The Australian Cleaning Contractors’ Alliance executive director John Laws has sent a missive to his members extolling the virtues of our industry paying fair tax in order we contribute to engendering a civilised society. It was appropriate this message was sent on the same day the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) announced it had commenced immediate inquiries into fresh allegations international students working as cleaners are being exploited at major shopping centres. Here we publish Laws’ copy in full.
Well I hope business has been good for you this year. I keep hearing how this little country in the sun is performing so much better than the rest of the world. If that is the case then the rest of the world must be in terrible straits.
Yes, we see on TV all the protests and revolts against the various governments but that is mostly normal anyway for many of those countries. If you don’t pay your taxes your country will end up broke and then the measures which have to be taken to restore solvency become draconian and we end up with these revolts.
Somehow that attitude has been imported into Australia with the main effort being spent in finding ways to avoid paying tax and putting all of the illegal gains in one’s own pocket.
Take a good look at our cleaning industry. Rife with cash in hand payments is an understatement. Well that’s only a small part of it really. What about the smart cookies who set up companies only to close them down after a year or so in order to pocket the GST they have been collecting. Start up another one next year and so the circle goes on.
People need to understand that if they live in a civilised society they have a responsibility to pay their fair share of the tax burden. Without it there will be no health services, roads, defence, education and so on.
If you are new to this country then welcome. We need your talent and hard work. If you think you don’t have any responsibility to pay your way and share the payments of taxation then go away. We need good people, not spongers and burglars. Those people who constantly take and never give their share are nothing but parasites on the rest of us.
Try telling that to them face to face and they will be outraged yet will continue to believe they are a special case and should not be picked on.
Why am I saying this? Because I am tired of preaching to the industry that its participants are the ones causing the constant downward spiral in prices. It’s not the clients; it’s the contractors at fault here. Yes, there are always clients who will take the lowest price and there will always be contractors prepared to low bid to get a job.
If the cleaning industry accepted its role and responsibilities in a fair and even society we could all live a reasonable life. Let the low ballers have those junk jobs. Think about the long term and give those jobs a wide berth.
Be responsible and accept that new immigrants are entitled to fair pay and conditions. After all, you were once new to this country too and had to put up with those same types of burglars. Let’s get together for the long term healthy future of us all and our industry in particular.