The argument isn't about that anyway - it's about grasping how you have to negotiate in the corporate-friendly IR rules that George W. Howard's government have created.
There’s the nub of it. One the one hand, the “can’t touch me I’m part of the Union” attitude that even previous Labor governments attempted to distance themselves from.
And on the other, the acolytes of the H.R.Nicholls Society (see
here who would have the Australian Labour Market deregulated even further.
One of the reasons for Tony Blair's previous electoral success in the UK was his sidelining of organised labour and its influence over Party policy making.
And one of Mark Latham's Achilles heels is the fear held by many in the community that a vote for the Labor Party means a return to government being directed by the ACTU.
I'm no apologist for the Howard Government. But, as a small business person and an employer, I welcome the opportunity to deal directly with my staff to our mutual advantage without Trades Hall breathing down our necks.
The situation with large corporations and bureaucracies is somewhat different. There's no doubt that employers, both public and private sector, are under more pressure than ever before to improve profitability and efficiency. Unions and employees display the classic symptoms of alienation when confronted with employer demands for change - unions because their
raision d’etre is threatened and employees because of the threat to job security.
Unfortunately, only diamonds are forever. Outside of the public service and large corporations, union membership in Australia is at an all time low. Even if Labor wins the next election here, I can't see Mark Latham getting back into bed with the Swanson Street mafia - the potential loss of electorate support is a risk I don’t think he’d be prepared to take.
It’s against such a backdrop that QANTAS and the ASU enter negotiations for a new EBA. Each party wants something from the other. Ultimately, after some bargaining, a compromise will be reached. Who concedes what will be a test of brinkmanship. But both management and the union have an opportunity to agree on some much needed changes which, if adopted, might give some certainty to travellers like me that my fare with QANTAS is money well spent. If this comes about, I’ll gladly return to the QF fold.