Ball kids, shmall kids – quit complaining

Alas, alas, the usual media flurry every Australian Open about the “ball kids being denied the miserly per diem of $42 a match” and the emotionally dripping language that accompanies such stories.

Every year we see the same story – the poor, poor ball kids, of whom over 300 work (that’s right – WORK) at the Australian Open over its two weeks or so of operation, are being “denied” their $42 per match for “fetching balls, handling the sweat-laden towels and, perhaps, verbal serves from surly stars”. The 2009 Australian Open was the first year in which ball kids were not paid their $42 per match, and didn’t that put the cat among the pigeons.

There were the soppy articles about how hard the ball kids worked and how unfair it was that while the prize money was going up, their salaries were being cut. And it wasn’t just their $42 per match that was being cut – their $20 daily meal allowance was cut to only $8, but they received a ‘lunch pack’ in compensation for this. This amounts to about $62 per day – $104 if they do two matches. This is more pay than most workers get in the adult world.

I have this message for them – QUIT COMPLAINING!

Take the St. John Ambulance volunteers, who toil through the two weeks also, but are not paid one cent for the work that they do (although they do receive $15 meal vouchers to use at the staff canteen). But that is it! And whilst the ball kids and their latte-sipping eastern-suburbs parents run around complaining of their taxing 45 minute shifts of rolling balls along the ground and holding sweaty towels (with one hour air-conditioned breaks) and how unfair it is that they’re not getting paid, these St. John Ambulance volunteers get 9 hour shifts (from 9am – 6pm), with most of it spent outside, and only one break in the middle of the day for lunch (around 40 minutes). The rest of their time is spent attending to the many injuries and ailments of the general public, and, sometimes, even the poor, deprived ball kids themselves. Last year, St. John treated over 3000 people over the 2 week period.

The work that they do is not even mentioned on the Australian Open website, much less in the media or other places. They’re not paid, not given nearly as many rest breaks as the ball kids, get meal tickets of lesser value, do a much harder and more taxing job and – get this – don’t complain about their situation.

However, this year, 2010, the organisers of the Open appear to have been somewhat persuaded by the angry soccer mums and their little terrors in pink, and now about 30 ball kids will receive payment for this year, making somewhat of a backflip on an excellent decision taken last year by the organisers. Thus, unfortunately, it looks like the whiny soccer mums are winning the day.

So in conclusion, we have these ball kids, who complain of 45 minute shifts, with 1 hour air-conditioned breaks between them, holding towels and rolling balls along the ground, being “denied the miserly per diem of $42 a match”, whilst much harder working volunteers, St. John Ambulance, who are barely recognised for their efforts and receive meal vouchers worth less than those of the ball kids as their only form of ‘payment’, rightly never complaining of their situation.

In the words of ‘Chopper’ Reid, “Harden up Australia!”

References/Further Reading

• http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/new-ball-boys-and-girls-ready-for-australian-open-test/story-e6frf7jo-1225818581459
• http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24473397-23216,00.html
• http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/3aw-generic-blog/blog-pay-the-open-ball-kids/20090121-7m1q.html?page=1
• http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/10/2387457.htm

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