25,000 agreements fail fairness test

WorkChoices: Some 25,000 wage agreements have failed the fairness test

WorkChoices: Some 25,000 wage agreements have failed the fairness test (ABC News: Cristen Tilley)

The head of the Federal Government's new Workplace Authority has rejected 25,000 new wage agreements under the WorkChoices fairness test.

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Gus: according to the numerously annoying adverts — promoted on the box by the Rattussian government — if I didn't misunderstand or if my ears were not full of wax, the Fair Whatsit looks at 25,000 AWA annually to make sure they comply with the draconian Rattus Cactus laws... If my maths are correct thus, not a single AWA actually even managed to fit inside that little Ratussian square box of Work Choices, now to be known as something else which I (and the ABC) forgot the name of. Flog choices? No choice? Who knows... The Fair Whatsit backlog of AWA with which people aren't happy with stands at 110,000... And let's make it clear these don't include the people who are too scared to rock the boat otherwise they might get the sack, legally.

And let's not be too cute about it, should the Rattus team be re-elected, workers will be shot like rabbits caught in a 4WD headlights....The "quick fix" from the Fair Whatsit has a good chance of turning into sand — like the rock-solid medicare promises made on super glossy (or were they matt?) before the 2004 elections...

Critics face loss of raison d'etre

Gerard Henderson
October 2, 2007

If, as the opinion polls indicate, Kevin Rudd becomes prime minister before Christmas, it goes without saying we can expect some differences between the new Labor government and its Coalition predecessor - especially in such areas as industrial relations and Australia's Iraq commitment. However, the policy changes which would be implemented by a Rudd government are unlikely to silence the critics of Australia who appear in the international media. Assuming, of course, that they are consistent.

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Gus: There is a conflict of meaning between the title and the substance — if any — of this piece by Gerard Henderson. There is a subtle shift of colour, though.

What one should gather from this ambiguous rave is that once Howard is gone, the Howard-haters of the press and in the bloggosphere would have lost their "raison d'etre"... but may not be fully satisfied with the Rudd style of politics. Thus should they be true to themselves, the Howard-haters should carry on bagging the Australian government.

And they will. But at least many of the wrongs done by Howard have a chance to be rectified with a "Labor" government. It may not be the complete reversal that some critic may wish but at least some common sense can start to permeate the common good again.

And by the way I woud be happy to loose Howard-hating as my "raison d'etre"... But it is not and never was my "raison d'etre"... My "raison d'etre", my purpose of living is to be alive, at peace and understand as much as possible the mechanics of the world — of the universe — we live in without the burden of pre-conceived beliefs. My "raison d'etre" is to love people and share, as equitably as possible, as compassionately as possible, the moments of my short life. My "raison d'etre" is to protect nature against a careless human onslaught, as some humans, specially those who acquire power, believe that nature is there to rape or mould into a slave to their whims and fancies. 

Sure the dynamics of our interactions between each other and with nature are very complex, but our best chance of having a "raison d'etre" is to tread lightly, in harmony, in compassion, in happiness. We should not treat the world as a stage for war — whether we're at peace or in full-blown conflict where we become heroes of straw, consumerisationing pawns, and fodder for destructive forces... of which Howard and Bush are promoters.

AWAs 'costing low-skilled workers $100 a week'

A study has found that low-skilled workers in Australia earn less money on Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) than those on collective arrangements.

Earlier this year, researchers at the University of Sydney's Workplace Research Centre interviewed more than 8,300 workers in a study partly funded by Unions New South Wales.

Researcher Dr Brigid van Wanrooy says the report found highly-skilled employees on AWAs were earning more, but low-skilled workers were worse off.

"Low-skilled workers were doing the best on collective arrangements.

Senior academics have hit back at Workplace Relations Minister Joe Hockey after he questioned the credibility of their study showing low-skilled workers were about $100 a week worse off under Australian Workplace Agreements.

Mr Hockey said their report was not credible due to its Unions NSW support and because the academics had done work for unions in the past.

But unions and the University of Sydney academics pointed out the report was partially funded by the Government's own Australian Research Council (ARC).

The study involved data from more than 8300 people, which assessed changes to workplace bargaining since the introduction of the Government's Work Choices industrial relations laws.

It found skill levels were clearly linked to bargaining power in the workplace.

Two in three AWAs fail fairness test, authority says
Of the 38,000 AWAs that have been assessed, only 12,800 have passed the fairness test.

Of the 38,000 AWAs that have been assessed, only 12,800 have passed the fairness test. (ABC News: Cristen Tilley)

New figures show about two in three workplace agreements have failed the Federal Government's new fairness test.

The Workplace Authority says so far, it has assessed a quarter of the more than 150,000 agreements lodged by employers.

Of the 38,000 that have been assessed, only 12,800 have passed the fairness test.

The Opposition says that proves that the Government's workplace system is a bureaucratic nightmare, with a massive backlog of agreements awaiting assessment.

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Gus: as the cartoon at the head of this line of blogs shows, the Rattusian government is presently trying every trick to show (nothing effective though) some restraint on shooting workers more than they need... Should the Rattusian government be re-elected on this non-core stage production promise of Lie-a-Lot, much of this illusionary "protection" of workers will be morphed into some clever devious scheme in which the national interest for lower wages and bigger profits will come to the fore at warp speed...

Beware if you're at the wrong end of the Rattus-Hockeysian "stunt gun": It's fully loaded with real pellets.

Fairness test fails meatworkers: ACTU

The ACTU says a pay agreement approved by the Workplace Authority for an Adelaide hills meatworks highlights the failure of the Federal Government's fairness test.

ACTU president Sharan Burrow says up to 300 workers will lose overtime and holiday pay rates under conditions they are being offered by T&R Meatworks at Lobethal.

Ms Burrow says employees could lose up to $90 a week but the Workplace Authority has approved the non-union deal...

COLUMBUS — Protestors packed into Ohio’s State Capitol building and several thousand more gathered outside on Tuesday, as its legislature planned new hearings on a bill that would effectively end collective bargaining for state workers and dramatically reduce its power for local workers, like police officers and firefighters.

The bill, known as Senate Bill 5, was introduced on Feb. 8 by a Republican state senator, Shannon Jones, who said it was designed to give state and local governments more control over their finances during troubled economic times. It outraged unions who saw it as a direct attack on their workers, and as in Wisconsin, where a similar bill has drawn protestors for more than a week, union members came to the State Capitol to demonstrate.

Last week, protests swelled from a few hundred to about 4,000 on Thursday, buoyed in part by demonstrations in Wisconsin, which have made national news. But while Democratic senators in Wisconsin shut down the senate by fleeing the state, Republicans in Ohio’s senate hold a large enough majority to convene with no Democrats present.

“Let me be clear: I am not doing this to punish employees who serve this state day after day,” said Ms. Jones during testimony on Feb. 8. “I am doing this because I want to give the government flexibility and control over its work force.”

Ohio is facing an $8 billion budget deficit, about 11 percent of its budget, far less than states like California, Illinois and New Jersey, but still significant, and the state’s governor, John Kasich, says drastic steps are required to plug the gap.

Democrats say the bill is about politics, calling it a direct political attack on the unions, which have long been reliable Democratic supporters.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/us/23ohio.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

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Gus: welcome to Abbott's country. His spiritual dad, Rattus the First, did that sort of capers a few years ago in Australia when he was Prime Minster... He got booted out but his spiritual heir, the Little Lying Rat, is still trying to get the gig so he can destroy "collective bargaining" under a law that used to be called Work Choices... Of course according to Abbott, the law has been abandoned by the "Liberals" (Orstralyen conservatives) under the "dead, buried, cremated" principle but every now and then, there is a twinge amongst the Ratbag Rightwing Party elite on that subject: garbos should be paid less than garbos, if you get my drift... See toon at top — and all Abbott and Rattus toons on this site...

And read comments such as this one above heroes of straw....

 

Spreading Anti-Union Agenda

Like a wind-whipped brush fire, the mass union protests that began in Madison, Wis., last week have spread to the capitals of Ohio and Indiana where Republican lawmakers also are trying to cripple the bargaining power of unions — and ultimately realize a cherished partisan dream of eradicating them. In each case, Republican talk of balancing budgets is cover for the real purpose of gutting the political force of middle-class state workers, who are steady supporters of Democrats and pose a threat to a growing conservative agenda.

In Ohio, Republican legislators, backed by Gov. John Kasich, have introduced a bill to end collective bargaining for state employees, in addition to imposing budgetary givebacks. Former Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat who was defeated by Mr. Kasich last year, has called the bill a “coordinated attack on the working middle class.” Thousands of union supporters showed up at the Capitol in Columbus on Tuesday, but the party appears to have the votes to pass the measure.

Across the border, Republicans are pushing a bill that would make Indiana what is misleadingly known as a “right-to-work” state. That means workers cannot be required to join public- or private-sector unions or pay dues, starving unions of the money they need to operate. Democrats in the Indiana House left the state to prevent a vote, tying up all legislation for two days. Thousands of workers have rallied on the Statehouse grounds. Gov. Mitch Daniels (who ended collective-bargaining rights for state workers in 2005) has supported the bill’s concept but on Tuesday urged Republicans to drop it because it could interfere with other items on his agenda.

Conservative leaders in most states with strong unions have in the past generally made accommodations with organized labor, often winning support on social issues in return. That changed this year after wealthy conservatives poured tens of millions of dollars into the election campaigns of hard-right candidates like Mr. Kasich and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin.

As Eric Lipton reported in The Times on Tuesday, the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, who have long been staunch union opponents, were among the biggest contributors to Mr. Walker. (Americans for Prosperity, the conservative group financed by the Kochs, will begin running anti-union broadcast ads in Wisconsin in the next few days.)

Some public sector unions have contracts and benefits that are too rich for these times, but even when they have made concessions, Republican officials have kept up the attack. The Republicans’ claim to be acting on behalf of taxpayers is not believable.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/opinion/23wed1.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

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Gus: I repeat here my comment above... welcome to Abbott's country. His spiritual dad, Rattus the First, did that sort of capers a few years ago in Australia when he was Prime Minster... He got booted out but his spiritual heir, the Little Lying Rat, is still trying to get the gig so he can destroy "collective bargaining" under a law that used to be called Work Choices... Of course according to Abbott, the law has been abandoned by the "Liberals" (Orstralyen conservatives) under the "dead, buried, cremated" principle but every now and then, there is a twinge amongst the Ratbag Rightwing Party elite on that subject: garbos should be paid less than garbos, if you get my drift... See toon at top — and all Abbott and Rattus toons on this site...

And read comments such as this one above heroes of straw....