I’m an Australia Post worker. A lot of my workmates were bloody annoyed that they didn’t get a $100 “Christmas bonus” last year – salt in the wound of gaining only a small pay rise, stretched out over three years, in our last enterprise agreement.

Now our boss, the Australia Post CEO, has told us that he too is forgoing his annual “bonus”, and some cronies (sorry, senior executives) will have theirs halved. The CEO’s sacrifice was favourably covered by the Australian. It was reported that Ahmed Fahour told a recent board meeting that it was appropriate he “share the pain” currently being experienced by the postal service by not accepting his $2.5 million “bonus”.

Why? Still aching from spending last year’s $2.6 million perhaps, Mr Fahour? Maybe it’s because Australia Post has just asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to allow it to increase the cost of a basic stamp from 70 cents to $1. It’s not exactly good timing to be accepting an annual bonus equal to what some workers earn in a lifetime while crying poor and trying to slug Australians over 40 percent more to send a letter. Call me cynical (I am); bitter and angry as well.

Parcel delivery is booming in this country. Yes, it does cost to deliver parcels and letters, but Australia Post is making money. It recorded a $98 million profit for the first half of the 2014-15 financial year.

The Communication Workers Union, which represents Post workers, has pointed out that results published in Australia Post’s most recent annual report don’t match up with Fahour’s public statements about the size of the drop in mail volume. Business figures are like magic tricks to most of us. What you see is just illusion.

What can’t be hidden is the $30 million that the CWU says has been sucked out of the postal workers’ superannuation scheme. The union estimates that some workers will be $30,000 worse off because of the changes. 

The fact that our Maserati-driving (complete with AMAZZN number plates), $20 million mansion (complete with panic room) owning boss has knocked back a multi-million dollar “bonus” is cold comfort. It’s like telling the homeless that you’re empathising with them by turning down your electric blanket.