Centaurus,
Time has moved on. It does happen. I don't think we'll ever go back to the days of the 70's with a highly unionised and rigid workforce.
People have grown up and realised that this just doesn't work, we are in a global environment and must compete.
John Howard trumpeted his ' Workchoices' would make Australia more PRODUCTIVE. To me, this means with the same number of people we will produce more. In practice what it has meant that companies have used the legislation to reduce costs ( T&C'S ) to make companies more PROFITABLE.
Management , those on performance bonus' etc, have then feathered their own nests. Some ways that they have met these benchmarks include, to delay maintenance, and building of critical infrastructure, and put off the hiring of new staff. This has been happening across Australia. Look at the health system, water resources, aviation infrastucture.
It has been the age of the mobile bean counter. Join a company, make sure you have a contract with defined, attainable hurdles and a golden parachute clause. You have 3-5 years and then you're out , keep the rot hidden and walk away. It is then somebody elses problem.
When the lack of long term planning becomes apparent it is the people who have spent their lives at the company/ authority/ department who will be asked to take the pain to clean up the mess, work the overtime, take redundancy , be sacked.
The people getting shafted by this have have had enough and this is why we will see a change of government. People are tired of hearing tails of woe from on high , that belts need to be tightened (maybe they do), that there is nothing in the kitty for them, whilst watching huge profits and excessive bonuses.
Most people in work , management included, just want to do a good job and get on in life. There are those personality types ,who are in the ascendancy now, who don't give a rats about others and feel that they are missing out if they aren't taking something away from others to put in their own pockets. Most of us grow out of that stage by the time we are 4-5 years old . Some never do.