I had a thought....
I agree with Paul Keating that the Unions and their traditional hold over the ALP have had their day. Times have changed and so has society - and yes, that fat union stand-over thug on the shop floor I hope will soon be consigned to history.
BUT I still support collective bargaining.
My politics have been shaped partly by my dad and partly through just getting older ( and wiser I hope). Dad came to Australia from England before I was born and worked as a mechanic (mostly diesel) for a number of companies. I can remember most of his union experiences while I was a teenager and while he worked for a larger 4WD company back in the 60's, where he became leading hand. A blue collar worker through-and-through.
For as long as I can remember he always voted LIBERAL.
He detested unions.
I asked him why.
He said that in the years immediately after the war he saw the unions and the way they did business bring England to its knees when it was trying to rebuild after the economic ravages of the war years. From that time on he had no time for them.
In fifty years in the workforce, the only people I ever saw concerned about workers were unionists. I never did see a non unionist go into bat for his mates, or for himself for that matter. He just sponged off those unionists he so despised. Workchoices should convince anyone that the Liberal Party cares nothing for workers. They never did.
My father and his family very much have their feet planted in a blue-collar background. They're from the UK, but dad has been here most of his life, however they are staunchly conservative.
The thuggery type mode of doing things in the unions. How can an organization that stands over you stand up for you and be trusted to have your best interests at heart?
On a personal note I also don't like the unequitable way decisions are made in unions, with little or no reference to the members (or at least the ones that I'm a part of). And I also don't like the adversarial attitude that the unions and many union members take in the workplace. I actually think that it is the source of most of the conflict and the reason why manageres are put off side.
I agree that collective bargaining can be useful, and I doubt that there are many employers who may have say 100 people in the same role (eg. call centres etc) who would want to bargain with all of them separately. However I'm also in favour of contracts which allow some flexiblity to reward good workers. I also believe that employees who have the confidence to bargain individually should be allowed to.
I guess my one thought as well, looking at your cartoon there, is that we know what the Libs want for an IR system, but it's any one's guess as to who gets their way if Labour gets in!
I feel like letting off a little steam through this blog as we roll on the next election. I want to jot down a few of my thoughts on the world here and even add a little drawing or two to make it more visual than just text.
