I truely fear the outcomes this thread highlights as a result of an act of parlement.
Unions must use this bill to reinvent themselves and find new ways and a renewed mainstream activism to fight to defend workers from a slide into povity.
A trade unionist till death but a realist as well the movement must understand conservatives earn wages to and a responsive unionism can serve them too.
Room exists for a smarter more listening and learning union movement.
Its never wrong to feel pain at not being able to help a member ,but its a crime to be unconcerned at that scene.

There has been much debate over the details of this article, but the key point seems to me to be that our Federal government has chosen to adopt and pursue an economic policy framework with questionable benefits to the majority of the population.

Increasing taxation is not necessary in order to effect a more equitable wealth distribution. Recent budget statements suggest that the current tax reveue is more than adequate to begin now.

Not all reforms need be targeted at the bottom end of the employment scale. There are plenty of unemployed or underemployed professionals and tradespeople who have qualifications but are not able to use them.

Some applicants _never_ get selected for jobs that make use of their education, and eventually they take anything they can get. I know of a person working in a call centre. He has a First Class Honours in Physics. There is four years of mathematics and data analysis gone to waste.

We are told lots about 'reforms' needed to 'improve efficiency' and blah de blah. How is it an efficient or effective to throw away four years of higher education? Particularly when he has to pay for the privilege of acquiring them by answering a telephone. He has spectacularly low job satisfaction.

My point is this: consider the human beings that are the 'beneficiaries' of all these social engineering experiments. It doesn't take much to ask us a few questions, and to take us into consideration in planning and so forth.

I do it all the time. But then I have little else to do with my educated mind as I find myself excluded from the job market. A law degree doesn't guarantee you anything these days, except a HECS debt. Perhaps I should be laughing? I got tens of thousands of dollars worth of education from the taxpayers purse, and since they won't include me in the game, I cannot earn enough to pay any of it back.

But really, is *that* any kind of efficient or effective way for an economy, or society, to function?

Maelorin your post adds to my point , as a trade unionist I seak fairness and equity for all who work.
Not an unrealistic group of comerades or brothers.
A group of modern income earners who want honesty and fairness in the workplace.
These jobs new conservative radicalism promise are a shadow, if we need to trade workers standard of liveing for a stronger economy we are very foolish to continue.
The Union movement , at least parts of it will execpt the chalange and evolve or forever be marjinalised , I am confedent survival will be the out come .
The union movement needs people like you to inform and assist in this new period of growth and new directions.

Tubley, I thought you were a 28 year old male teacher form Queensland.
Re “I've been to the outer Western suburbs of Melbourne, Wirribee, Hoppers Crossing, Altona areas etc.”

I have lived and owned houses in Hoppers Crossing for the past 23 years.

Based on where I live and where you live, I would rank my knowledge of local conditions in the West of Melbourne as superior to anything you are capable of commenting on.

In those 23 years have seen an explosion of ever increasing level of local employment visible all along the Geelong Road Corridor from the Western Ring Intersection to Lara. I can buy biscuits made in Laverton, cars made in Altona and fertiliser produced in Lara.

Anyone travelling to the other side of Melbourne for a pittance is doing it because they are masochists who like the pain.

I myself decline “opportunities” East or South of Mulgrave because I cannot be bothered with the travel.

The subsistence nature of the dole is not there for long term use but as the bottom line of survival.
Self Esteem, dignity, a sense of worth and social participation will never ever be found in the dole or any other “bottom of the muck heap” existence subsidy.

Billie, No point in forming policy on one particular experience and 50 year old equipment. One reason I might suggest, Lucas saw the Aussie factory as supplying local needs and nothing more. They were short sighted and so were you for expecting to stay there.

Belly – you make good points (as usual).

Maelorin – re underemployed professional people. I could count myself among them if I had not taken things in hand. Instead of watching the inevitable happen and ending up underemployed and broke I did something, retrained, acquired news skills and now ply the full range of capabilities, old and new.
The point is it is up to the individual to plan, market, promote and thus deploy themselves. It is not up to government to find them a cosy niche and wrap them in a security blanket

Col Rouge, Lucas was a summer job that I left for a professional job where my meal allowance equalled my gross pay at the factory.

This corporations behaviour is not an isolated incident, it's repeated again and again through out the Australian economy.

Glad to know you have found your retraining has paid off. Many people train or retrain for professions that simply have an over supply of labour.

For example, in Victoria, there is supposedly a shortage of teachers. A check of the recruitment website showed 79 advertised vacancies after the first day of term, a day that anecdotally, has frantic school principals hunting for staff. There are 100,000 teachers in Victoria - all jobs must be advertised on this website.

I need to retrain and obviously I have been unable to pick the labour shortages so Col Rouge could you please advise me.

Yes Col, I'm a Queenslander but I do visit other places. As for my reference in my earlier post, I have a friend in Hoppers Crossing, Victoria. They live in Guinane Avenue, fairly plush place to live, not really my style though. Your loyalty to your class admirable as is mine to my own.

I see what I see through my eyes and you through yours, fair enough.