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.
Agree wholeheartedly. I've been there and done that, took a temporary pay cut and left a public service 'job for life' in the process. However, not everyone has the drive or is in the position to do so. This doesn't mean they should be exploited and as you say, there need to be some protections.
A lot of legislation exists to protect cretins from other cretins, such as the various traffic acts, the criminal codes and a whole lot of other Acts that prohibit stuff we'd never be stupid enough to try. IR legislation is no different.
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.
Most employers are reasonably decent. I don't agree with the 50% figure that was suggested before. I would think 5% is probably more accurate and consistent with both personal observations and the estimated prevalence of Antisocial Personality Disorder. Employers like the Cafe Vamp owner, who was recently convicted of failing to provide a safe workplace after one of his employees committed suicide after enduring serious harassment, or many pink batts installers who jumped on the exploitation bandwagon conveniently provided by the Labor federal government
.
Wasn't the problem with the pink bats, that unscrupulous employers sent untrained young people to do jobs that they were not capable of doing?
These employers are a prime example of the 5%. They failed to provide even basic, life preserving training. If the insulation installers had been unionized, their union would have made them aware of the dangers. They weren't, and they were obviously too naive to do their own research. Many people are naive and/or cretinous. They do not deserve to be exposed to unsafe or suicide inducing work practices because of that. The unions have failed today's workers as much, if not more so, than the Libs when they drafted Work Choices, because at least the Libs didn't pretend to care about workers' rights.
I can't stand the current federal government, they are much worse than I expected. They are lying hypocrites who lurch from self made disaster to self made disaster. I sincerely hope they get voted out next election, and I also hope that the Libs have learned their lesson re IR stuff. Barring major gaffes or Inquisitors bursting Aliens style out of Abbot's throat they'll get my vote again before the country is bankrupted by the next media friendly stunt or greedy tax grab to pay their bills.
Anyway, still way off the original topic, sorry. We probably agree on more than we disagree. As for aviation, the mining tax grab is certainly not going to help the industry one iota. Neither will the next green bandwagon fad the current government is bound to fall for. K Rudd has been a proclaimed anti-aviation politician for some time (his own well used Government jet notwithstanding
) so there's no reason to expect any improvement.