provide us with advice as to how we might address this issue."

If you have not sent an email to the Ministers please do so as soon as possible.

You can access the email template here:

Click here: to send an email to the Ministers

To read the transcript of the ABC's AM program check out the following links:

• http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2008/s2276966.htm

• http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2008/s2276897.htm

For further information

WWW:	http://www.asu.asn.au/

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