JC Political Thread - For All Things Political Part 2

[Eevo]

The problem when it comes to balancing the books is that every single measure gets knocked on the head from one interest group or another.

you're spot on.

 

[c2105026]

Sheesh Raj, what did the unions do to you mate?

Gave him weekends and holidays lol

 

[Skydrol]

I think Raj is not 100% against them. But if the Unions in Oz are similar to the USA they morphed on some hedious. In the begining was an honorable cause that helped the workers to have safer conditions and decent wages. Now days the head of the unions, not only exploits the company but also the workers with their dues.

Where I work, we have an union and even the workers complaint about the union. They cannot voice their opinion with the fear of getting fired.... is that some shite or what?

 

[Risky]

I think Raj is not 100% against them. But if the Unions in Oz are similar to the USA they morphed on some hedious. In the begining was an honorable cause that helped the workers to have safer conditions and decent wages. Now days the head of the unions, not only exploits the company but also the workers with their dues.

Where I work, we have an union and even the workers complaint about the union. They cannot voice their opinion with the fear of getting fired.... is that some shite or what?

Not all unions are bad & I agree about safer conditions & decent wages. Yes there are ifs & buts about them, but heads of major businesses have done as equally as bad.

The 457 visa issue where some of the mining companies are hiring foreign workers at half the rate just so that the owners/stockholders get larger dividends. Gina 'Jabba The Hutt' Rinehart springs to mind.

Being in middle management, I copped it from both the unions & senior managers even though I was in the union myself. When I started the job I told my crews what was going to happen in regards to streamlining everything but at the same time make everything fair. I always told them to get the jobs they were given to be done safely but if they got their jobs done in good time, they had the rest of the shift to do what they wanted provided that they had their phones & two-ways with them & that they were close by to the depot. During a staff review I lost 2 staff but I still had their roster lines which meant overtime was available. I made that fair to everyone that they got their share. Sometimes I'd get asked by one of the guys if they could do more as they might be planning home extensions, new car etc. I planned those as well & it worked great. I never had any complaints. If the guys wanted to swap shifts due to other commitments, they could do that. I made everything fair & easy. Unfortunately you get the odd couple of guys who take it too far. We had one bloke who when on night shifts would sleep & do nothing during his shift causing grief when it came to getting work done. This guy would also disappear from the depot after he signed on & you couldn't contact him. He would leave early but mark himself down as he was on site. He would not turn up for work & not call to let us know. I pulled him in 3 times & I was easy on him & had backup from the other guys. He got the union in claiming I was harassing him. He even got my bosses on me as well. In a meeting between the union & my bosses, I provided a stack of evidence that supported him slacking off & other statements from the other crews about his performance. My report stated dereliction of duty (which is serious on the railways) upon other charges of neglect. This bloke wasn't happy & thought I was gunning for him but I wasn't. As a rail safety worker & being in charge of my crews I have to make sure that the guys working under me got home to their families due to the dangerous work we performed. At the end of the meeting, both the union & my bosses agreed to take him out of my depot & place him somewhere else closer to where he lived where he wasn't a safety threat to his workmates. This guy jumped up & down at me. He claimed he needed the fuel allowance for his car amongst other things & even his workmates wanted him out. After he was transferred, everything went back to how it was & our worklife was easier. Under railway rules, he should have been sacked, but the union stepped in to make sure he had a job regardless on where it was at.

There was an article in the 7th July edition of the Daily Telegraph (I tried to link it here but it wont open) regarding the union & Dominoes pizza bosses. It boiled down to that the unions agreed to take away penalty rates for weekends, night rates & annual leave loading. This union signed it away which will make the young workers bitter against unions & their bosses. I believe in a fair days work for a fair days pay & this union turned it's back on it's workers. Then you wonder why younger workers want nothing to do with the unions.

My mother, who also worked on the railways had come under fire numerous times during her 38 years of service. It was all about her hearing loss. The railways did not want a "disabled" person working in the railways. Mum never classed herself as disabled & never sought for welfare or other govt agency support. Under railway guidelines, they have to employ people with disabilities but these general managers were out to get rid on mum by any means. They even threatened me. The union gave support to mum but at most times tried to avoid it. The last time they tried to dismiss her for being "disabled" I hired a solicitor who specialised in these cases. He did say that mum was entitled to a pay out but all she wanted was her job, the same one she had been in when she first started & for the railways to foot the solicitors bill. The general managers knew that there would be a media outrage & decided to hush her up & bent to her demands. Lol I wouldn't call them demands, just common sense to a person who is doing her & wants to work.

 

[c2105026]

Just like there are good and bad companies there are good and bad unions. Some unions like the AMWU get a bit carried away to the point they shut their business down. Then you have the SDA (I think that was the union in question with Dominos) who are hopeless and will not back up their members. NSW Teachers Fed are a happy medium.

At the very least you need unions in large workplaces to negotiate pay deals where the workforce is very large, or there are large numbers of people doing the one 'position description'. Out of efficiency. Imagine a school principal having to set aside time to negotiate individual contracts with 50-70 teachers? Not going to work.

However yes union membership is declining as the working world becomes more and more diverse. Now down to about 18%. For parties like the ALP to remain relevant it will have to look beyond the union movement and reshape themselves as a progressive, socially democratic party taking up the centre-left area on the political spectrum.

 

[Gaiter]

The 457 visa issue where some of the mining companies are hiring foreign workers at half the rate just so that the owners/stockholders get larger dividends. Gina 'Jabba The Hutt' Rinehart springs to mind.

I honestly don't think she has anything to with the hiring of foreign workers. She owns, but doesnt run any mining companies. Most of her income is from the deal her father struck when he first went into the Pilbara and discovered all the ore. He (now her) gets like 10% of all the revenue from Iron Ore in the region. Despite who the company is or who owns it, in order to mine ore out of the Pilbara, you must pay the Rineharts.

However, having lived in the Pilbara for a stint, there are SOOOOOOOOO many 457 workers up there it is clearly because they are cheaper. It's not as bad now as it was 3-5 years ago. But when I was there in 2012, a 3 bedroom house would be $2000+/week to rent, and more often than not would be home to 8+ people. You could look into backyards and see 3-4 tents....

 

[Risky]

I honestly don't think she has anything to with the hiring of foreign workers. She owns, but doesnt run any mining companies. Most of her income is from the deal her father struck when he first went into the Pilbara and discovered all the ore. He (now her) gets like 10% of all the revenue from Iron Ore in the region. Despite who the company is or who owns it, in order to mine ore out of the Pilbara, you must pay the Rineharts.

However, having lived in the Pilbara for a stint, there are SOOOOOOOOO many 457 workers up there it is clearly because they are cheaper. It's not as bad now as it was 3-5 years ago. But when I was there in 2012, a 3 bedroom house would be $2000+/week to rent, and more often than not would be home to 8+ people. You could look into backyards and see 3-4 tents....

It was just a generalisation with the mining companies regarding the 457's. Considering we have unemployed people wanting work the 457's should be put down the list. Just from your comment there mate, I didn't realise it was that bad with the 457's.

 

[Gaiter]

The pubs I frequented more than I care to comment on would have new bar staff every fortnight. Every single one of them was a 457... So bad.

You are right, give locals the priority!

 

[mpower]

457 is a huge issue, libs won't give it the time of day because it serves business interests, the interest of driving down wages.

 

[Rajesh Koothrappali]

we have unemployed people wanting work

We have unemployed people wanting work but sadly, the majority want top wages for minimal effort. If you want to work, you'll find a job within two weeks. There is no excuse for being unemployed. I've been there, done that myself. Worked shitty jobs because I wanted to work until I found a better high paying job I wanted more.

457 is a huge issue, libs won't give it the time of day because it serves business interests, the interest of driving down wages.

Well wages are way too high! When a general labourer on a construction site is earning more than $100,000 a year, something is seriously wrong. The AVERAGE wage of the works doing the work on the Citylink Tulla Widening project (yes, the workers doing the work, not management) is $130,000!!! That's just stupid!

Someone standing on a production line at Holden, screwing in screws, earning $80,000+ is also stupid. And we know how that ends. Bye bye local Holden manufacturing.