These are SOME of the implications of your red neck proposal.
Firms compel workers to work 7 day weeks and long shifts.
Weekends/Social/family life ends.
End of reward for better in work place ends, level playing Field equals death of effort same result as Socialism.
Tell you what , bring in as China has a tax free zone, they make or Iphones using slaves who actually die or are crippled at work.
In the end, what is it humanity needs/wants.
More equality, a better life for as many as possible.
Or is profit worth turning workers to slaves.
Yes yabby us unionists do want to look like we are doing something bloke protecting workers from bosses like you is a start.
Have grin on my face ok?

Sorry Anti , I stand corrected, of course the contamination of Gladstone Harbour is well documented even in the Qld press. But my jibe was unnecessary, apologies to Qlders.

I was was reacting due an experience in my life where my family was poisoned by pesticides and we all broke out in boils. Boils are the bodies reaction too poisoning incidentally, although the medical profession did not recognise that at the time.

The specific information regarding the nature of the condition associated with the Gladstone environment and how people were effected found in the Age, was more informative, more of an example of reporting I believe. More based in facts than the Courier Mail article. Too me it read like a hodgepodge of theorems, conjecture, postulating and facts unclear, as to the nature of the complaint in Gladstone, as opposed to the facts of the matter. The boils, I don't believe were mentioned by the Courier Mail, nor the number of people effected.

It's great too see us now drilling down on the issue of Corporate Power at last, and I support your views on Corporations Anti, and I think Belly"s policy suggestions good idea's worth consideration. As for Yabby's flat earth policy, (lol).

Good point about middle class welfare Anti, you say it better than I. It's more the taxpayer funding their own pay rises instead of business being required to do it. A real job is where your living standards don't go backward while you work. Of course your prepared to be more productive for your employer if he is protecting your living standards by offering certainty and rises at least commensurate with the rate of inflation. You can even be loyal.

Although I feel bound too point out that the weight of necessary lower income assistance was provided by Keating and the bulk of middle class and upper income welfare was provided by Howard, Anti. This clearly separates these two leaders, despite the blurring your timeline imply's, when you say "since Keating's so called recession we had too have".

Actually Belly, these days I think of you every Sunday, when I
pick up my Sunday newspaper. The place is a small country store,
where women who wanted some extra money, worked when they felt like it
and there was work. Thats all gone now for them. The owner could
not justify the double time and a half or whatever, he now does
it himself.

Those women have no choice in the matter, union thugs have decided
it for them.

I know plenty of blokes who prefer to work as contractors. Its one
of the reasons why union membership is so dismal. They don't
want you lol, even though that would break your heart.

But of course now labor is in power, you are going to force the
union stuff down peoples throats, like it or not.

I remember the days when the AWU tried to deny shearers from earning
more money, by denying them the use of wide combs. WA led the
way of course and nearly all shearers told the union to get stuffed.
Deary deary me :)

Well I did try.
Not to prop up the dark past of some Unions.
Not to lay all the blame on one side.
I have failed.
My thread feeds a lack of understanding and concern, for the lowest paid in our community.
Yabby throws that well worn brick, at my movement, fore very perceived sin, he imagines is theirs.
Those Lady's, the new laws they work under, this is the very guts of the matter!, work under laws not put in place! at any stage! by unions.
Post work choices, past John Howard's mistaken belief AUSTRALIAN WORKERS did not matter.
These laws tried to introduce a level playing Field Australia wide.
Penalty rates, may not have infiltrated the back waters of West Australia, but most of the country's had always paid such workers these rates

Pause, look at another side ,of our wonderful truck stop bosses,saints that they are NOT!
Those who will work for cash on the side are activly hunted, others mostly not employed.
Social security receivers are first, in return for using false names, but understanding any future claims lead to reporting them, they work cheap.
UNION THUGS?
A thread long ago, informed of young women, hand picked single mums.
Paid first seven dollars an hour,on weekends cash same system.
After a while? five dollars and out of date stock!
UNION THUGS?

In my lifetime I have seen a whole new industry born.
If I could find the words to fully describe it, you may well see a small map of modern day IR.
I worked for the DMR /soon to become RTA in NSW.
Traffic Control, in my time in the NSW DMR then renamed RTA the men and women holding those signs changed.
It was us,employed workers,the good and the bad who held those bats.
It could be and was used as punishment,I often felt for being unionist.
My team got the first all new well trained well presented contract team.
Nice looking ,friendly young women.
They got less pay no penalty's and,as casuals no work if they asked why.
I began a war, to see them paid , as an employed RTA AWU Union delegate.
I employed as an official of my union, tasked with recruiting and fixing this new industry.
With help,me and another recruited two thirds of that group, every such group.
Opposing us?
EX RTA Engineers who owned whole contracts, working for? RTA.
Ex Militant trade union officials.
An Ethnic group from Queensland who threatened the life of both workers and me.
It was early days workers worked under a discription of security Gard's! insurance was cheaper, wage slower.
We are talking about thousands of workers.
Superannuation, then you could/they did! get away with not paying it.
Casuals all, doors closed over night,no pay,after a while we got some back.
In time it was backed by law.
REMEMBER many of those folk, single mums working under false names, just to eat, did not understand they would never see the pay, super, even pay on pay day.
Call me a fool insult the person, but I can never ever forget one of hundreds,a young lost mum, not very bright not even very right.
Who was owed for 53 hours work,and never received it, I gave her more than I should, more than I could,I never became a unionist for personal gain.
The best do not.

In time, I became yabbys UNION THUG! and loved it! miss it!
A day near the week end would start with a phone call,from a worker in this industry.
My pay is not in the bank.
Twenty more forty or even eighty.
Quick visit and finding locked doors and a report all the signs and such, the oil the industry runs on went in a moon light flit around 2 am.
Some tin shed,maybe not far away a stencil was being used to change the company's name, new staff,new name same boss.
I found my companion,never forgave him, seemed to have made a few bob,was of little help to me.
In time the great man that replaced him,me both before he came and after,closed shed doors first.
After finding CONTRACTORS TO THE RTA owed workers figures in the hundreds of thousands.
WARNING! still in NSW those giving multi million dollars contracts receive gifts as rewards, some times Penny's,contracts are given to CRIMINALS.
So my thread aired concerns but I see no point in continuing, stunning! that based on the news papers the fish and chips came in UNION THUGS is the answer.