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dddeek

macrumors newbie
Jun 6, 2014
1
0
A lot of misleading info above. Australia may have the third highest minimum wage in the world, but it is also the third most expensive place to live in.

To put things into perspective: The minimum wage will become AUD$641.00 per week in 2015. Retail workers at Myer Department Stores are paid AUD$708 per week. Apple 'Geniuses' will now get AUD$750 per week. Coles Supermarket workers get AUD$780 per week. Don't forget these are before tax amounts. The Australian Government will take up to 20% of the above as tax. To rent a two bedroom apartment 3 km from Melbourne's CBD costs about AUD$500 per week. Food and clothes cost about double, plus, what they cost in the USA!

Apple Australia employees are getting ripped off. Inflation in Australia currently stands at 2.5% per annum. Low, sure, but if you are only getting a 2% pay rise per year this means the actual value of your pay is being devalued by .5% per year. Yes, you are earning yourself a yearly pay cut. Also, Sunday penalty rates which were +100% were cut to +50%. Apple Australia is not interested in 'unions', and thus they had nothing to do with new pay deal negotiations. This is a horrible deal.

If you didn't know this already, Apple, through using complex tax minimisation strategies which involved transferring profits to overseas entities, paid less than 1% tax on its Australian profits last financial year. Nothing really! Australia is Apple's second biggest market in the world, per capita, after the USA. 'Per Capita' being the operative term here.

Kudos to Apple for looking after its shareholders. Phenomenal profits are the name of the game. Cheating employees and governments is part of this game.

I am an Apple addict. However, like many in Australia nowadays I am becoming increasingly angry with dysfunctional government and greedy corporations.

In the scheme of things, Apple is an elitist company which caters to a rich elite. Yes, I consider myself part of this 'middle class' elite. In a worldwide context, few people can afford Apple products. However, in its blind quest for world domination, cutting wages and not paying taxes, Apple may be eroding the buying power of a majority of its customer base. Apple may need some lessons from Henry Ford.

I am considering boycotting Apple; or at least buying a lot less of its product. I believe if we are to become good 'world citizens' we need to buy products from 'ethical' companies. Corporations like Apple and Google are now blatantly unethical in their dealings. They have become modern day 'hydras' - unconscionable and unstoppable.

C'mon Tim Cook and Co. Do the Right Thing !!!
 

ArtOfWarfare

macrumors G3
Nov 26, 2007
9,541
6,027
Personally, I make more than those employees, but I also make more than most of the people I personally know.
 

chocolaterabbit

macrumors regular
Nov 2, 2008
243
56
It says in the article they are getting $22.45.

I don't know if I'm allowed to say where I work and the exact pay rate as we have a restrictive social media policy but it's one of the places you mentioned and I get more than Apple is reportedly giving per hour.

Oh well, there go my dreams of working for Apple if they ever open a store here... I wonder how well JB HiFi pay???

Well if you can't say where you actually work and what you get paid then all I can say is that $22.45 is in line with grunt work in retail.

As for working at an Apple Store, I've always wondered how they were all this friendly/enthusiastic given their low wages, but then again I've never seen any nasty incidents in store, so maybe it's not so difficult to be happy there.

Apple Australia employees are getting ripped off. Inflation in Australia currently stands at 2.5% per annum. Low, sure, but if you are only getting a 2% pay rise per year this means the actual value of your pay is being devalued by .5% per year. Yes, you are earning yourself a yearly pay cut. Also, Sunday penalty rates which were +100% were cut to +50%. Apple Australia is not interested in 'unions', and thus they had nothing to do with new pay deal negotiations. This is a horrible deal.

Not to defend Apple, but Sunday rates at a supermarket for example have never been +100%, they've always been +50%. Also business owner consortiums have been talking about trying to get the government to cut public holiday pay from +150% to +75%, so it's not just Apple staff but all retail/service staff getting the shaft.

As for a boycott, the cheap Asian labour that Apple/Samsung/giant electronics manufacturers use are much worse off compared to retail workers and would be a better reason for the boycott. Our addiction to cheap electronics means it'd never get off the ground, though.
 

unplugme71

macrumors 68030
May 20, 2011
2,827
754
Earth
Does anyone know how the new Australian pay rates compare to what Apple pays its US retail employees?

in 2006, Apple started employees around $9/hr. If you had prior experience, you might get $10 to start instead. This was for part-time though. Not sure if full-time got paid more.

2% raises are pretty good. I got that working for a large enterprise as a sr level associate.

----------

Well if you can't say where you actually work and what you get paid then all I can say is that $22.45 is in line with grunt work in retail.

As for working at an Apple Store, I've always wondered how they were all this friendly/enthusiastic given their low wages, but then again I've never seen any nasty incidents in store, so maybe it's not so difficult to be happy there.



Not to defend Apple, but Sunday rates at a supermarket for example have never been +100%, they've always been +50%. Also business owner consortiums have been talking about trying to get the government to cut public holiday pay from +150% to +75%, so it's not just Apple staff but all retail/service staff getting the shaft.

As for a boycott, the cheap Asian labour that Apple/Samsung/giant electronics manufacturers use are much worse off compared to retail workers and would be a better reason for the boycott. Our addiction to cheap electronics means it'd never get off the ground, though.

Working at Apple retail is very relaxed for the most part. Up until school lets out or on weekends. I used to work M-F in the mornings and afternoons and I pretty much just called SMB's and K-12's trying to see if they needed anything.

----------

A lot of misleading info above. Australia may have the third highest minimum wage in the world, but it is also the third most expensive place to live in.

To put things into perspective: The minimum wage will become AUD$641.00 per week in 2015. Retail workers at Myer Department Stores are paid AUD$708 per week. Apple 'Geniuses' will now get AUD$750 per week. Coles Supermarket workers get AUD$780 per week. Don't forget these are before tax amounts. The Australian Government will take up to 20% of the above as tax. To rent a two bedroom apartment 3 km from Melbourne's CBD costs about AUD$500 per week. Food and clothes cost about double, plus, what they cost in the USA!

Apple Australia employees are getting ripped off. Inflation in Australia currently stands at 2.5% per annum. Low, sure, but if you are only getting a 2% pay rise per year this means the actual value of your pay is being devalued by .5% per year. Yes, you are earning yourself a yearly pay cut. Also, Sunday penalty rates which were +100% were cut to +50%. Apple Australia is not interested in 'unions', and thus they had nothing to do with new pay deal negotiations. This is a horrible deal.

If you didn't know this already, Apple, through using complex tax minimisation strategies which involved transferring profits to overseas entities, paid less than 1% tax on its Australian profits last financial year. Nothing really! Australia is Apple's second biggest market in the world, per capita, after the USA. 'Per Capita' being the operative term here.

Kudos to Apple for looking after its shareholders. Phenomenal profits are the name of the game. Cheating employees and governments is part of this game.

I am an Apple addict. However, like many in Australia nowadays I am becoming increasingly angry with dysfunctional government and greedy corporations.

In the scheme of things, Apple is an elitist company which caters to a rich elite. Yes, I consider myself part of this 'middle class' elite. In a worldwide context, few people can afford Apple products. However, in its blind quest for world domination, cutting wages and not paying taxes, Apple may be eroding the buying power of a majority of its customer base. Apple may need some lessons from Henry Ford.

I am considering boycotting Apple; or at least buying a lot less of its product. I believe if we are to become good 'world citizens' we need to buy products from 'ethical' companies. Corporations like Apple and Google are now blatantly unethical in their dealings. They have become modern day 'hydras' - unconscionable and unstoppable.

C'mon Tim Cook and Co. Do the Right Thing !!!

They can also argue it back saying how much they revolutionized technology and the way we do things. That's the cost of doing business. At least Apple helps the environment in return. They shrunk their packaging. Fitting more per cargo container than before reduces the amount of shipments for the same number of products. All their products are almost 100% recyclable.

I think the governments get enough tax money. The governments need to figure out their salaries and budgets better. A government position shouldn't be run by capitalist. It should be run by people who want to help their citizens.
 

roundaboutmusic

macrumors newbie
Sep 13, 2012
26
23
Retail is a poorly paid occupation globally, simple as that.

Apple is paying slightly above the minimum and is well within its rights to do so. A business can't be relied on to appropriately address social issues like low wages, a business can only be relied upon to compete with other business, and since wages are a huge cost of doing business...

Retail rents in Australia are artificially and prohibitively high, as are other costs such as transport and logistics, I'd be curious as to the profitability of Apple stores in Australia vs the ROW given the relative parity of their product prices.

I'd love for retail to be a more lucrative occupation (I work for a medium sized retailer) but retailers don't compete to attract employees (with high wages) they compete to attract customers (with low prices).
 

iLuvMyMacToo

macrumors regular
May 18, 2010
177
0
Australia
I'm constantly bemused that people who are the actual money makers for retail businesses (i.e. the salespeople) get paid so little, treated relatively poorly and are expected to stand on their feet for 8 hours at a time with little chance of ever climbing the corporate ladder of retail yet those who have lost touch with the "real" buyer (i.e.: upper management e.g. Angela Ahrendt or even State Managers) get paid ridiculous money including fringe benefits and are treated like some kind of demigod and retail staff are expected to by wowed and in awe of them whenever they enter the room or appear on a company video. It's ridiculous.
 

laserbeam273

macrumors 6502
Sep 7, 2010
424
0
Australia
A lot of misleading info above. Australia may have the third highest minimum wage in the world, but it is also the third most expensive place to live in.

To put things into perspective: The minimum wage will become AUD$641.00 per week in 2015. Retail workers at Myer Department Stores are paid AUD$708 per week. Apple 'Geniuses' will now get AUD$750 per week. Coles Supermarket workers get AUD$780 per week. Don't forget these are before tax amounts. The Australian Government will take up to 20% of the above as tax. To rent a two bedroom apartment 3 km from Melbourne's CBD costs about AUD$500 per week. Food and clothes cost about double, plus, what they cost in the USA!

Apple Australia employees are getting ripped off. Inflation in Australia currently stands at 2.5% per annum. Low, sure, but if you are only getting a 2% pay rise per year this means the actual value of your pay is being devalued by .5% per year. Yes, you are earning yourself a yearly pay cut. Also, Sunday penalty rates which were +100% were cut to +50%. Apple Australia is not interested in 'unions', and thus they had nothing to do with new pay deal negotiations. This is a horrible deal.

If you didn't know this already, Apple, through using complex tax minimisation strategies which involved transferring profits to overseas entities, paid less than 1% tax on its Australian profits last financial year. Nothing really! Australia is Apple's second biggest market in the world, per capita, after the USA. 'Per Capita' being the operative term here.

Kudos to Apple for looking after its shareholders. Phenomenal profits are the name of the game. Cheating employees and governments is part of this game.

I am an Apple addict. However, like many in Australia nowadays I am becoming increasingly angry with dysfunctional government and greedy corporations.

In the scheme of things, Apple is an elitist company which caters to a rich elite. Yes, I consider myself part of this 'middle class' elite. In a worldwide context, few people can afford Apple products. However, in its blind quest for world domination, cutting wages and not paying taxes, Apple may be eroding the buying power of a majority of its customer base. Apple may need some lessons from Henry Ford.

I am considering boycotting Apple; or at least buying a lot less of its product. I believe if we are to become good 'world citizens' we need to buy products from 'ethical' companies. Corporations like Apple and Google are now blatantly unethical in their dealings. They have become modern day 'hydras' - unconscionable and unstoppable.

C'mon Tim Cook and Co. Do the Right Thing !!!

Well then, if you're working for Apple retail, don't live 3km from the CBD in a two bedroom apartment by yourself. Simple.

I personally think that workers here are way too stubborn, rigid, and under-skilled. If a job is paying you bad, then walk! Get educated, work harder, and work smarter!
 

ianday

macrumors member
Jun 16, 2011
37
20
To put things into perspective: The minimum wage will become AUD$641.00 per week in 2015. Retail workers at Myer Department Stores are paid AUD$708 per week. Apple 'Geniuses' will now get AUD$750 per week. Coles Supermarket workers get AUD$780 per week. Don't forget these are before tax amounts. The Australian Government will take up to 20% of the above as tax. To rent a two bedroom apartment 3 km from Melbourne's CBD costs about AUD$500 per week. Food and clothes cost about double, plus, what they cost in the USA!

Some people on this site are terrible at math. Lets do it together..

$22.45 x 38hrs = $853.10

Pretty decent wage for a tier 1 retail employee. Where did you pluck $750 from?
 

dumastudetto

macrumors 601
Aug 28, 2013
4,972
7,038
Los Angeles, USA
I'm so very proud of Apple for doing this. They have always gone the extra mile for their loyal employees who strive everyday to give Apple consumers the most amazing retail experiences.
 

tmanto02

macrumors 65816
Jun 5, 2011
1,217
452
Australia
That's pathetic for a highly profitable company like Apple Australia. I make more per hour as a low level employee at a major Australian retail chain. I have a family member that works at McDonalds that make more per hour. Really Apple employee's paid less than McDonalds, thats sad.

Why?? It's greater than what other electrical retailers offer including JBHifi, Harvey Norman and DSE. And these are relatively unskilled roles.

----------

Personally, I make more than those employees, but I also make more than most of the people I personally know.

Thanks for letting us know.
 

iOSaddict

macrumors regular
Jun 3, 2014
198
0
Good to see they're getting a pay rise while their customer service is still terrible for a company that's renowned for quality post-sales service. The "geniuses" at the Sydney store are ignorant, arrogant and condescending at most.
 

fredaroony

macrumors 6502a
Aug 1, 2011
670
0
Good to see they're getting a pay rise while their customer service is still terrible for a company that's renowned for quality post-sales service. The "geniuses" at the Sydney store are ignorant, arrogant and condescending at most.

The Chatswood store is pretty good and a couple times I have been able to talk them into replacing things when they initially said no.

The little bit of polite pressure and reasoning can go a long way. I always ask them to look up my Apple ID so they can what has been registered in my name over the past ten years, i.e. loyal customer.

They never do but say it's a one off since I'm a good customer for them.
 
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