Once again we are privileged to publish here a "Point of View" about a very important issue facing Australians immediately. Paul Syvret is one of several 'down-to-earth' journalists commanding great respect from the Australian public. His dissection of the latest Work Choices disclosures will make your hair stand on end. As Paul says, "God help us, indeed!" "LOCKOUT" by Paul Syvret  21-3-2006 Any Australian who is not concerned about the Federal Government's radical new Work Choices Act should be strapped to a chair and made to read  The Grapes of Wrath  until they see reason. Steinbeck's classic Depression era novel is an allegory for many things: man's inhumanity to man; greed and generosity ... but also, importantly, division and disempowerment. And on Sunday   with most of the nation distracted by football and the nauseating jingoism of the Commonwealth Games   the Government released the fine details of its Work Choices Act. The release was also timed neatly to come a day after the Tasmanian and South Australian state elections. What the details of the nearly 300 pages of regulations provide is a recipe for just such division and disempowerment. Consider, for example, some of the proscriptive elements of these regulations. Among other things, the material released on Sunday details what constitutes "prohibited content" in a workplace agreement. This content includes bans on agreement on unfair dismissal process, agreement on mandated union involvement in dispute resolution, the right of unions to enter a workplace and even the deduction of union dues from payrolls. When it comes to unfair dismissal laws we already knew the Government would remove the basic rights of redress for employees in a workplace of fewer than 100 people. Only now does it emerge that it is prohibited for an employer and employee to reach an agreement in good faith that provides a process to resolve an unfair dismissal claim. Oh, and by the way, if you earn more than $95,000 a year, unfair dismissal laws simply don't apply. Tough, fend for yourself. In effect, the Howard Government has outlawed many of the most basic trade union activities in the workplace. At the same time the regulations deliver immense power to Workplace Relations Minister Kevin Andrews. For a start, the Industrial Relations Commission (already emasculated under the new system) will now report details of all applications for protected strike action and secret ballots to Andrews on a weekly basis. No matter how small your dispute, no matter how obscure your place of employment, the minister is watching you. Andrews has the power to ban industrial action even if the Industrial Relations Commission has approved such action in a legal bargaining period under broad "essential services" powers. Furthermore, the minister will receive details of every wage agreement struck and be able to take punitive action against those he feels do not fit the bill or are "contrary to the public interest" as the Act so broadly puts it. So much for deregulation. The divisive and disempowering nature of the Work Choices legislation is most evident in some of the finer detail. Assume unions have largely been rendered impotent in most workplaces, and that we wage slaves are now "free" to negotiate contracts on an individual basis. Under the Act it is an offence for a person bound by a workplace agreement to disclose details of that agreement. Seriously!  That would mean that you can't tell a colleague what you managed to negotiate in terms of annual leave, pay, long service entitlements or anything. Divide and conquer. The more extreme elements of this legislation (and they are myriad) won't start to hurt working Australians tomorrow. They won't suddenly be used as a blunt instrument to strip away pay and conditions when the regulations come into force on Monday (27-3-2006). This will be a slow, painful burn. As Enterprise Bargaining Agreements expire, and as individual contracts come up for renewal over the next couple of years, then the new laws will start to bite. Then it will be that our more brutal employers (and just as there are militant unions there are belligerent bosses) will be able to shape contracts to suit them. This is where the "choice" part of Work Choices comes into play: Sign here or go work somewhere else. And this in an environment where retaliation by industrial action is legally fraught to say the least. Rest assured that when big business celebrates industrial relations reform, they aren't grinning like hyenas because the workers will all get pay rises, more flexible working hours and paid maternity leave. Remember too that the job market in Australia right now is exceptionally strong. This will not always be the case. The highly sought after engineers, diesel fitters and accountants of today could just as easily be driving a taxi or working for minimum wages in a dead end job come the next downturn in the cycle. Which brings us to the one great unknown that remains with John Howard's scorched earth approach to industrial relations reform -  The Fair Pay Commission. The Commission has now been "tasked" with setting wages and minimum pay rates (formerly the domain of the IRC) for working Australians. We don't know much about our Fair Pay Commission or its head, Professor lan Harper, at this stage other than that the good professor will seek divine guidance in reaching his decisions. "I'll be praying for wisdom, praying for courage and praying above all that God's will is being done through this, not mine," the devout Anglican said in a speech to the Australian Christian Lobby. More ominously, he also said minimum wages in this country have "historically been set at high levels". God help us indeed! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As usual we invite you to send us your comments in response to Paul's article. Don't forget that journalists are like you and me, we all thrive better on feedback!  (webmaster) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "An excellent article, and as the man says, God help the workers of this country...God help our sons and daughters, and God help our grandkids and to all who gave these evil creeps the power- Thanks for nothing. "(Dusty) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "This would rank as one of the best I've seen on this subject. Good 'onya Paul, for telling it as it is." (Nell S.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "We'll need to give Senator Joyce a pat on the back for allowing Howard to implement these changes. Barnaby (my ex-friend), not happy!" (Sally D.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Put's a meaning to the song: ' Send in the clowns....!'  " (Eric Pertinos) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to: Point of View