The official IR reform thread! (1 Viewer)

[Generator]

IR laws will get rid of pests: PM
PM steels Libs for IR battle
Women to suffer more from IR reforms
Firm pledges to get unions out

 

[Generator]

Opinion - Devil in the detail to decide PM's job laws
Opinion - Work changes will do only half the job

Breathing space for farmers

 

[Generator]

Industrial plan imminent: Costello

AN announcement would be made this weekend on the Federal Government's industrial relations changes, Treasurer Peter Costello said today.

Mr Costello told a luncheon for business and community leaders in Melbourne today that an announcement was imminent, but he did not go into details.

"On the weekend, the Government will be making an announcement in relation to further industrial relations reform," he said.

He would also not be drawn on the issue when he was later quizzed by journalists.

Mr Costello said the Government's reform agenda had already been outlined, and the announcement would signal the start of "arguing our case".

 

[Generator]

Howard blinks on IR rules

More slant than substance in jobs reform ideology

 

[Generator]

OK, as some of you may already know, tomorrow is pretty much the day. Given that I'm taking a break for a few weeks, it would be great if someone kept on top of the issue, even if it's just the odd article or two every now and again.

States leave open High Court challenge on IR

IR safeguards 'worthless' without guanantee

Have fun, no matter how militant both the unions and employers may be!
Generator

Edit: Final edit for a time. The package is still to be released, but thanks to the government approved leak system, some info has been presented in today's rags:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/natio...ward-to-workers/2005/10/08/1128563036312.html
http://www.theage.com.au/news/natio...-is-waged-on-tv/2005/10/08/1128563036318.html
http://www.theage.com.au/news/miche...egan-lifes-work/2005/10/08/1128563035051.html
Changes don't soften Govt's IR policy: ACTU head

A breaking news piece or two:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16863395%5E1702,00.html
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,16863399%5E1702,00.html

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PM unveils 'big but fair' IR plans
Opposition demands IR guarantee for workers

 

[Generator]

PM defends proposed IR laws

 

[Comrade nathan]

Fight of Boeing Australia Workers Goes International
22 September 2005

Australian and American unions have joined forces to uphold the rights of Boeing workers to collective bargaining.


The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) and the US-based International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) have forged an alliance.

AWU National Secretary Bill Shorten and two mechanical engineers from Boeing's Newcastle operations will fly to America today to meet with the IAM, whose 18,000 Boeing members are on strike for better conditions.

Mr Shorten said the delegation also hoped to meet with senior Boeing International executives to urge them to get Boeing Australia to come to the table on a collective agreement with the company's striking workers in Australia.

"With the support of our American friends, we hope to draw international attention to the plight of our Newcastle members, and put pressure on Boeing Australia to sit down with us and thrash out the issues," Mr Shorten said.

Mr Shorten will be highlighting the injustice whereby Boeing workers in Australia have no right to bargain collectively whereas their American counterparts do.

"These workers should not have to go without pay for 113 days just to defend a basic right that should be guaranteed to every worker, no matter where they live," Mr Shorten said.

Mechanical aircraft engineers at the RAAF Williamtown base, near Newcastle, began a legally protected strike in June 2005, fighting for their collective bargaining rights. The company has refused to negotiate with these workers and their union, the Australian Workers Union' (AWU). Boeing has been flying in workers from other sites to do the jobs of the striking workers.

In the US, three weeks ago, 18,000 Boeing workers began their first strike in 10 years - over pay, pensions, job security and lower healthcare costs - shutting down production at the world's largest aircraft maker.

ACTU President, Sharan Burrow said, "US law recognises this right. Boeing's US executives should respect Australian workers with the same rights. The Boeing workers in NSW are at the forefront of the fight of workers in Australia to retain the right to bargain collectively with their employer."

"Under the industrial relations changes proposed by the Howard Government, workers like these, highly skilled people, will be denied even the most basic right to negotiate with their fellow workers. And this is with a company of the size and power of the world's biggest aircraft maker, that has recently announced even bigger profit margins" Ms Burrow said.

http://www.awu.net.au/national/news/1127347996_9870.html

 

[Generator]

Working without a safety net

IR for beginners
Government slams 'no disadvantage' wage test
The revolution we had to have?

The real deal

Five articles (of many) that may be of interest.

 

[leetom]

Working without a safety net

IR for beginners
Government slams 'no disadvantage' wage test
The revolution we had to have?

The real deal

Five articles (of many) that may be of interest.

9 Workers will not be able to choose whether to have an award, individual agreement or collective agreement. If you are applying for a job, you have to accept whichever the employer offers you, unless you can persuade him otherwise. If you are already working under an award or collective agreement, it will continue to its expiry date, but after that, it is up for grabs.

And what are the chances of a single, potential employee convincing an employer to pay award conditions?

 

[Calculon]

9 Workers will not be able to choose whether to have an award, individual agreement or collective agreement. If you are applying for a job, you have to accept whichever the employer offers you, unless you can persuade him otherwise. If you are already working under an award or collective agreement, it will continue to its expiry date, but after that, it is up for grabs.

And what are the chances of a single, potential employee convincing an employer to pay award conditions?

That depends on how good his/her previous references and qualifications are.

 

[MoonlightSonata]

Funny stuff

 

[Not-That-Bright]

9 Workers will not be able to choose whether to have an award, individual agreement or collective agreement. If you are applying for a job, you have to accept whichever the employer offers you, unless you can persuade him otherwise. If you are already working under an award or collective agreement, it will continue to its expiry date, but after that, it is up for grabs.

And what are the chances of a single, potential employee convincing an employer to pay award conditions?

This already exists it's just not 'supposed' to.

 

[leetom]

That depends on how good his/her previous references and qualifications are.

There is understandable concern for the way in which the reforms wil impact upon young workers trying to enter the workforce. Young workers, fresh out of school have no real qualifications other than their school reports and references from teahcers and so it is difficult for an employer to gauge their aptitude for a particular industry, say, welding or construction.

Now, providing that wages paid out under an award arrangement are not too terribly financially crippling for an employer to provide, I think an employer should be obliged to pay an award rate as things like weekend/public holiday rates are nice to have and compensate for being removed from the weekend social sphere or any cultural practices that would normally take place on the weekend.

Young workers are especially prone to a bad deal as they lack the intellectual capacity to realise that they may well be entitled to better conditions. On querying a young KFC employee yesterday, I discovered that she did not know what a union was. The question then is, because a particular employee is too oblivious to realise that an award arrangement is more beneficial to them then an individual agreement, should society be compelled to protect them from employers who take advantage of their young workers' lack of knowledge?

 

[Calculon]

What a fucking waste of money.

I like how a majority of the opposers think it will be bad for the economy.

 

[leetom]

I like how a majority of the opposers think it will be bad for the economy.

He was referring to the advertising blitz. Which is of considerable cost and could be interpreted as a waste given that the adds have had little effect on opinion.

That people in general think reform will be bad for the economy only highlights their determined opposition.

 

[Calculon]

It just highlights that they know fuck all about the reforms and their effects.

 

[erawamai]

There is no doubt that the reforms will be good for the economy. When I mean 'good for the economy' I mean it will make the economic indicators look good. GDP per capita will go up, unemployment will go down etc (or so the theory goes...ie social model systems like Germany and France have 12% unemployment whereas 'market model systems' like the US and UK have 5% unemployment).

I have the feeling that anyone who has an iota of knowledge would know that GDP per capita is not always the best way to measure societal prosperity. For those who have skills to bargain with AWAs are fab. For those who do not have skills to bargain with AWAs are not the best. The notion of freedom of contract is lost when one party has nothing to bargain with. The only way in which those who do not have skills can bargain is collectively. If unskilled workers were paid 5cents per hour in Australia it would be great for the economy. We would have zero unemployment and no need for an welfare expenditure. Just because it is good for the economy does not mean that it is good for society. Like everything there needs to be a balance. IMO the government reforms should not force people onto AWAs, expecially those who have nothing to bargain with. The people over at the IRC need to make sure their minimum wage rises to do not deter job creation (evidently the IRC has not as unemployment is low as it is).

There have been some big fat furfies on the government side though. Their advertisments, IMO, are many times more misleading than the the ACTU ads simply for their omissions. None of the ads mention that you can be sacked for refusing to sign an AWA if going to a new job. None of them mention that things such as redunancy can be bargained away.

As for the government link between AWA's and a strong economy...well I think thats a bit rich. the take up of AWAs have been rather low. I don't think AWA's can take all the credit.

 

[leetom]

If unskilled workers were paid 5cents per hour in Australia it would be great for the economy.

There have been some big fat furfies on the government side though. Their advertisments, IMO, are many times more misleading than the the ACTU ads simply for their omissions. None of the ads mention that you can be sacked for refusing to sign an AWA if going to a new job. None of them mention that things such as redunancy can be bargained away.

"If you examine European countries one by one, you discover that those with the strongest egalitarian traditions (such as Norway and Denmark), also enjoy the lowest unemployment," Galbraith told the inaugural Whitlam Institute Forum in 2001. The United States was held up as an exemplar of labour market reform, but was in fact an example "of full employment achieved by accepting poverty", Galbraith added.

Nor do they mention the extreme likelihood of an employer overlooking a prospective employee because he requested award conditions, instead choosing the prospective employee who 'agrees' to bargain away all standard award conditions away.

For the jobseeker the reforms are massively disadvantageous. Employment prospects are minimal if an individual seeks award arrangements from his employer as opposed to just forfeiting everything in an AWA. For those currently employed, the union will back them if confronted with an unscrupulous boss, but there's nothing to complain to for the unemployed person seeking award conditions (as well as no way to condemn a boss for refusing a collective-preferencing employee).

 

[Generator]

Teach students their work rights: parents

Nelson - We must crush all notions of political thought within our education system, apart from those in favour of our neoliberalistic choice platform! Critical thought that isn't necessarily in support of the establishment is to be derided!
Many voices - Hear, hear.
Nelson - We must tie our funding so that the states create curriculums that serve the interests of the market above all else!
Andrews - Be sure to include a provision that prevents schools and education departments from dealing with the latest round of IR reforms. We cannot let the market work to its full potential if the kids aren't willing to work in the mines for a dollar an hour!
Costello - *smirks*
Howard - I'll try and broach the issue with the public so that it's acceptable to most (and he would have a high chance of being successful, no doubt).

 

[walrusbear]

Teach students their work rights: parents

Nelson - We must crush all notions of political thought within our education system, apart from those in favour of our neoliberalistic choice platform! Critical thought that isn't necessarily in support of the establishment is to be derided!
Many voices - Hear, hear.
Nelson - We must tie our funding so that the states create curriculums that serve the interests of the market above all else!
Andrews - Be sure to include a provision that prevents schools and education departments from dealing with the latest round of IR reforms. We cannot let the market work to its full potential if the kids aren't willing to work in the mines for a dollar an hour!
Costello - *smirks*
Howard - I'll try and broach the issue with the public so that it's acceptable to most (and he would have a high chance of being successful, no doubt).

well summed

contemptible fucks
i hope this IR backfires on them big time