“Right to request” not onerous, but effective
Labor’s new industrial relations policy,
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Must-see TV: Bastard Boys
Put this in your diary: the ABC’s new drama, Bastard Boys, will screen in two parts at 8:30pm on Sunday, 13 May and Monday, 14 May. The show tells the story of the War on the Waterfront, in which the Howard Government ganged up with a stevedoring company to try to smash the Maritime Workers [...]
Boys in the Boardroom laundering Govt ads
Last time I posted about the ACTU’s ad campaign, I couldn’t find a clip of the one called “Boys in the Boardroom”, but here it is: This is very effective ad — it highlights the fact that WorkChoices encourages employers to use AWAs to cut labour costs, and compares those wage cuts to soaring executive [...]
Labor to maintain WorkChoices ban on union protests
When Labor announced it would retain WorkChoices’ limits on the right to strike, Jeff Sparrow argued that the “most striking” feature of the policy “is precisely how little it is driven by the polls.” After all, there’s absolutely no evidence of the public demanding a crackdown on strikes. Yes, industrial relations is a key issue—but [...]
Vopak workers sacked for “operational reasons”
Last week we heard about the Priceline decision, which upheld the right of a company to sack its workers to cut costs. It didn’t take long for other companies to cotton on to that strategy. Workers at Vopak Terminals in Sydney have been trying to negotiate a collective agreement. Vopak has been refusing to negotiate, [...]
How does Fair Work Australia stack up?
In the run-up to Labor’s national conference, Kevin Rudd has begun to release some features of the IR policy he will take to the next election. These announcements seem to be intended to forestall real debate about industrial policy, so that Kevin Rudd can make announcements without worrying about the opinions of rank-and-file members. The [...]
Don’t believe Howard: “operational reasons” is new
It looks like Howard is worried by the Priceline operational reasons decision. He is now pretending that this kind of cost-cutting was not supposed to be covered by operational reasons, “either under this legislation or under previous legislation”. But that’s misleading: the operational reasons loophole didn’t exist under the old legislation. As the IRC pointed [...]
Operational reasons = pay cuts
A recent Industrial Relations Commission decision is terrible news for workers — if your company wants to sack you to cut your wages, that’s entirely legal under the new WorkChoices “operational reasons” rule. This means companies over the 100-employee threshold will be able to dodge unfair dismissal claims by arguing they needed to save money. [...]
Greg Combet MP? Not whether, but when
The suggestion that Greg Combet would make a move from the ACTU to the parliament has been around for a while, but it’s been picking up steam lately. It’s no longer a question of whether he’s interested, but rather whether he will make his move before the next election. Combet’s public position has long been [...]
I’m back…
Sorry about the break. Life, the universe and everything conspired against me. I hope to get back to a regular schedule from now on.
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