I am an employee too and have spent my working life outside any form of labour laws that protect workers from bad employers - I certainly agree workers need some rights/protections.
It doesn't take utopia for an employee to change to a better job it merely requires a little drive. If you deem your employer a cretin then you look for something else - if needed you gain extra qualifications to do so. You might even look back and thank the cretin for making you get off your ar$e if you were honest. My best mate growing up and who learnt to fly at the same school at YSBK couldn't/wouldn't leave Sydney to get a flying job (even years later when as a CP I rang and offered him one) and he is now a guard on suburban trains.
I have been an employer too - as a CP a couple of times. People have told me I was a good boss although I have disciplined and sacked people upon occasion - those individuals probably think I am a c--t.
Someone asked above what % of employers I thought were 'good' vs 'bad'. I would bet money that if you were able ask to every employee of every company in Australia what they thought of their employer some would say great and more would say not so - and the difference would be more to do with the employees work ethic/maturity/honesty than whether the employer was a bastard or not.
In 30+ years working from paper boy through sailing instructor, glue factory worker, taxi driver, GA to airline pilot I can only think of 2 bosses that were truly evil/dishonest
despite working the last 25 years with NO industrial protections. Most were great as long as you did what you were paid to do - your job.
No doubt the Libs were deemed to have overstayed their welcome and I agree they were getting a bit arrogant - I was desperately hoping they would have their ar$es handed to them on a plate WITHOUT actually losing govt last time around. Labor/Rudd scared the fk out of me.
Whatever Howard/Costello's faults were they pale into insignificance compared to the last 2 years and especially the last week or 3 - this super profits tax is HUGE in terms of wealth destruction across our society NOT just in the board rooms of mining companies and overseas investment banks.
Read this from a US based investment newsletter.
Blunder From Down Under: Australia's Mining 'Super Tax' Will Squeeze the Global Recovery
Rudd/Swan are also hell bent on destroying telstra and its shareholders - An Australian company which, whether you like them or not, provide telco services in areas NO ONE else is interested in. Tanner is saying the Govt is perfectly happy to go it alone and will be perfectly happy with a '6 or7% return' after 15 years - that is < .5% annual return assuming technology hasn't left their NBN behind and its worth ANYTHING at all to sell which is the basis of any return on taxpayers money. Chances of that? Zero - think about the internet technology of 15 yrs ago compared to now. Tanner et al are lying.
Telstra's goose is cooked | Alan Kohler | Commentary | Business Spectator
This is not center left/fiscal conservative (remember Rudd saying that? Liar) socialism its marxist class warfare.
Rudd and Swan are clueless as to the outcomes of their ill conceived legislative efforts.
Yes Howard/Costello benefited from a better economic times but at least they KNEW what to do with their good fortune - KRudd/Swan have absolutely NO IDEA.
From $50 billion surplus to $150 billion in debt THEN Kick the ONE thing that is keeping Australians above water during the last few years in the teeth?
They're behaving like irresponsible teenagers.
People will suggest Howard lied about children overboard (actually debatable) but just consider the lies of the last few months - every time they open their mouths Rudd/Swan/Gilliard display their ability to mislead or downright lie. The latest in a very long line is linking the 40% Resource super tax with increased superannuation. There is NO link - the 40% goes to general revenue and the super is provided by employers. Only one thing happens when employees become more expensive - there are less of them.
To link all this back to the thread and aviation - can anyone think of a better way to damage the aviation industry than what labor is doing now?