Solidarity

A secret Government report has been leaked to the press, revealing details of research on the public’s opinion of WorkChoices. Some of the comments from focus group participants include:

• “It’s like there’s a guillotine over our heads. Stability is gone.”

• “The kids will think it’s great to get five days’ annual leave and a bowl of rice.”

• “They legally can’t force you to sign a contract … but get real … they victimise … make it so unbearable to be at work, you choose to quit.”

But the key detail in the leaked report is not that the public hates WorkChoices — we knew that already — it’s about the new star of the Government’s multi-million dollar advertising campaign. It was advertising agencies that suggested the criteria for selecting the new head of the Workplace Authority:

However, the paper indicates advertising agencies were given the chance to suggest a marketable person to head the Workplace Authority.

“Identifying an appropriate figurehead for this organisation will be critical,” the document states. “This is very much a public role…”

So now we know why Barbara Bennett was given “a leg-up” into a position “about eight years above herself”: Avuncular Joe thinks she looks good on telly.

It’s got nothing to do with whether she’d do a good job protecting workers — her track record says the opposite is true. Barbara Bennett is a figurehead. Someone who can put her face in front of a camera and promise everything’s all right; a telegenic distraction from the reality of WorkChoices.

And while she’s prancing around in the television studios, her office is doing very little to actually stick up for workers:

Lolita Lamberto, a former dairy factory worker in Perth, said yesterday she had waited at least six months for help from workplace inspectors, despite government claims they would help employees under duress.

It’s the same story at the other Government body, the Workplace Ombudsman. Workplace Express reports that the Victorian IR minister John Hulls is unimpressed by the lack of action:

“In Victoria we’ve had a number of complaints from people who have sought the [federal Workplace] Ombudsman’s help, only to be told that it would take up to three months for them to even start to open up a file,” Hulls said.

“One can only presume that so much has been spent on advertising that no money was left for the actual running of the office, or that they’re simply so inundated with complaints that they simply don’t know where to begin…

The pattern is clear: the Howard Government’s approach to workers’ rights is to pump money into advertising and spin doctors, while employeess are left to fend for themselves.

When advertising agencies are given input into who should lead the Workplace Authority, and workers are waiting months for help with their problems, there is a serious problem with the Government’s priorities.

The fact that focus groups are showing the public can see through the spin is cold comfort for those who are faced with pay cuts or unfair dismissal. The lesson is that if you want your problem addressed, you need to join your union.

Elsewhere: Blogocracy.