Has anyone in this thread actually run a business? -
Everyone just seems to use the example of the Multi Nationals and the way they operate - and yes there are bound to be improvements needed there - but excessive Unionism can lead to some unintended results e.g. The Car Industry - union conditions although not the sole cause, certainly accelerated the demise of manufacturing here in Australia.
But the truth is the biggest employer in Australia is small business which have two qualities missing in bigger business.
1) they are not as flexible as larger employers and employment conditions such as rostered days off for example can be difficult to deal with
2) talk to any successful small business operator and you will discovery they place a massive amount of importance on their staff as they absolutely accept and acknowledge that their people are their business.
The approach being touted here will hit those that can afford to pay, who do not employ the majority of workers, and also those who cannot afford to pay, small business which are the biggest employers in Australia.
When dealing with an industry on an Australia wide basis there is a heavy accent on a one size fits all, there is less allowance on regional versus city for example, so flexibility is the thing that will suffer unless it is rammed through as a additional condition of employment.
We see more and more people being placed on contracts which has some awful consequences for them, such as an inability to borrow money, but Unions must understand there head winds that are gathering steam here in Australia, such things as the internet which is hurting retail badly, penalty rates that are applied to business such as hospitality that are not 8 to 5 jobs or 5 days a week, the use of mobile phones during work hours as staff respond to personal messages which can rob the employer of hours of productive time each week, the list or interruptions to Commerce is long and growing.
In the end there is only one single place a wage rise can come from - PROFIT - no profit no wage rise, no job. No amount of Union bravado is going to change that formula in the private sector.
