While listening to Bill Shorton yesterday, speaking about the workers that lost their jobs at a large printing firm, he said, and I quote "we, the government, have an obligation to look after our LOW PAID workers".

Not one minute earlier, he mentioned that these workers were on between $40 to 45,000. Hardly what I would consider a low paid worker, as 38 hrs at $15.50, or so, is about $30,000 a year, so these workers were on approx 37% more than the minimum wage.

Surely the minimum wage is considered to be a low income earner, cause if it's not, we are in serious trouble, as it means the likes of our emergency services and police are barely out of that bracket.

The other interesting point was that the new owner, a competitor, who bought the scraps at a fire sale, won't re-employ any staff, as the agreement the union has struck is considered by them as unworkable.

This Government may well be 'out of touch' at present, as you suggest rehctub.

So when the 'other' Government attains power, I look forward to :
a huge rise in the minimum wage,
a massive increase in employment,
a return to countries of origin for all immigrants,
a ban on multiculturalism,
the return of the white Australia policy,
the return of normal weather patterns,
the arming of all citizens with machine guns,
the forcing of Christian beliefs on all citizens,
a ban for the need for all fathers to pay child support,
a ban on all women attending university,
the jailing of all feminists,
the removal of all children from single mothers,
and last, but not least, the banning of all women from politics!

Yes indeed, a real utopia for all the OLO old boys...

Sorry Suz, but this is an Australian forum.

I think you have the wrong country my dear.

But nice rant anyway.

Suseonline gday, you must first under stand Rechtub is no fountain of under standing.
In truth Shorten, while a power broker, current spelling for that is grub! knows his stuff about wages.
Head, and savior, of the AWU before he left to climb the tree, leaving us few to pick up the crap that falls from that tree, he knows the current minimum, therefore low income wages, is far below $40 an hour.
Shame Rechtub doe not .
Dare I?
Why not! this thread shows just how out of touch Rechtub is.
I however admit, Gillard and her power brokers, sorry backers, are riding the poor workers thing to death in a wasted effort to hide the fact she is a dud,and those who support her, traitors to
The ALP.

For those bloggers and readers who think this current Federal Governmentis out of touch, I believe an Abbott Coalition Government will be light years away from the interests and needs of the working class, just like his predecessor John Howard who introduced "Work Choices". This piece of legislation is the mainstay of the Liberal Party and to those big businesses they serve. If elected Tony Abbott will re-introduce the worst parts of WorkChoices back into the IR legislation to reduce salaries and working conditions of all Australian workers. Julia Gillard's recent deeds only show that she is more in touch with Australian workers than Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turbull, Christopher Pyne, etc will ever hope to be.

Taurus

Suse,

I'm not looking forward to a Liberal-Coalition government, but I do think you have over-stretched the rhetoric about how evil it will be - I'll bet you that most of those dreadful outcomes that you list will not come to pass. Quite possibly, not one of them.

$ 10 for you, for every one that comes about by, say, the end of 2014 :)

I guess the difference will be between an incompetent Tweedledum and a more competent Tweedledee.

Joe