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The country’s largest trade union has called on the Government to drop the 100 euro household charge until a fully fledged and fair property tax is imposed.

Siptu general secretary Jack O’Connor stopped short of urging homeowners not to pay the levy and instead urged a new system to exempt the lowest paid.

“It’s not our intention to call on people not to pay it. We are very reluctant in the first instance to disobey the law unless in the most extreme circumstances,” he said.

He said he would not encourage civil disobedience without being able to guarantee that those who refuse to pay will be protected by the union.

Left wing and Independent TDs have been campaigning for 1.6 million homeowners eligible to pay the charge not to register.

Richard Boyd Barrett, People Before Profit TD and opponent of the charge, said there is mass opposition to it: “This is a flat tax being imposed on people already struggling to pay rent, pay mortgages and scrape money together for basics like utilities and, in many cases, food.”

Siptu’s national executive council called for a fair, progressive and proportionate property tax which asks wealthier households to pay more.

It said: “The Household Charge as currently proposed by the Government is a flat tax which is unfair and regressive in that it subsidises wealthy people at the expense of middle and low-income families.”

It added that those on lower incomes should be exempt from a property tax: “The way the tax is currently being implemented is playing into the hands of those wealthy and vested interests who oppose the very principle of a fair and progressive property-tax system.”

Mr O’Connor said the flat-rate household charge is playing into the hands of powerful lobbyists.

By Marjorie Gorospe

QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA—A lawmaker is pushing for the 13th month pay of qualified household helpers or workers.

Authored by Association of Laborers and Employees (ALE) Party-list Representative Catalina Cabrera Bagasina, the House Bill 4753, or “Kasambahay (Househelp) Christmas Bonus Act of 2010”, aims to improve the plight of household helpers, especially during Christmas season.

The proposed law prescribes that the 13th month pay be given no later than December 24.

Bagasina noted that this particular sector has no labor protection and that they do not enjoy minimum wage, overtime pay, medical benefits and leaves compared to other workers.

Pinky de la Cruz, a household helper in Quezon City, says that if this law pushes through, it would be a big help for her and her family.

“If we have 13th?month pay, then I wouldn’t have to worry much about sending extra money for my family in the province,” says De la Cruz who hails from Quezon province and has been working as a household helper in the city for two years now.

Mae Magwili, a parent who has employed the services of a nanny for five years now, is also in favor of this proposed law.

“In our family, it has been a tradition to give quarterly bonus for our helpers. If they stay with us for more than three years, we even let them go to school and finance their studies because we know that they have been sacrificing a lot for their family and for us,” she says.

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Nine TDs have joined forces with campaigners against the new household tax.

Half a million leaflets are being handed out by the Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes (CAHWT), which is calling for a national day of protest for residents opposing the 100 euro payment.

Spokeswoman Ruth Coppinger said its leaflets challenged so-called government propaganda and would reassure householders.

“Huge turnouts at the public meetings show the potential to win this campaign,” she said.

The Department of Environment – which is also doing a leaflet drop of 1.6 million homes – confirmed 97,000 households had registered for the charge. The deadline to register is March 31.

Five members of the United Left Alliance and four Independent TDs handed out flyers on Grafton Street, Dublin, in response to the government.

Joan Collins, Mick Wallace, Thomas Pringle, Joe Higgins, Clare Daly, Luke Flanagan, Seamus Healy, John Halligan and Richard Boyd-Barrett are standing against the tax and proposals for water charges.

Ms Coppinger, of the Socialist Party, claimed the two taxes could rise to nearly 1,000 euro per household over coming years.

“This is not a charge to fund your local community, it is a tax to fund private speculators, bondholders and the bailout,” she said.

“Our incomes and services are being decimated to pay this private debt. Now people have a chance to register their opposition by not registering for this tax.”

It’s a bargain hunter’s heaven. Cheap imports and cut-throat retail competition are dropping the costs on all kinds of household appliances.

Costco Australia’s Managing Director Patrick Noone says there is no shortage of fine cheap products.

“The cost of DVD players and DVD recorders, remember after they came out- They were $500 or $600 a bit, now they’re all the way down to $70, for a DVD Player and combination right down to $145,” Patrick said.

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“a few years ago a TV like this Samsung would had been $4000 or $5000 once they first came out. Now these TV’s have dropped all the way down to $1500, great price, great value, great quality.”

“We’re a $US73 billion-a-year company so we will buy merchandise from around the globe. As a global retailer we will be able to source merchandise from any a part of the sector, from Asia, from Europe and produce it right down to Australia. And with the strong Australian dollar, at some great prices.”

Peter Hammerman owns 2nds World where prices for brand spanking new appliances are falling each month.

“Cheap is just not nasty, cheap is actually good. You get a terribly quality product at a superb price,” Peter said.

“The costs are going lower and lower, we’ve dishwashers from $385, that hasn’t ever happened before.”

The reason- Fridges, stoves, washing machines, dryers and TVs are actually being manufactured in countries where labour is cheaper and quality is at the up.

“The standard of the product today is much better than it was 10 years ago, even five years ago. Everything comes with a minimum two year warranty. Turkey, China, Korea, Poland, Mexico, this is amazing the number and diversity of goods coming from everywhere. It’s the labour cost from Thailand, we’ve wonderful manufacturers of Bosch and Fisher and Paykel that manufacture in Thailand,” Peter said.

Manufacturing is getting faster and more innovative. The instant a brand new model hits the stores, the obsolete versions become the most important bargains around.

Go for factory seconds and you’ll double your savings. Even a damaged carton can halve the worth.

“Lots of our factory seconds, it’s very difficult to determine the tiny ding, that’s at the side here as it has had a forklift scratch. In order that is $1589, all the way down to $899, so save $690,” Peter said.

Aldi buys directly from the manufacturers and has some real bargains.