Mac - we fall under the Agriciltural side. There was a Union call to move us to Entertainment but it fizzled out. The big concern is that Govt are set to Gazette a new minimum wage for all sectors. From what we have heard, this wage is very high and will hurt the Industry. Its simple - when Training fees become too high, Owners will reduce their exposure....
What we do currently is have two teams in the yard and each groom has a partner, from the other team . We rotate off days when we have half staff. During that time, the partner sees to his and his partners horses. These are on light duty days, currently Wednesdays, Sat afternoon, Sundays and Public Holidays. Our grooms work a 45 hour week. We pay overtimes and extras for racedays etc.
As we move along, we envisage working half the horses in the mornings and the other half in the afternoons. We would then stop daily grooming and use showers/shampoo a few times a week.
Basically, any radical or uneconomical increases from Govt will result in more unemployment, which will be the only way to remain operationally viable whilst still creating employment. It must be noted, that tbe majority of our employees cannot read or write, can only speak their home language and have had very little schooling, if any. This does not give us any rights to exploit these people. However, the fact remains that they will not, normally, find employment elsewhere.
Tigershark - I enjoy your passion for Racing. Great to have met you at Greyville the other day.
