Julia
you can fool some of the people some of the time,but not all the people all the time.
I could equally address that comment to your political opponents of the Coalition.
Flexible fair workplaces?

You see..the problem is, I've done some research into the 'union machine' and in particular the CFMEU. I know how they have blackmailed construction companies and have pushed the boundaries of supposedly fair pay to the point where a laborer can be paid astronomical amounts whereas a trained technician can command a mediocre salary much lower.

Oh.. lets not kid ourselves, the only "laborers" who get the exhorbitant pay rates are:

a) Those in the Union.
b) Those who also work on major projects which are targeted by Unions.

Then there is Greg Combe. Where was Combe during the well deserved crushing of the maritime unions power? with their 'hereditary jobs' and mind boggling work practices and pay scales, all based on blackmail and thuggery.. where was he ? AT THE FOREFRONT of defending these injust, corrupt and thuggish practices.

Now.. what is your party doing? why in the good spirit of the Indonesian Defense forces which PROMOTED those in charge of the masaccres in Timor as 'national hero's almost.. Combe is being fast tracked into Federal Parliment as a reward for sticking up for thugs, criminals and gangs.

Well...thats my opinion on the matter.

OH.. by the way.. we have seen the 2 faces of Combe.. the 'serious concerned look' and then the 'laughing wink wink' look which the camera's caught when he was off guard. When he realized the camera's were on.. he suddenly morphed back into 'serious concerned' mode.
What a joke.

Combe=Latham the sequel.

FLEXIBLE and FAIR is to allow EITHER AWA's or Collective Bargaining.
I've tried in the past to get more pay for good workers.. CB was the barrier!

'How many people on The Government front bench have formal qualifications in economics?

How many on the Labor side?

A hint the answer for The Government is zero.'

Incorrect.

Many would answer thankfully zero.

BOAZ_David you are so right, the only workers on very good pay belong to militant unions with strong bargaining power.

Do you think its fair the workers in less powerful bargaining positions should have their pay and conditions undermined because they are unable to use collective bargaining?
Do you think its fair for shop assistants, nurses, teachers, hospitality workers, engineers to have their pay chopped to subsistence level?
Do you think the nurse who is worried about whether she will get enough shifts this week to pay her rent is going to be able to look after you as solicitously as your condition requires?
Do you expect the agency nurse in intensive care to be fully familiar with the equipment and hospitals' operating procedures? Your dreaming!
Do you expect your Virgin Blue pilot who has flown more than 900 hours is relaxed enough to make the right decision in all situations or is he prepared to risk safety for the save-fuel-bonus like the Garuda pilot in Yogjakarta a month ago?
Do you think the state government has done any public transport planning since they outsourced public transport to Connex in 1992? Obviously they didn't keep any transport planners or engineers and have only paid for specialist reports when they can see the need.

Many low paid workers are now expected to set up companies before they can get work, so the burden of sickness benefit, workers compensation and public liability has been shifted to the contract cleaners, promotions people themselves.

There are 10 million people in the workforce
3 million self employed or contractors, most of these having no choice
1.79 million union members
400,000 AWAs
22,000 mining union AWAs

You have grown up in an era of fair go and you have chosen to downsize and live on the edge but that doesn't mean our young people should be forced to work under such appalling conditions and in fact the brightest will continue to emmigrate in search of better working conditions.

An erosion of working conditions will lead to an decline in customer service and decrease in safety.

Hi Billie.....just a quick one mate..

I don't think the conditions of most of the groups you mentioned have been "undermined" as much as they are now simply relatively lower than those for the militant unions.

I'm sure some unscrupulous employers have taken advantage of the opportunity as far as it goes to re-shape their workforce on poorer conditions, but these days, with many job opportunities, I don't know why people would come back to such a situation.

I honestly don't think there is any simple or across the board solution to the problem of 'sufficient disposable income' because as soon as we get a pay rise we also experience an 'expectations' rise.

Then, we have the dynamics of the world economy, and the increasingly powerful mega corporations, I think I take comfort more and more from being part of a history stream which is not part of that 'system' so much. Being part of Christs Body is a truly wonderful experience, and it negates the bitterness which might otherwise arise.

Paul learnt to be content in abundance and lack, I've tried to do the same. I'm nearing the 7th year in my period of 'lack' :) but work is picking up, and things are happening. My greatest satisfaction is that during my period of lack, I've quietly trusted the Lord to provide and indeed He has. "Great is thy faithfulness, Oh God our Father" as the hymn goes.

The idea of fairness and flexibility? hmmm no matter what they come up with, one parties 'fairness' is anothers 'stifling of economic growth' etc.. its a no win mate.

When we re-discover the communal and mutually supportive nature of the Christ centred community, we will all be much better off.

BOAZ_David

When we re-discover the communal and mutually supportive nature of the community, we will all be much better off.

Not greed, dog eat dog, and I'm all right Jack. I think its called a fair society. Christ is optional for many, but his teachings may show the way. Money changers rule in our society unfortunately.

I was the second to post on this forum and so far only a couple of respondents have addressed the point I made and that was to support the argument.

The common theme of many posters is that they are "sure" that there are unscrupulous employers reducing the pay and conditions of the young - or similar etc etc. But they have never once given an example of a personal experience.

Which is in line with the union argument. If you carefully note their arguments, it is always about what is possible and what might happen rather than what has happened.

Likewise, the whole Labor pitch about families being inconvenienced and Workchoices being unfriendly to families has never given any examples.

In my next post I will give a positive example of the benefits of WorkChoices from my personal experience.