Thread: What little Johnny is Doing to YOU

John Howard wants to change workers’ rights forever.

He wants to make sure that the boss can never be challenged in this country again.

Howard’s “reforms” include:
• No more “no disadvantage test “which provided a small safe guard against receiving less in an AWA than the relevant award.
• Up for grabs – overtime, jury duty, shift penalties, leave loading, public holiday loading, weekend rates, redundancy pay and more.
• No right for unfair dismissal for companies with 100 employees or less – the employer is judge, jury and executioner.
• Stripping back of awards, so no longer any minimum standards for those in weak positions. No more safety net.
• Crackdown on trade union rights, making it harder for unions to protect workers
• One industrial relations system for the whole of Australia – not a fair system, his system.

Howard says that you can negotiate on an even basis with your employer, one on one, and that’s fair. Yeah right.

“Sign this AWA – where’s my overtime, penalty rates, meal money, long service leave, redundancy, shift rates, 38 hour, jury service, bereavement leave etc? –Don’t worry about that, just sign it – No! – You’re sacked!”

Welcome to Howard’s Australia 2005 style!

Remember, Howard is refusing to say that workers won’t be disadvantaged under these new reforms. This is not just an attack on workers but also on your family. No rights? - No family life. Howard always attacked unions, well now he is attacking everybody, union member or not.

What can I do? – Get Active – Join a union – Discuss this with your fellow workers - Contact your local Federal politicians and let them know that you are not prepared to accept Howard’s “vision” for the future.

What will you leave behind for the next generation of Australian?

Ruins or rights? It’s your call!

In any system there will always be those out to gain benifit from false claims yet what about the ligitament claims do we just say to hell with it look after yourself.

In a society hell bent on following american every step of the way, more and more people are suing for just about anything...and winning. This system that little johnny proposes will create a loop hole that will widen with time.

Lets say you work for Humptey Dumpty Pipe Laying Company and you make a crictical error that ends with a victim suing the company, your services are terminated for your error and your employer takes you to court to pass some of the finacial responsiblity on to you. Problem #1 no employee as far as I am aware carries $10mil public liability insurance whilst employed by someone, #2 getting dragged into court can be an expensive exercise for both parties. Large Companies can afford to keep you in court until you can no longer afford to fight their claim. #3 If you were a member of a union you would have full access to union legal teams.

Think of every safety asspect of your job and ask yourself who made those things that you whine about and take for granted until the day comes that you need it, unions thats who.

The used to have enterprise bargining during the industrial age too only poblem was that most of the child labourers didn't live long enough to complain loud enough about their working conditions.

Removing overtime, jury duty, shift penalties, leave loading, public holiday loading, weekend rates, redundancy pay and more is a step back into the dark ages and soon we'll be just like america working for $2p/h minimum wage with no-one to complain to about unjust conditions.

On a differnet note One of the major clients I have is a Coles Myer site, In the warehouse there is around 75-100 men and a handful of women, the ammenities that were there were shocking to say the least. we used to have 1 male toilet and a urinal and a designated toilet for the ladies. this warehouse would be the size of 3 football fields with the toilets placed in the farest corner from any work area.

Not that the distance was a great issue but concidering the number of staff using the same toilet it wasn't very heigenic, not to mention that if the a staff member came to work ill it wasn't long before everyone had the same thing. Staff had made numerous complaints to management about the matter and that it needed addressing urgently as a matter of health. No attnetion was given to the matter dispite numerous complaints both verbally and in writting, It was decided that the only way forward to fix the problem was to involve to union one meeting later the toilet issue has been resolved.

Now surely as health matter the time lost in staff having days off due to viral infections, not to mention the lost money in wages for sick leave someoe with half a brain could have seen that it was a more viable solution to the problem to install more facilities without involving the union to get the matter addressed, without the use f the union this matter wouldn't have be rectified and would still have be a health risk to everyone on the site.

Won't be too long before little johnny buys a peanut farm and starts saying "Don't you worry 'bout that!!"