IR laws

Australia faces embarrassment over IR laws, ACTU says. :
"'Last year they got to a situation where they roundly condemned Australia's laws under the old legislation, so these new laws are of course just providing an incredible shock for the rest of the world to see that this government would appear to simply have turned their backs on the rights of working Australians."

I have said before, and I shall keep saying, we had good workplace relations. We had a number of avenues and arenas to air and discuss matters. People were able to be happy at work and we were improving things considerably so that the vested interests in the workplace were working in co operation. Ever since the new IR laws came into being there has been a distinct shifting of the balance towards employers and shareholders. Workers have been seen as an easily replaceable commodity. Before, there was a valuing of the individual and the amount that person could contribute...or not...as that person. We were valuing the essence of a real person and their capacity to be a significant force in the workplace. When all workers are viewed as units then the system stifles contributions and individual capacity. It also develops systems which manage units and thereby constantly takes reference from busy work and process rather than a genuine development of ideas and practices. Doing a job is not about ticking the boxes and filling out the documentation.