Yes - more union crap spewed out by union hacks such as Gillard , Howes , Combet ,Shorten, Conroy, Obeid , Thompson etal from a a labor party totally controlled by those same hacks who represent 14 to 16 % of our workface & who most Aussies view with suspicion if not contempt.
The young tradies with whom I mix are content working as contractors without interference from union thugs & union executives whose advancement depends on loyalty in a corrupt system rather than talent.
Check out the CV's of the above - school, university, union office ,sinecure .
If any of them have blisters in their hands it wouldn't be from weilding a shovel.
The good news is that their ineptitude has destroyed their own golden goose - bring on the election I say & then measure their relevence !

Another fair and balanced peice from the CIS lol.
And S(p)oiler who on earth do you think got trades men to the point they are do really think that individual agreements would have lead us to where we are know.

Yes every time I read something by a CIS clone I immediately think of the truth-telling work of Henry Giroux.
Although Henry writes about the situation in the USA what he has to say is becoming more and more relevant to the situation here in the land of Oz, even more so when the mad monk becomes prime minister (when what remains of the social contract will be systematically shredded)

His June 18th interview featured on Truth Out is worth a read. The Educational Deficit & the War Against Youtth (and I might add, everything)

The acquisitions community has been slavering for three years to get its fully-owned politicians back into office to resume its long term programme of stripping back centuries of gains of social welfare and of wages and conditions of those who personally create the country's human-made wealth. While they were let loose on Europe and America, impoverishing them under the false banner of "austerity", we had a government that impeded them and turned to nation-building and fighting against the impoverishment flowing from the non-producers' Global Banking Heist. Their news media, their bought commentariat, their bought and paid for political parties and their fully-owned think tanks have been at it for three years thundering the message that we made a mistake at the 2007 election to defy the men (repeat, men) born to rule.

Someone recently noted in On Line Opinion that the word "independent" in the name "Centre for Independent Studies" was as honest as the word "democratic" in the North Korean name "Democratic People's Republic of Korea". True!

I have no doubt one of the driving forces behind increases perm employment, is the governments increase to the casual loading, a move that no doubt was intended to do just that.

As the author is obviously a researcher, I would ask that he go back to the late 80's, prior to unfair dismissal laws, and see what the proportions were back then.

As for flexibility in the workplace, most unionists, along with labor, seem to forget/ignore one very important fact. The needs of the workplace.