Mario Pantalleresco

“After the AMWU got on board with Protect I think JBA were one of the first companies to jump across so I’ve been with Protect for over ten years. The benefits that Protect provide were a pretty big selling point. Back then, what used to be called the bona fide redundancy account offered tax free payments after redundancy and no one else had that. Over time, a lot of our members moved on and they benefited from those tax savings.

Now there’s just one Protect severance account type. I called a general meeting onsite and explained to everybody that no matter what account type you were in, if you’re made redundant you get a tax free component so everyone’s on board with that and they think that’s a great idea. Fortunately I’ve not needed to make a claim. At my age it would be hard to get another full time job if I’m made redundant, there’s more casual work in the industry now. So the Protect account is like a nest egg isn’t it, it can be very very handy.”

Andrew Kane

“Since AMWU has gone across to Protect I’ve been able to claim a tax free redundancy and you can do it all on your phone using the App. You don’t have to speak to anybody to lodge your claim. You also have your membership card on the App, no need for a physical card these days. But what’s really good is that you can check on your account. Every month the App shows your employer contributions so you can keep track of them. That’s what we tell the members on the job - check your account yourself - because if they come to me 12 months later saying they’re missing something, it’s harder to get back. Making a habit of checking your account monthly is easy.

Also we’ve got Field Team support from Craig Johnston, you can ring him up and he’ll sort things out and help us, he’s an asset.”

David Roach

“The service we get compared to other industry funds is second to none. We have direct contact with the Protect Field Officers for support which is a massive plus for the Metals being in the Protect fund. And now, having just one severance account type makes things a lot easier for members. You don’t have to choose between redundancy tax free payments or the option to claim for other termination reasons. You get the best options all from the one account type now. That’s less paperwork and less stress if you happen to be made redundant without notice.

We also have Protect for injuries and when I ruptured my achilles I was off on income protection for three months. Protect was fantastic. I got my money on time, there were never any issues. Initially obviously, as with any insurance company, there’s a few questions, but once you’re in and you’ve done your paperwork its easy. They rang to check how I was going, they were really good, fantastic, no issues at all.”

Tim Tomlinson

“We swapped to Protect for severance because of the better benefits, easier access to your money and injury and dental cover. I have the Field Team’s numbers on speed dial, like Craig Johnston and Gary Robb. Any issues that we have, are all taken care of. And when you claim redundancy it’s there within days. It’s a simple process.

If any of the guys who have left or been made redundant have issues and we can’t work it out, I just ring Craig and say look I’ve got this issue and I reckon within an hour he’s got it sorted for me. The support is great.”