Through the looking glass
Industrial relations - - Posted on June, 6 at 7:13 pm by Ken L
Good news! I was alerted by newspaper advertisements to a wonderful new Howard Government policy that finally breaks the shackles of mindless free market dogma and recognises the realities of the workplace:
Collective bargaining
The collective bargaining process allows two or more employees to negotiate a deal for the sale of their labour with a common employer.
In Australia, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) regulates collective bargaining under the Workplace Relations Act. Although collective bargaining is likely to raise concerns under the Trade Practices Act, employees can apply to the AIRC for approval to collectively bargain with their employer.
On January 1 2007, a new approval process called notification was introduced, which reduces the time and cost involved for employees seeking to collectively bargain.
It still seems like pointless bureaucracy but at least it’s progress.
Oh wait … I misread. The actual text is:
Collective bargaining
The collective bargaining process allows two or more competing businesses to negotiate a deal for the sale or purchase of products or services with a common customer or supplier.
In Australia, the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) regulates collective bargaining under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Trade Practices Act). Although collective bargaining is likely to raise concerns under the Trade Practices Act, small businesses can apply to the ACCC for approval to collectively bargain with another business.
On January 1 2007, a new approval process called notification was introduced, which reduces the time and cost involved for small businesses seeking to collectively bargain.
And they are advertising this (p 3 of today’s S M Herald), almost as if to deliberately rub the unions’ noses in it.
My only question is this: are they so completely up themselves that they no longer care what people think of their staggering double standards, or are they just so stupid they don’t even recognise that the double standards exist?
Posted in Industrial relations |
June 6th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Saw the same ad and have been meaning to mention it. Unbelievable stuff…
June 6th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
I’d go for stupid everytime.
June 6th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
yeah, i noticed the same adds.iv’ebeen waiting for some jounalistic response.fat chance.
June 6th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Yep, stupid has it.
Oh, and I thought this kind of thing was called “collusion” in the economics textbooks and was considered undesirable by free-market devotees. Not to mention being illegal in many countries.
June 6th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
So they’re legalizing cartels now?
June 7th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
No, not stupid. They know exactly what they are doing. They are determined that labour law will be replaced either by commercial law or the criminal law, or both, and by establishing the process for collective bargaining for suppliers in this way, the elites will argue when their direct political representatives lose office, that the model for small business should be adopted for the purposes of employees’ rights,and in the event that approach is rejected, they will whine about ‘union privileges’.
There is a very long game being played on the issue of labour law, and this little ad, and its equivalent in Saturday’s Australian illustrates the fact. The distance between elite thinking and popular moral precepts on this issue is enormous, and strategies to try and bridge the ‘normative’ gap need to be continuously employed. This ad is one of those strategies.
June 7th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Help! Comments don’t work on Firefox
June 7th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
I think they do Theodric but you have to highlight all the text to read anything. The links stand out like orange beacons on a dark river. It’s fun actually, like being in a blackout.
The site was just upgraded but I won’t say anything mean about IT people :-D.
June 7th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
more taxpayer’s funds that could’ve been used for education, health & childcare.
June 7th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Speaking of wasted taxpayer dollars, did anyone notice this one today?
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/booklets-gather-dust-in-political-messup/2007/06/06/1181089151648.html
Great economic managers? Don’t think so!