I saw that BHP is laying off some people. The copper prices have dipped significantly

This is not good news if the white Knight of Australia falters.

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Shoten-calls-Toyota-after-IR-criticism-pd20120202-R4NNW?OpenDocument&src=hp22

Sounds like some days, up to 30% of those Toyota workers are taking
sickies. IMHO, some of these guys are in for a rude shock one day.

In my experience, some workplaces are great, everyone pulls their
weight. In others, workers have a sense of entitlement like I've
seldom seen anywhere in the world. IMHO they need to lose their
jobs, to cop a dose of reality.

We need win -win solutions, where everyone benefits. We don't seem
to have so many of those, more the extremes in either direction.
That invariably ends in tears eventually.

579, you are typical of a labor puppet, Julia and Swan are simply pulling your strings.

Anyone who thinks the jobs market is healthy, is either retired, or, has a secure job, as the REAL WORLD out there aint as pretty as you and your leaders make out.

Something 'full employment' doesn't recognize is 'under employment'.

You see the changes to IR have sent shock waves through many industries, yet left others virtually untouched.

Hospitally has been hard hit, to the point that many restaurants no longer open on Sundays or public holidays, unless they are run by owners or families.

Now while you may well say that's their choice, it is not the choice of many of the staff who just want to work, and were very happy with the past arrangements, but now suffer from either a career change, or, under employment.

The ironic part about it, is that the law makes (labor) don't work in the industry, yet can't help but interfere.

What happened to, no worker will be worse off!

Now as for unskilled, sorry but you have got me wrong.
I don't have a problem with them, nor do I disrespect them, it's just that they are the highest paid in the world, and that is literally killing our industries.

As I have said many times, it is not businesses roll to top up living expenses of the low skilled.

If you want to earn more money, either obtain skills, or work longer hours, if you can find them.

18,000 unfilled jobs, the govt; is bringing in foreign labour. You employ supposed unskilled workers because you need them, but do not want to pay them. I don't know about a labor puppet. it would be the same under any govt; Those stop go people you talk about, are risking their lives standing on the road, but somehow you don't recognize it as a necessary job worth relevant pay. To the ones working in the road construction ,they are very necessary. Your complaint is medieval, wether you like it or not that is how the system works, and is taken into account when in business. Battering unskilled workers, and assuming they can live under a bridge, and eat scraps, may be good for you because for some reason you are superior.

In America, with the legacy of George W Bush's 8 yrs profligate spending on war, unnemployment is at least twice that of Australia.

And our usual bag of whingers still complain.

At least in the US, they try and pull together.

Here in Oz, led by the master whinger, we are spiralling to the bottom.

bonmot,

As I mentioned, the "working poor" have long been a feature of American society...although their presence hasn't been an enhancement to the U.S. economy which continues on a downward spiral.