ABCDiamond

One bit I can quote is:

sonlymewalter

Hokey dokey blokey

Same place tomos then

ozzieeagle

AFAIK, the award relates to everyone that is on one of those national awards, irrespective of size or ownership of company.

Permanent Parttimers definitely are covered.


The other thing in workchoices got the Liberals canned at the last election was the possibility of losing OT and Penalty (shift allowance) rates, oh and permanency So there are enough people on these national awards to change the face of Government.

paularn

In Canada, I worked 40hrs a week, hubby worked 44. I had 3 weeks (15 leave days) and he had 2 weeks (10 days) leave until he worked for the company for 5 years, he then got 3 weeks.

In OZ I work for QLD health - I work 40hrs a week and I get a rostered day off every month, so working 19 days a month instead of 20. I also get 5 weeks leave with the option to take that leave at half pay and double my leave to 10 weeks.

Hubby is working 40hrs a week and is paid regular pay for 38 and overtime for the other 2hrs. He also gets 4 weeks leave.

I don't know what the work hours are in the UK or how much leave time you get there, but we are definitely better off here in OZ.

IndieG

Quality of life - completely agree. For most, it was a nightmare living in Dubai from 2005 onwards and especially worsened when the GFC hit Dubai big time.

About working hours/leave depending on when one moved there - not really as it depends a lot on the industry and the company as well. My best working hours/time/pay (as also our quality of life) was from 2006-2009 (both our incomes quadrupled whilst expenses remained almost the same). All this was when I had just joined my new employer. The leave policy was standard across the board for staff at the same level and not dependent on when you joined the place.

nikki2010

Do you mind me asking are you now in Australia? If so are you happier there? We're going through a period of not enjoy life out here, we see each other an hour a day and one day a week, which is much worse than the UK. However we still want to travel a bit more before deciding where we will settle, we're trying to decide between Canada, Toronto and possibly Melbourne or Perth in Australia

IndieG

Hi Nikki,
Not at all, yes, we live in Melbourne now I am happier here, the main reason is the sense of permanency that I get here which Dubai never offered us despite our 15 years there. It was like a sword perpetually on top of us, that we would have to pack up and leave with a month's notice if oh lost his job (irrespective of the fact that we were both working and earning about the same!). Once we got our PR visa (in 2005) it was fantastic, because, we had Australia to look forward to. This is when we were really happy in Dubai too as we couldn't care less about losing our jobs and both were earning $hitloads.

Also, guess am enjoying it even more now that I quit the corporate rat race (this is so truly liberating!). I don't need to work, so no worries about job and money. oh is still in Dubai and will be joining us soon. He also has no worries about finding a job as he will be working independently, something that he is really good at and more importantly, work that he truly enjoys. I'm not sure if I would enjoy Melbourne as much if we did not have a significant amount of funds to fall back upon (and an opportunity for oh to take on the risk with his new venture).

My advice would be to save as much as you can whilst you are in the ME! Good luck with your decision.