Originally Posted by
Popgun
I don't have a dog in the fight but I think 'exploitation' is a bit of a stretch.
Are the remuneration and associated conditions below par? Absolutely, no question. But when suitable staff can be found for the conditions on offer in a free, democratised country then that is a definition of a market rate.
PG
Hi PG, I think your definition of “market rate” is too simplistic. The market itself is rigged! It’s not a free market and democracy has very little to say about it.
QF can set a substandard offer because there has been a systematic attack over the last decade or so both in NZ and Aust on the legal options for workers to organise and withhold their labour. NZ and Aust are both in contravention of International Labour Organisation Convention no.87 which permit industry wide sympathy industrial action. Also, both countries have made it illegal to withhold labour outside a small legally defined window, again in contravention of the ILO.
You have to ask yourself why wage growth is at a historical low while executive renumeration is at an all time high... I think workers in general are being exploited by this manipulation of the “market rate”.