Pericles

Concerning your “Fact 2” where you state – “Mandating that Nike should pay US wages will only result in the disappearance of that factory” would be a good point but no one is advocating that. For example if the average wage for a textile worker is $280 USD per week or $56 p/d in the USA Nike do not have to pay that amount in Indonesia. What they do pay is $2.50 USD per day which is exploitation. If Nike can make 30% net margin operating in the OECD countries they have a viable business however if they can legally make 3,000% margin in Indonesia paying $2.50 per day that is what they will do. What we are saying is that Nike could pay Indonesian workers $8 per day which would allow the worker some disposable income and release them from slavery. No one expects Nike to pay US wages in the 3rd world. How else do we avoid the race to the bottom if we do not set some basic rules?

Protectionism is not the answer however neither is free trade unless you like in cloud cookoo land and expect the entire world to work under the one system. The reality is that some degree of protectionism is here to stay as it is human nature to protect what they have.

Concerning “Fact 3” where is the balance in your statement? Companies have never been more profitable and have never contributed less tax. Since when has a corporation had more rights and less responsibilities than individuals? You should not assume that some contributors to this discussion have never run a business just because that can empathise with others who has less bargaining power. I have my own company and employees and I have never been a member of a trade union however these proposals are divisive, unnecessary,exploitative and encourage poor management and bad communication.

This could be to John Howard what the poll tax was to Thatcher.

All the comments on my contribution seem to read it as supporting the proposed legislation. I don't recall saying anything of the kind.

TonyR, when you say "[c]ompanies have never been more profitable and have never contributed less tax" I would imagine you are looking only at the "big end of town" - Banks, for example, whose profits each year equate to a thousand dollars ripped out of the pockets of every man woman and child in Australia.

However, most businesses in Australia are small, like mine, and live pretty much on the breadline each year. Since I left corporate life nearly ten years ago, I have been averaging less than a third of my salary each year, simply for the privilege of being a tax-collector for the government. Right now, I'm in favour of anything that relieves the burden of government interference in my company.

In an earlier life I was with P&O Lines, who at employed a couple of hundred Goanese on some passenger ships. They were paid around a quarter of the pay of the Europeans who worked alongside them. They were two years at sea, then when they went back to their village they were replaced by their brother, cousin etc. As they themselves told me, they were a) heroes at home and b) by far and away the highest paid in their community. The company line was that despite pressure from the trades unions back home, they would keep this arrangement as long as they could, as they felt they had a moral obligation that went back generations. But equally, they said, they couldn't bring their wages up, as that would not only run the risk of pricing them out of the market, but would give rise to corruption on the supply side.

Is this exploitation? If they pay an attractive wage in local terms, isn't that an improvement over not having a factory there in the first place?

And I still maintain that "protecting" workers with uneconomic measures is actively destructive of business.

Pericles

Your correct I was referring to the medium to large enterprises who seem to be optional tax payers and also coincidently major contributors to both sides of politics.

In the case of P&O you offered for comment I would not consider this exploitation paying 25% OECD wages as it can go a long way in their home economy, however in the case of Nike it is more like 5% of the OECD wage which is immoral exploitation that should have been outlawed long ago.

I suggest you review the DVD “The Corporation” if you have not already to get these issues in perspective and your correct most of the problem is with the large trans national corporations that operate largely above the law.

The P&O example is actually quite desirable as it represents something approaching an ‘apprenticeship’ for the non-westerners. The big difference here is the mix of nationalities working alongside one another & under the same environmental conditions ( & I assume, an equal duties roster). But the shipping industry is almost unique. Tony R is on the right track. Each case needs to be examined on its merits. The point is that multinational corps are the biggest offenders of human rights & so examining & controlling them in some fashion will yield the greatest results .
It is claimed above by mikeed that the ‘corporation’ resembles a fundamentalist religion. I like to think that it is sociopathic & in some cases, psychopathic. The conventional shareholder driven corporation has little or no regard for the individual, those that comprise it. Smart companies are finding that concern for the wellbeing of its employees yields big results. Invest ethically, not just for immediate financial gain.
Small business in Oz is not easy. I ran my own engineering shop for 7 yrs pre GST & found I did up to 70 hrs/week. Red tape should be minimal effort & I know its not the case now. The bar has risen relating to competition, especially service industries, over the past 10 yrs. People are starting small businesses with much more money than previously & are doing so because they have the money. The competition is fierce. If I were to start a small business now, it would not be without a thorough business plan.

Sigh, would people (Pericles) actually READ what I say. I have no interest in 'protectionism' as a general principle ! I have no desire to prop up 'inefficient' industry by protecting it. I DO have a strong interest in strategically protecting efficient, well run, ethical industries from UNfair competition which involves the exploitation of hapless and vulnerable indiduals. It has ZERO to do with 'inneffiency' and EVerything to do with plain Justice.

The reason countries such as China are so competitive is BECAUSE of the wage injustice built into just about every product made there.
But the other side of that coin (tune in Unionists) is the unreasonable wage demands made on employers(in the light of the global situation) by power hungry Unions) which MAKE us less competitive.

Pericles, your slant this time seemed rather bewilderingly shallow given your usual incisive form.

I started and continue to run my own business, (since 95) and I am competing successfully against multi-nationals and exporting to Asia and the USA. (in the electronics field).

The reason our government wont protect the electronics industry is because it wants to sell lots of primary product to China. plain and simple. (as Mark Vales office told me)

The Prime Minister Honest John Howard has a big difficulty in selling his new Industrial Relations legislation; its a matter of trust. Wharf workers were treated in a very unAustralian manner in 1998. We have been deceived in relation to the 2001 election and again in 2004. Apart from Iraq, we were deceived in relation to interest rates and medicare. There are numerous examples of administrative abuse perpetrated on quite defenceless people. The Government has not shown a jot of humanity towards these people.

As stated in an earlier post, Blue Ribbon Meats represents the opposite to what the government and business interests are suggesting. A Blue Ribbon Meats agreement was read out at a demonstration on 30 May. These contracts were signed by some workers, those that refused to sign, lost their positions. Those who signed the contracts soon found they had made a huge mistake. So lets not continue the claptrap about how good the new Industrial Relations policy will be for Australian workers