Tax the rich

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has urged big business to pay their fair share of tax, and give working people a fair pay rise and more secure work, rather than lobbying government for special treatment and cash handouts. The Business Council of Australia’s adverts, and the government’s unsuccessful attempt to give corporate Australia a $65 billion handout, confirm that big business in Australia has too much power.

ACTU secretary Sally McManus.

“Big business in Australia is simply greedy. While profits are booming, wages have flat-lined, and 40 percent of Australian workers are in insecure jobs,” said ACTU secretary Sally McManus.

“Big business wants a cash handout from taxpayers, they refuse to increase people’s wages, and many are engaged in a race to the bottom on job security. The Turnbull government has done everything it can for big business, fuelling more insecure work, and cutting penalty rates for many low-paid Australian workers.”

The ads feature companies like Qantas, which has not paid a cent of corporate tax in almost a decade. And in the last year, CEO Alan Joyce’s pay has doubled. In 2016 Joyce got a package worth $12.96 million, and in 2017, he got $24.58 million. Total executive remuneration almost doubled, in 2016, it was $29.2 million and in 2017, it was $53 million.

Between 2000 and 2013-14, the company was consistently profitable. After one “bad” year, the company sacked staff and cut pay, despite labour productivity increasing by 22 percent over the period.

“They locked out their workers in 2011 over a pay dispute,” said McManus. “They sacked 5,000 people in 2014. Fifteen thousand employees have undergone pay freezes. The company has outsourced work to Aerocare, who mistreated workers, and Qantas has denied any responsibility.

“The ads attempt to whitewash these facts. The message from the Australian people is pretty simple. Pay your tax. Pay workers properly. Stop pushing people into insecure work. Work with us to change the rules to bring back fairness.”