Many people talk about the “good ol’ days”. How far back you have to go to find these “good ol’ days” is, of course, a matter of conjecture. For the Employers Consultative Association (ECA), it seems the 1930’s has caught their imagination. The 1930’s was a time of economic depression. Unemployment was high and wages were low. Best of all there were no trade unions. Back to 2016: The government is apparently thinking about amending the Industrial Relations Act. Well, we shall see. But in the meantime it has invited what they called “stakeholders” (the interests of capital and labour to you and me!) to submit proposals on what they feel should be changed. This is when the ECA grasped an opportunity to send us back to the 1930’s. OK, it could have been worse...at least indentured labour had ended by then. They could have been tempted by the 1830’s. From wage slavery to slavery! Maybe that’s a bit too much even for the ECA. So here it is. The ECA’s contribution to what they call “economic and social progress”:
So here you have it. The ECA wants to take away trade union rights if you work for a small employer; unfairly dismiss you if you have worked for less than a year; charge you for processing a matter and then limit the compensation you should get. This is what they describe as “achieving balance, equity and quality for all citizens and the wider community”. So it's back to the “good ol’ days” care of the ECA. Good for them. Definitely not good for us! |
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