Government's swindle of Ansett workers

While the administrators of Ansett have squeezed $550 million from its 
assets one year on from the airline's collapse, the Howard Government is 
blocking the full payment of outstanding entitlements to former Ansett 
employees who are still owed $400 million.

The sell-off of assets includes Ansett's Melbourne head office for $31 
million, Ansett's Sydney terminal for $187 million and $10 million of plant 
and equipment. But the Government is clawing back $300 million from the 
administrators for payments it made to the Special Employee Entitlement 
Scheme for Ansett.

The scheme, set up in the guise of a goodwill gesture by the Government, 
has now been revealed quite clearly as a swindle meant to cool the heat 
coming from angry Ansett workers who were made redundant by the airline's 
collapse.

Added to this slap in the face for the workers is the confirmation that the 
then Ansett chief Gary Toomey received a $3.5 million payout after the 
airline was placed into administration last September.

The ACTU has accused the Government of double-dipping and called on it to 
use instead the $10 air ticket levy, which was put in place to reimburse 
the Government's payout under the entitlements scheme.

Under the Government's scheme an eight-week cap was put on redundancy 
payments to Ansett employees, which resulted in them being short-changed on 
average by $25,000 each, receiving only half of what they are owed.

"The Government is tying the hands of company administrators, who cannot 
pay further entitlements to employees until they first repay the Government 
for payments made through the Special Employee Entitlement Scheme for 
Ansett", said ACTU President Sharan Burrow.

Ms Burrow pointed out that the Government was also misleading the 
travelling public, who are paying an estimated $10 million a month in the 
air ticket levy.

Section 7 of the Air Passenger Ticket Levy Act states: "The purpose of the 
levy is to meet the cost of payments by the Commonwealth under the Special 
Employee Entitlements Scheme for Ansett group employees."

Most former Ansett employees are struggling because of the difficulty in 
finding permanent jobs on equivalent incomes. The workers were owed 42 
weeks on average, leaving 34 weeks of unpaid entitlements over and above 
the eight week cap on payments.

In Melbourne and Sydney former Ansett workers will this Saturday hold 
reunions to mark the anniversary of the grounding of the airline.