Don't bank on that happening Donna 🙂

These workers went on strike for others, they got the average worker 4 weeks holiday per year

Not bad eh poddy?

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@boris1gary wrote:

poddster, didn't you say in another thread that you have never been a member of a union in your life - if that's correct where is all this union information coming from. oh i just saw your one experience with one shop steward at one company - i see.

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I haven't spent much time in a union either and didn't always have a positive experience with the union when I did.  However, the union listened to my complaint and took action. The company didn't until they were forced to investigate.  

As a result of the experience I made a friend and some years later gave her my number one senate vote  😄

In the news we don't see much of the positive stories because they're announcements that are basically over and done with within days.

On the other hand if the story is about industrial action the story lasts for weeks or months.  It begins with the news of negotiations, then a pause, then further negotiation and disagreement.  Then pause. Then more disagreement and threats of industrial action. All this gets talked about so much more than the good union people do in the workplace.   Therefore, it's easy to portray unions as the villians full of criminal elements out to rip off the ordinary people simply because it's a more drawn out, more sensationalised story.  

Now let's just take avantage of that and villianise the employees on $22/23 per hour as a way of forcing them out of the union or into union fight. Divide and conquer.  As if it's an evil thing that their union has done by getting and agreement of about $22 per hour for the workers.

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@icyfroth wrote:

Do we have a comment about the banks at all?

 

Or is that too big a picture to take in?

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I responded to the headline because it fitted. Sorry if it veered off from there.

We're  not living in the past though. Unions, like the majority, are living in the now and looking forward to the future.

Why the fear of unions anyway?

The amount of good that has come out of the union movement over the last 100 years or so has shaped our country and created systems that everyone benefits from.

Stop the whining and be grateful.

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@poddster wrote:

Could it be that the vast divide was created by totally unrealistic demands made by unions in the past?

 

I would venture to say that those unrealistic DEMANDS are a contributory factor in the breakdown of employer/employee relations.

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poddster, what unrealistic demands would these be, i think it is the opposite of what you are stating. Our Labour history disproves your claim, for over 120 years, unions in Australia have fought hard for and won the right for workers to be paid a fair rate of pay, and for everyone to work in a safe and secure workplace and have good working conditions. Have you ever talked to an old miner, steelworker, wharfie, construction worker,  pay and conditions were absolutely horrific, Unions changed this - bosses fought tooth and nail against anything and everything that they considered interfering with their private profit. 

The "breakdown" you mention is not a breakdown, the vast divide exits because employers want maximum profit from minimum cost and worker's need a fair rate of pay and a safe and secure workplace, it's an inherent part of our economic system.

like i mentioned before, yes there a lot of workers who choose not to join Union's, but i have not yet met or heard of one single one who has refused a Union won pay increase or improved condition.

I agree Martini, these people have sacrificed so much they don't deserve to be ridiculed as corrupt

Corruption is everywhere, not just unions. I admire anyone that does anything for the common good and many of these people that have gone on strike for better conditions etc did without.

Just waiting for businesses who paid bribes (yes it is illegal to both pay and accept a bribe) to be left out of this $200 million  witch hunt.

We really need a Royal Commission into this government and their unchecked rorting and misleading parliment.

LNP member Fionna Nash mislead parliment about he knowledge that one of her own staffers was  a fast food lobbyist while she was going to remove a healthy food rating website.
When questioned in Parliment todayregarding her lies  Fionna Nash refused to answer questions.

State LNP member for Redcliffe's Scott Driscoll's  operated a secret lobby group for retailers out of his LNP office.

Used state tax dollars to pay his wifes consultancy firm.

.

Yes they certainly are a bunch of corrupt, rorting, lying thieves, but apparently their corruption is only "largess" and forgetfulness.