Owls and Orchids

image from http://www.flickr.com

“There is always one moment in childhood when the door opens and lets the future in.”
Graham Greene

It’s been a very challenging day and I’m finding it very difficult to achieve let alone maintain an “attitude of gratitude”.  Strangely enough this has very little to do with feeling ill or taking vile medication. That is all still there and in spades, but it seems to have faded a little into the background since something I find more distressing has happened.

During the Brisbane floods several years ago many people lost everything they had. Every memento, every piece of I D, everything which they had worked so hard for. It was heartbreaking to see it happen, to watch the aftermath and hear the stories firsthand from people you knew. Everyone did what they could to help. It was wonderful to see people working together for a change.

Then the stories emerged about people unable to get insurance payouts and the unfortunates who had no insurance.  Amongst many others my son lost everything he owned in the world. It was made more poignant since I had only recently given him all his childhood memorabilia and keepsakes after the very recent passing of his grandmother. Despite all the difficulties he never lost his sense of humour. In fact I admired his resilience.

In some ways he has never completely recovered from that setback and yet he has not complained.  For example, he never got around to getting another birth certificate. He had his drivers license and his passport so it didn’t seem too important.

Two weeks ago he arrived at work to find the doors chained and forensic accountants from the bank there to tell them the business had gone into voluntary liquidation. They were not being paid for the week they had just worked, nor were they getting their holiday pay, long service or redundancy pay and worst of all, they were advised that their superannuation had not been paid for the past two years!

Now I realise that some of these things may be sorted out in time, but he is one of many who will be wondering how they are to manage in the meantime. Even though he has not been paid redundancy, Centrelink are assessing him as having that money, and therefore, he and all the other workers are ineligible for Newstart.  If they decide to allow them to receive any funds it will be regarded as a loan and they have to pay it back – when they receive their redundancy money. IF they receive it.

He called to tell me he will probably be leaving Queensland since there is no work for which he is qualified here.  If  he secures a position in Victoria, where there appears to be quite a few positions available, he may be leaving very quickly. I may not get a chance to see him before he goes.

image from http://www.veteranstoday.com Conspiracies are everywhere!

He is one of many. He is possibly more fortunate than many others. He is my son and I am furious over how this has happened. It smells, and not a pretty smell. He has been working between 50 and 60 hours each week for months because of the workload. How has the accountant managed to not see what has been happening with the business finances? Why has the accountant not paid the superannuation each quarter for two years? Why has the superannuation governing body not found the discrepancy? If their annual group certificate shows superannuation paid then there are many more questions to ask.

This is just one example of what is happening all over the country, all over the world. This is not the case of a business struggling to stay afloat and doing the right thing by their employees. My son has worked there for thirteen years. They have apparently systematically set out to fleece everyone there and line their own pockets. So it appears.

Heaven forbid but I will have to pray that Justice may prevail, for a change. Just for a change, I would like to see the downtrodden, whoever they may be, get a fair shake from the legal and bureaucratic systems we have. Wherever they may be.  It wont save my son from having to move to Victoria, but it may help him and others get decent treatment by the bureaucracy which is supposed to help people, not just rub the seat of their chairs every day. Nor listen to slinky suited hot air politicians who think so much of themselves they are willing to vote themselves a pay increase equal to many workers annual salary.

I don’t much like unions but I do believe in a fair days pay for a fair days work. In a film I watched recently it was summed up beautifully.

Boss: “I’m not giving you anything, son. You’re going to do a fair days work aren’t you?”

Hand” “Yes Sir”.

Boss: “Then you’re going to get a fair days pay. I’m not giving you anything”.

Somehow, I feel that’s how it’s meant to work.

image from http://www.visualphotos.com –

“Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.”    Jim Rohn