Bob, I agree with your closing remarks about contractors being the happiest of workers and I might add some of the most productive.

During my working life I have hired many professional contractors to suppliment my workforce during periods of high activity. I have had problems with only 2 (both had CVs sighting experience far exceeding the skills demonstrated) and was able to have them replaced within a week.

When my company demanded that contractors be brought into the fold as permanent employees most left rather than join the company. Of those that took permanent positions after a year most had left. The most often cited reason was that contractors do not have to get involved in petty office politics nor do they have to do a lot of paperwork and other ancillary jobs not directly related to their assignments.

Bob offers no analysis of the growth in contracting, only political motherhood statements. Where is the growth in independant contracting ? Are the contractors genuinely independant ? Are Australian contractors happy, or is it just a Swedish thing ?

I think independant contracting is certainly good for big business -they can off load their risk and costs onto small business. And then screw them on the price.

I would think also that it would be hard to determine the actual level of disputation. A proper assessment may need to include those contractors who decided "fighting the man" isn't practical as they can't risk losing the family home in a legal battle with a multi national corporation.

My point is I don't dispute the phenomenon of independant contracting but I think there is a real lack of evidence to support the view that it is a desirable thing, or for that matter a bad thing.

Is there a role for Government in having a fair contracting regime for small business ?

When people are forced into becoming quasi contractors real problems will become apparent. A contractor has some real benifits, especially in regards to bussiness costs and taxation. However when a worker is made a contractor because of this neo-feudal law, watch the black market rise and tax income to the govt fall.

Whats the go here, neo-libs trying to convince people it is fine to become serfs and indentured slaves to thei landed gentry.
This article represents the sheer arrogance and is propaganda, promulgated by the greedy.

My interest is the IR legislation this act of piracy by John Howard,is more important then this.

Independent contracts are beneficial to very few workers.

My partner was a subcontractor in the building industry and he worked for on firm without benefit of sick pay, holiday pay and he had to organise his own superannuation. When he got to sick to work he couldn't get sickness benefits because he was self employed - but he got a health care card.

I have worked as a contractor in IT and I noticed that most contractors would get a 6 month contract then spend another 3 months looking for the next contract. I noticed that contractors who had just started their contracts would be organising tradesmen to undertake those jobs that needed doing that they could now pay for.

I have watched a friend's business consultancy lose business as her friends changed jobs and were no longer responsible for hiring contractors.

Essentially contractors don't train apprentices or graduates, rely on their social networks for new business and spend 50% of the year looking for work. A few contractors are well paid but most scrape by on less than average wages. Usually IT contractors are more concerned about increasing the number of contractors employed on the site rather than solving the clients IT problem.

Next time you are talking to your lawyer, ask him how many contractual disputes he is involved in.