Australia Post may do Centrelink's job?

[redwing]

Hey Redwing. Any mention of how Fahour went when he was boss of NAB a few years back?

NAB mentioned in passing only

Fahour?s salary isn?t merely high, it?s completely off the scale.
While Fahour, a former member of the BRW Young Rich List (by virtue of his roles at Citigroup and NAB), has become one of Australia?s highest-paid executives, he appears to show far less generosity to his fellow AusPost employees. Earlier this month, the Communications Workers Union sued Australia Post and Fahour personally after it refused to allow payroll deductions for union membership fees. The union alleged that the payroll stance was spurred by the Victorian union?s refusal to sign a new enterprise agreement.

Australia Post workers received a pay rise of 1.5% in 2013. Fahour, already one of Australia?s highest-paid executives, received a pay increase of 66%.

 

[willair]

Did anyone stop to think most centrelink can be done on the phone or the net these days..

 

[weg]

Did anyone stop to think most centrelink can be done on the phone or the net these days..

Apparently most Centerlink offices have phone cubicles in them now and service officers are encouraging those waiting too long to see a service person face to face to use them .

It's probably a training exercise in getting people to use their home phone before phasing out much of the service.

 

[Olly]

I find it amazing that Centrelink is a 'touchy feely' business - as in is should be face to face contact (sometimes with interpreters present), yet they're pushing their client base more and more to phones and internet.

Try ringing Centrelink - minimum of 20 minute wait. They can't cope with the amount of calls they get. And with many people opting for a mobile now in lieu of a landline who wants to wait 20 mins on a mobile?

OK - lets use the internet. Have all welfare recipients got a PC? Internet provider? PC nouse? The answer is no so that's not an option for them. Try using the Centrelink site even with all of the above. I tried getting a statement last week. Can't get through on the phone so went on the net. Can't find one anywhere so I had the option of
1. ringing them (been there done that),
2. leaving a message for them to call me back - which may take a few days
3. doing it myself - except the service wasn't available at the moment. Sigh.....

Are AP people going to be trained up on Centrelink procedures, entitlements etc. 'cos even the 'trained' Centrelink people get it wrong a lot of the time. Will there be interpreters, financial advisers, counsellors etc. available at every PO. Where will they all fit as most PO's that I know are quite small offices.

Doesn't it always cost more to have someone else do your work for you?

And what about the abusive clients they have. There's a security guard at every Centrelink office - will the PO's have them too?

So we save money by reducing Centrelink staff, but pay out more to the sub cantractor (the PO) and for 2000 extra security guards to man all the PO's. Hmmm that makes sense - not!

There's so much wrong with this idea.

Of course anything is possible with the right planning, and people to implement it, but I don't have confidence that a government could manage the merging of the 2 without major hiccups.

 

[geoffw]

Even when you go to Centrelink you are just as likely to be put on the phone, and then wait- how long? I don't know. I gave up after 15 minutes. Perhaps that's the idea? I saved one government worker 30 seconds.

 

[datto]

NAB mentioned in passing only

I think NAB lost about half billion under his watch... due to a rogue currency trader.

If Post is going to do centrelink work then they will need trained up staff. Also security is an issue. A centrelink customer could easily attack a staff member over an open counter. Oh yeah, thats right, they can improve security after someone is attacked lol.

 

[natmarie73]

It's bad enough having to go into a post office and queue up behind old f@rts who are electronically illiterate, and/or are Luddites, who are there to pay their gas bill, and who simply must tell the cashier their entire life and medical history with each visit.

We'll have to also add the freaks and ferals and skanks on welfare to the queues.....

The joint will smell of urine, selsun blue, smokes, marijuana and grog....not to mention the totally enthralling conversations and arguments about lost or missed payments in the line/at the counter, ahead of you.

Thank god I hardly ever have to go near the AP.

Hear hear. What a nightmare. I never have to go to a Centrelink office and hopefully will never have to encounter their "customers" at a post office.

I know that if I worked at AusPost and was told I had to deal with the dole bludgers and above mentioned freaks, ferals and skanks I would quit.

 

[skater]

Hear hear. What a nightmare. I never have to go to a Centrelink office and hopefully will never have to encounter their "customers" at a post office.

I know that if I worked at AusPost and was told I had to deal with the dole bludgers and above mentioned freaks, ferals and skanks I would quit.

In all fairness, the freaks, ferals and skanks are free to use the Post Office right now, so that won't change.

I'm not saying this is a good idea. I don't think it is, but if you have spent any time at a Post Office, you soon realise that you've usually already got a long wait. Mostly oldies paying their bills & some of the above ferals doing the same.

Up until a few months ago, I had the displeasure to need to go to the Post Office nearly daily in order to post off customer orders. This was not a pleasant job, as I had a wheelie cart to transport all my 'stuff' and some days it would be overflowing. Then to stand in line for ages to get served.......well.....it's just not a nice way to spend half the day, is it?

Thankfully now I'm on a contract & the Postie collects my stuff. Yay! That makes my life a lot better.

 

[natmarie73]

Very true Skater,

But have you noticed how most Centrelink clientele behave differently at Centrelink than they would in a Post Office! I remember Centrelink offices as being quite frightening with all sorts of anti-social behaviour towards the clerks and other customers whereas I have never seen that sort of thing in the post office and really don't want to.

A friend of mine who is currently between jobs told me she went to her local Centrelink dressed very nicely as she had just had a job interview and a woman (skank with umpteen unwashed children) started commenting loudly about how some people thought they were better than everyone else and la di dah etc etc because my friend was dressed nicely. I mean really? Imagine having to deal with that every time you went to post a parcel?

And yes, the queue times would be horrendous!

 

[skater]

Very true Skater,

But have you noticed how most Centrelink clientele behave differently at Centrelink than they would in a Post Office!

Haha, No! I don't go to the Centrelink office. Mind you, I know one Post Office employee who behaves like she should be there.