tigersnake said:
jb03 said:
Liverpool said:
The question I put forward to all of you, is how has the new Workchoices/IR-laws affected YOU?
I love them. Workchoices and the advent of the ABCC have been a godsend for the construction industry. Even if Ruddy gets in pretty sure the ABCC will still be around for some time. The construction industry in Melbourne hasn't looked better since I started working in it.
Interesting. Raises a lot of issues I'd like to know more about. A lot of people said at the time, me included, that Howard was very astute in bringing in these laws during low unemployment, a worker with any desired skill has some power for obvious reasons, and can get decent dough. Do you reckon this is a factor JB?
related question, would you reckon people with specialist skills wages have gone up or stayed the same, while sh!ttkickers have gone down? I'd like to hear any other observations you have.
I'll be interested in your views on this. In a strong economy nothing much changes. When I was tradesman in the boom 80s I earned good dough, well above award, when the recession hit, it was a 15% pay cut for all even though our firm was doing well, because others weren't, and stiff cheese (backfired though because their 3 best tradesmen left, including me, other 2 were standout best). My own hunch is that in a downturn, when workers have no power and find their minimum standards have eroded, the sh!t would hit the fan. It may never happen, but I think it will.
I would love to chat at length with you snake man, it's a complex issue that my fingers can't type quick enough to discuss in words. Suffice to say, I come from a management position hence the advent of the ABCC, moreso than the WorkChoices legislation has been a key factor in improving the functionality of the building industry to a point I not thought possible. Our workers are still very well paid and we look after them. No one has quit, no one has been fired. The sh!t workers are still the sh!t workers and the good ones still good. We have skilled labourers and some just out of jail.
Lost time has fallen by a gazillion per cent but remarkably, safety incidents have also fallen. Safety is not the domain purely of the Unions as they would have you believe.
What has ceased is the standover tactics employed by the CFMEU for years and the ability to hide behind vague clauses of the OH&S Act.
Our workers outwardly seem happier than previously and the boys on site are still getting a barbie on the Thursday prior to Good Friday.
If there is a downturn, as in any industry and at any level of employment, those overpaid or not value for money will be the first to go. But this is not purely the domain of the blue collar worker. Many companies are stacked with middle management white collar workers that pretty much do jack sh!t - they will also be the first to go in a downturn.
Having said all that, I have a gut feel (but don't know for fact) the average worker in the construction industry is likely to be in a far better position compared to other industries through the previous strong stance of the Unions and the current EBA that exists between respective parties of the industry.
