Yes, let's have market forces rule the workplace. Unlimited hours, child labour, unregulated use of all forms of asbestos, white phosphorous, no noise levels, questioning management in any way as a ground for summary dismissal, trade off conditions for pay and an unqualified right of the employer to dock your wages for alleged unsatisfactory work. Let's scrap all the regulatory reforms of the last 150 years. Why not reinstate slavery? Then you can have a real market where you can sell yourself as a chattel. Human dignity is at stake here. Don't be deluded.
It is fair to characterise the debate over workplace reforms as economy or society, provided society includes dignity, autonomy and self-fulfilment. But it runs deeper than that. It is a drastic shift in the balance of workplace power, taking what little a subordinate group (employees) have and conferring it on employers. Bargaining rights are being emasculated. The dominant model of employment under the new laws, AWA"s, is one of "Divide (the workforce) and conquer". What is Australian about that? And the more collective input there is into workplace regulation, the less it is favoured. Awards will wither on the vine. Enterprise bargaining is second-best to individual contracts. I believe we should bring back the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, a strong Industrial Relations Umpire with power over fair pay and targeted sanctions against unlawful industrial action. One of the Government's objectives (probably Howard's main one)is to delegitimise unionism. Let's face down "Divide and Conquer": UNITED WE STAND!!

Whoa - I am the target of a bit of hatred today.

Tink - I was earning $12 an hour less than four years ago, so wages haven't changed a great deal since then, although I have been able to do a lot better for myself.

Like I said before - there are plenty of protections available for people both within and beyond the IR legislation. There is protection of 38 hour week, maternity leave, annual leave, parental leave. plus there is a protection of the minimum wage.
There is also protection for people on collective agreements for people who want to stay on them.

Outside this, their is super, anti-discrimination laws, unlawful dismissal, OHS plus family tax benefit for families to boost income.

IR should not be about welfare - the welfare system is for that.

I have no problem with reducing allowable matters in award. Why should there be conditions for not fondling sheep or using certain sized painbrushes, like there are in some awards. Still though - unless a condition is specifically negotiated away, the award will remain the default.
Please read the legislation rather than rely on ACTU ads.

Now to Shocka
You obviously do not know what you are on about.
Iam not an employer - I am a journalist and have made this clear in many of my posts. i was a member of the MEAA until I realised it helped reward mediocrity and it punished innovation.

And i don't give a sh*t if you don't think I have compassion for people. The people in my community who I help through my volunteer work, not to mention my kids, welcome my positive attitude and guidance.
I imagine it is you who has a massive, bitter chip on their shoulder, you are jealous of people who do well and vindictive of people who are successful through hard work and a bit of luck.

Have a good weekend mulling over your hatred of success. meanwhile i'll be hosting a charity function, trying to do my bit for the community.

Happy seething

t.u.s

The I R reforms are nothing to fear or create a commotion about, except if you are a Looter, in perspective: You can see by some commentary that the Socialist Ideologue has a good hold, and is quite unlikely to make impressionable impact on many.
If you are good at what you do, and are professional in any task, then you will probably get a pay rise, if you are a total dead weight and a WOFTAM, then Socialism is your poison. The basic principles of Economics and commercial gains are at loggerheads with such diatribe as the left would have you believe, for if it is they, then Gulags make a come back.
You owe it to yourselves to succeed, not depend on others and apply the Agitprop or affirmative action for the hopelessly naïve and become a Socialist fellow Looter that steal others product for them selves, “ELITES” as these Looters are of an Intellectual capacity! Is in fact a Psychological disorder.
So do the right think and get on with it.Support your Employer,Governments and assosiates are the enemy of productivity and advancement.
Do people realize the Socialist taxation on Business and Wages? Be grateful there are some employers that still go in to bat for everyone, even when the odds are against him or her . That is the price of Looters demands, No PRODUCT: Just take.

t.u.s. No hatred was sent out to you by my posting. I was refuting and questioning your comments. If you did indeed earn that amount of money less that four years ago, then surely you can understand anyone fearful of losing income so they will be earning less than that amount? Food costs have risen, everything has risen in that time so $1 now buys less than it did four years ago. This is not about welfare, this is about real wages and real terms. Welfare is not mentioned in these posts about workers, and what workers are about to lose. The protections you mention are not set in stone, and an employer can certainly put pressure on an employee to sign away most of the conditions you mentioned. How many people on a low income could afford a legal battle even with the amount offered by the Government toward their legal costs. With no Arbitration commission and no Umpire so to speak, the worker is without any legs. How many workers will be able to pay current average rentals on a take home pay of about $380 per week? Not everyone can find cheap rental accomodation. Though we may see a return for room rentals in houses, with a family of five living in one room. With many penalty rates about to fly out the window, it will mean the difference between a glass of milk for the kiddies or go without. If there is only one parent working, with 3 kids, I fail to see how they could feed and clothe the kids, warm the house on cold nights, let alone afford extras such as fresh milk.

There are already people I know whose real wages are going to be less due to the AWA they are being pressured into signing. These people happen to be the main breadwinners, and are fearful if they try and seek other work, they may lose more.

Tink/Aaron, These parasites think that any questioning of their view is hate mail, they don't understand that we can have genuine concerns, and actually express them, they fail to see the reality, that some of us live, whether we work hard or not, some do not get remuneration increases, merely exploitation, as in my experience. These are the very people we protested about, have any noticed their willingness to lower the labour costs, but avoid all questions, relating to their own remuneration? The really sad part is, that some of them have read the legislation, and don't or won't understand it, a frightening prospect for any potential employee, who enters a contract with these clowns, without a union. Aaron, thank you for the web site reference, it was very informative. t.u.s=t.b.t you really have no idea, so I am giving up on you, untill you gain the desired knowledge, which Industrial Layers have made available to all. Thank you all for the interaction, it has been an interesting excercise, I will now move on to another topic, dispite our differences, a very good weekend to all, and thank you for such lively debate.

Howdy all,

for those who advocate a removal (or demeanng) of the Costitutional protection accorded to arbitration etc. (s.51(xxxv)), please read this speech made in 1903. This is the mischeif at which the placitum was aimed, and removal of one sides protection, willinevitably result in its rebirth.

http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/London/Writings/WarOfTheClasses/scab.html

As a matter of fact comrades, this can be improved upon in our age of information overload, in my political incarnation (a member of the ALP & Unions) I sugest the follwing should be adopted as political doctrine;

1. All scabs should be photographed and their photos, identity and address will be available on national database (probably also those of their families).

2. The same will occur to all employers', identified as using anti-worker approaches. Moreover, the identities, photos and addresses of all management should also be included.

3. Any person choosing to work for, or associate with blackbanned employers or scabs, should be (i) labelled a scab; or (ii) blackbanned (if an employer).

NB. These are neither illegal nor inflamatory, moreover they are protected under the aegis of political free speech. The information on the website will be freely available, though the ALP/ACTU will not be responsible for any misuse or unauthorised violence arising from its use.

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