Redundancies.....>>> Survivor..So far

[Snow]

Yep, things are getting tighter. I took a VR at the start of July along with five others from an office of 20. If we hadn't of taken the VR we would have been pushed.
Now I'm kicking back playing the odd gig and working for my church. Doesn't leave many weekends to get out camping.

[gronk]

Sure there is still work around and personally I am not too worried as I am in an industry which nobody can really live without,

Do you make toilet paper ??   

[cruiser 91]

For all those that are sadly losing their jobs and looking for something else............Become a curtain and blind installer, its a dying trade and extremely hard to find experienced installers.
Annual earnings for a contract installer $120K
I wish everyone all the best for your future endeavours.

[speewa158]

lts a brave New world out there . l have been pushed out the doors a few times into the Greater Unknown , only to find that its not as bad as you think . All you have to do is start to think .
 There are many directions you can go . access your situation make a plan & Kick Arse  . By backing yourself you will be in charge & setting your own direction .
There is an Old Australian expression   " Have A Go You Mug        "
                                                              

[fishfinder]

Forced redundancy Jan 2013 found work a couple of weeks later and then another redundancy 12 months back no work since. Was short listed on a job application 6 weeks ago sat final interview was not successful reason being they wanted someone more recent in work force.

[gronk]

sat final interview was not successful reason being they wanted someone more recent in work force.

Yeh, sometimes you have to tell a porkie....I've been asked when was the last time you worked ( 12 mths now ) and I say I've picked up a few cash labouring jobs here and there....gives the impression you haven't been sitting idle !!

It's hard out there......try a new direction and they want 2 yrs prior experience....job agencies promise you the world but deliver nothing.....they say apply yourself and start working for yourself, sounds easy, not !

I've applied for the dole ( can't get it until next year ), and if anything can spur you on to get a job, then dealing with centrelink is the incentive to do so.....what a disorganised pack of no hopers !!

[Ozsnowman]

Yeah, I went from editing videos, made redundant to taking notes at TAFE for people with disabilities - was quite lucky, but shows things can progress. Best of luck dude!

[D4D]

For all those that are sadly losing their jobs and looking for something else............Become a curtain and blind installer, its a dying trade and extremely hard to find experienced installers.

Mate of mine was a plasterer, he chucked that in and started installing commercial blinds. He did that for 12 months and is now selling them and making good $. He said he should have done it long ago.

[paceman]

for those in mackay and surrounds...

http://www.seek.com.au/job/29475594?pos=1&type=premium&engineConfig=control&tier=no_tier&whereid=5015

[Goose]

Mate of mine was a plasterer, he chucked that in and started installing commercial blinds. He did that for 12 months and is now selling them and making good $. He said he should have done it long ago.

Do you know how he made the shift from one profession to the other? Did he seek out blinds or did it stumble upon it by chance in the job ads?

I think for most people, this is the hardest part about starting again. 

[cancan]

I've applied for the dole ( can't get it until next year )

Last time I was out of work 12yrs ago I had that problem,  didn't qualify for the dole so I lived off savings until I managed to find a career change...  This time I guess I still won't qualify but having just finalised a divorce which the lawyers dragged out way to long, so what little savings I walked away with went to paying rent and half a mortgage so will be interesting living on nothing...  And haven't had a job interview in so long...  All my work came from networking or I had been asked to come on board but those contacts are all losing or lost there jobs as well.. It will be fun and games

[rotare]

Just to put some balance to the argument, it's not always about 'businesses' screwing people over when times are tough.

I work in a medium sized Australian owned company and its tough doing business at the moment for many reasons.  We take whatever opportunities we can to reduce our running costs and keep competitive, but there is no denying the fact the labour costs, for us, are a large component of our direct and indirect costs.

When our industry is booming staff demand to be paid well, because they can otherwise they walk.  Unfortunately when times are tough some people still demand high levels of renumeration just because they think they are entitled.  Unless people are willing to acknowledge the state our current economy is in and accept that being employed in some capacity is better than being unemployed, then people need to come to terms with pay cuts, reduced hours, part time or casual work.  If employees aren't interested in these alternatives then what avenues are businesses left with? Keep running at losses until the business folds altogether?

In my experience it's neither a cheap excercise or a very pleasant experience making people redundant.  Ideally it should be the last option, however in my experience too many employees are not willing to negotiate from their current employment terms and are seemingly unaware of the current economic situation we are all struggling with - both as employers and as employees.

[tk421]

Been made redundant once, survived it a second time and third time.... Its never pleasant and frikking stressful and you feel kind of worthless.

First time came into work after lunch to an envelope saying c'ya.

Second time - called into a meeting on Friday. "There's 2 of you, we only need 1. You will re-interview on Monday". Come Monday get told - "Don't worry. You're moving teams back to your old job". I left 2 months later and doubled my salary.

Third time - called into a meeting. "There's 3 of you, we only need 2. We will make the decision next week. In the meantime see if there's another role in the organisation you want to do, or see if you can come up with another solution amongst yourselves". Spent the whole week stressed and wondering about my colleagues and what they were doing behind my back. Kind of like Abbott probably felt the last few months. They got rid of one team member anyway.

[Kangaron]

It all depends how you define tough.
If a large multi national only makes 2.5 billion profit instead of the forecast 2.6 billion,
Then it is time to tighten the belt.
The reason lower level employees want to maintain their wages and conditions, is that those at the top will maintain theirs, whatever happens.

[gronk]

The reason lower level employees want to maintain their wages and conditions, is that those at the top will maintain theirs, whatever happens.

Too right.....and how many times do you got to hear about the company doing it tough before you actually believe them ?.....if only everyone could work for an honest reliable company ?

Talk about changing careers to a blind installer....exactly the job that has come up a few times on seek....and one I reckon I would have no trouble doing....except they want someone with 2 yrs prior experience !!

[Bird]

Too right.....and how many times do you got to hear about the company doing it tough before you actually believe them ?.....if only everyone could work for an honest reliable company ?

Talk about changing careers to a blind installer....exactly the job that has come up a few times on seek....and one I reckon I would have no trouble doing....except they want someone with 2 yrs prior experience !!

You can come and fit some at my place, and count that as 2 yrs experience...

[jmorgan1981]

I hear you, I was lucky in the first 700 gone. I don't think my section will be as lucky in the next 700 to go.

I'm not sure what to do, I still have 30-35 years of work left and I have done this and only this since I 17. I think I would be happy with a career change but it would most likely mean another uprooting of the family. Plus starting from scratch so to speak is a pretty scary thought.

That said I am only 34 and that will work to my advantage. 

[BaseCamp]

Some Observations:

#  During the Great Depression of the 1920's - there was 25% unemployment...
#  BUT that meant that in spite of that - a lucky 75% still had jobs...
#  At the moment in Australia - there are 2,000,000 Aussies self employed in their own micro businesses..     So that's in part an indicator of all the lost "normal" employment jobs out there.. 
#  One nice thing about the golden handshake (a redundancy) - is at least you get one...   For the rest of us self employed types - the "redundancy" may be the bank etc foreclosing on the family home...
#  A mate of mine is an wardsman in a major public hospital in Qld...    He said Qld Health have not created ANY permanent jobs for the wardies in 6 or 7 years...   Anyone "new" in the past 6 or 7 years is employed casually ...   about 33 hrs a week...     Among other joys - that means "being on standby / on call" (with nil loading/compensation) - so they can snap their fingers - and you will come running...  glad for a day's pay!

[gronk]

You can come and fit some at my place, and count that as 2 yrs experience...

It takes me 6 mths to get to Mexico.....couldn't afford the fuel !!   

[Rumpig]

#  A mate of mine is an wardsman in a major public hospital in Qld...    He said Qld Health have not created ANY permanent jobs for the wardies in 6 or 7 years...   Anyone "new" in the past 6 or 7 years is employed casually ...   about 33 hrs a week...     

plenty of other government depts in a similar position to this also. My misses just remarked recently to me that at her government job they had advertised for full time staff, the first time they've done that in a long long while, normally people get put on casual contracts like you mentioned.

[plusnq]

plenty of other government depts in a similar position to this also. My misses just remarked recently to me that at her government job they had advertised for full time staff, the first time they've done that in a long long while, normally people get put on casual contracts like you mentioned.

It's nothing new. They have been running with a small core of full time employed staff and a large pool of casuals since the mid 1990's. It happens from wards men to doctors and just about everyone in between.

[wakychapmans]

plenty of other government depts in a similar position to this also. My misses just remarked recently to me that at her government job they had advertised for full time staff, the first time they've done that in a long long while, normally people get put on casual contracts like you mentioned.

Similar thing to Kyria. She's a pre-school teacher with an early childhood development degree.

She was teaching as a "casual". 5 days/40 hours a week.

But it was casual "officially". (no holiday pay, no sick leave, no pay during school holidays etc)

So they offered a new full time job, security was better right?

yes and no... the new "full time" position was for only 30 hours a week. (so quite a noticable pay cut) But at least it was "full time" yeh.

once again... yes and no. While it was full time, it was under a weird system where she gets holiday pay and sick leave, no she's not paid for any school holidays. Which she must take off.

At the end of the day though... she has a job. And many don't.

As I just turned 50... I wonder what I'd do if I lost my day job. And it's not a good thought.

[Moggy]

Plenty of work on in construction at the moment,

Not in Mackay, where tracker (& myself) are....Its absolutley fu#&%d here at the moment.

And when your self employed its just not that easy to "pack up" & go to the next hot spot, plus after being here for 26+ yrs dont really want to move.

If you havent already heard it (& i only heard part) this guy had some interesting information regarding Australian economy.

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2015/09/16/4313353.htm.

I'm off to sell my shares....house....business & everything else & go live in the desert me thinks....WINTER IS COMING....

[D4D]

Do you know how he made the shift from one profession to the other? Did he seek out blinds or did it stumble upon it by chance in the job ads?

It was through somebody he knew

[bluejay]

Its a combination of both for me the redundancies which has a flow effect on to my small business as well as the lack of rain and now tougher water restriction i have a mowing business in
Townsville or Brownsville have had it for 10 years and this past 5 months or so has been the worst I have seen ,cant sell it but got to keep paying the fran fees each month ouch ,have seriously thought of selling house etc and .....well what to do ?