Red Rag

• The Government will introduce its industrial relations legislation to parliament tomorrow. Surely Kevin Andrews, a devout Catholic, couldn’t have missed the significance of on All Souls’ Day, which commemorates the faithful departed? It certainly resonates with a report that says WorkChoices will shorten the lives of low-income workers. The study cited evidence from New Zealand that similar changes led to a rise in “mortality rates… [c]ardiovascular disease, lung cancer, other cancers and suicides”.

• The NSW Government announced it would spend $300 000 on a Fair Go advertising campaign and website to defend its industrial relations system. The Liberal Party somehow kept a straight face while complaining, even though the WorkChoices campaign has already cost “$44.3 million for ads, $8.1 million for call centres and $2.6 million on 16-page brochures”. The public is outraged, and a leaked Telstra report shows they have been calling the WorkChoices hotline to complain.

• The Business Council of Australia, which represents the nation’s 100 biggest companies, launched its own advertising campaign this week. At least $6 million will be spent pushing IR changes as well as tax cuts for the rich. Although the ads are less patronising than the Government’s, Stuart Wilson warns they may backfire: “Members of the BCA are among the most highly paid individuals in the country, and this advertising campaign has the real potential to make debate on workplace reforms even more polarised between the haves and have-nots.”

• Barnaby Joyce is again threatening to cross the floor, raising concerns about the exploitation of young people: “You have to be mindful of people with no bargaining power.” But when the NSW Council of Catholic School Parents put forward a sensible proposal to teach young people how to stand up for their rights at work, it was dismissed by the Government as “an insult to the intelligence of young people”.

• After the Government broke its promise to provide a family impact statement on his IR proposals, Unions NSW stepped in to commission its own study. It asked Dr Don Edgar, the foundation director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies, to produce a family impact statement. After considering the WorkChoices package, Edgar concluded: “None of this looks family-friendly or equitable, and offers flexibility not for the workers but for a boss wanting to screw the last dollar out of the last breath of effort of workers already struggling to meet their reciprocal work and family responsibilities.”

• Meanwhile, a prominent US analyst has confirmed the ACTU’s belief that its ad campaign has been a rousing success:

  Thirty-five per cent (!!) of the electorate said they were less likely to vote for the Coalition in the next election because of the proposed IR changes. That’s a gigantic number.

  The [Financial Review] pooh-poohs the fact that ‘only 20 per cent of respondents who voted for the Liberal Party or Nationals in 2004 said they are now less likely to vote for the Coalition because of the Government’s approach to industrial relations.’ Only 20 per cent. That’s enough shift to win the next election.

• To have your say about the WorkChoices package, complete this survey.

Update: The ACTU has changed the Your Rights At Work website, and this new version is much better.

Anthony on his latest pasta creation:

The sauce was so rich it had a large country manor, a discreet but expensive watch, and a yacht that it would use to entertain clients on sunny days.

By happy coincidence, a new Perth food magazine discovered its proposed title was very similar to Anthony’s spiceblog, which led to dialogue, which led to involvement, which led to a cool way you can support Anthony’s foodblogging efforts. Subscribe to Spice magazine, and get a free subscription for someone special — just in time for Christmas.

The NewsBreak service is a genuine clearinghouse — it not only links to Fairfax’s own news sites, but also to The Australian and the ABC. Fairfax obviously understands that people want free access to information, and they’ll choose the service that makes it easier to find. NewsBreak is not (yet?) as comprehensive as Google News, but it’s certainly better organised. Now, if only Fairfax would unlock the content at the Fin Review, and ditch the painful new dropdown menus at The Age, they’d get two thumbs up from me.

• The High Court delivered its reasons for approving the WorkChoices propaganda campaign. My initial assessment was that the majority have rendered the Senate’s budget scrutiny impotent; Kenneth Davidson agrees: “As important as the political advertising case was, it pales into insignificance compared with the violence the majority decision has done to the institution of Parliament and open and accountable government.”

• The Government’s massive propaganda campaign — $40 million in under a month — has failed to convince the public that the IR changes are a good thing. As Andrew Norton points out, all of the major polls agree that about 30% of people think WorkChoices will be bad for Australia, while only about 10% think it will be good. Some commentators, like Michelle Grattan, think the big proportion who don’t think they will be immediately, personally affected means “the changes may not have the political ‘bite’ that the high level of opposition suggests.” The challenge for the unions is to build solidarity between skilled workers in demand, who will be insulated in the short term, and those workers who are more vulnerable.

• Stephen Smith says the WorkChoices hotline script (you saw it here first!) shows the Government will not protect wages and conditions: “There are no guarantees that you find in this confidential briefing paper. No guarantees that living standards will be protected, no guarantee that real wages will be protected, no guarantees that anything will occur.” Meanwhile, hotline operators are “being hit with a barrage of complaints.”

• John Howard claims WorkChoices is a natural extension of the policies of the Hawke and Keating Labor Governments — but Bob Hawke strenuously disagrees: “It is wrong. It is unfair. It is un-Australian. It is immoral… This is simply a monstrous trick on the least privileged workers in our society.”

• The Government will introduce the IR legislation into parliament next Wednesday, hiding behind the Anti-Terrorism Bill and the Melbourne Cup. Despite the incredible complexity of the legislation, the opposition parties will have just minutes to look at the full text before the debate begins.

• A Senate inquiry that was initially going to run for two weeks and visit all States, will now last just five days. You’d be forgiven for thinking the Government had something to hide. The terms of reference exclude most of the controversial aspects of the package, but if you can find something you’re allowed to talk about, feel free to make a submission by 9 November.

• Backdown Barnaby has given the strongest indication yet that he’ll abandon Queensland workers when the time comes to vote.

• John Howard keeps reminding us that his guarantee is his record on minimum wage increases, and he’s right. In almost half of its submissions to the IRC’s wage case, his Government has supported real wage cuts — and now he’s demanding a wage freeze for Australia’s lowest-paid workers.

• Another happy-clappy worker from the WorkChoices propaganda claims to have been tricked into appearing. Melbourne hairdresser Phelia Grimwade says she was told the release form was for an occupational health and safety video, not Liberal Party propaganda.

• A study commissioned by the WA Government shows that the proto-WorkChoices industrial relations system of the Court/Kierath Government set workers back a long way. The study looked at AWA-like workplace agreements and found “that 56 per cent of all agreements provided an ordinary rate of pay below the award rate, 74 per cent provided no weekend penalty rates and 67 per cent did not include overtime rates of pay.”

• Kevin Andrews’ claim that WorkChoices is family friendly was rejected by the ACTU, citing a Department of Workplace Relations report as evidence. AWAs overwhelmingly do not provide parental leave, and the ACTU says “[i]t must be of little comfort to employees on individual contracts (AWAs) to know that the most common family-friendly clause in their employment contract is for leave in the terrible event that a family member dies” — and most AWAs don’t even provide that.

The Howard Government would never use a sporting event like the Melbourne Cup to obscure debate about major legislative changes. After all, as a Minister told us,

[T]he latest thing that somehow we’re going to be moving a second reading speech as they jump out the gates at Flemington, I mean it’s ridiculous.

Ridiculous indeed: Government MPs will be in their suites watching the race like everyone else. But ninety minutes later, they’ll bring on the anti-civil liberties bill, giving minor parties just ten minutes to scrutinise it before the debate begins. There’s no way the public will still be focussed on the Melbourne Cup ninety minutes after the end of the race, is there?

Broken Left Leg reckons the debate will go something like this:

Two hundred out and it’s anyone’s race.

“I’m with him” ridden by Alan Jones has been dragged to the extreme right of the track Alan Jones opening up a huge hole for “Divide and Conquer”.

“Clap and Cheer” and “Pier’s Agrees” continue to block “Sensible Debate” against the rails.

Foreign raider “Shoot to Kill” has sprouted wings down the outside and we could see more of him later.

“High Court Challenge” has been severely checked by “Trust Me” and the stewards will definitely be looking at that incident.

It’s “Shoot to Kill” leading, but here comes the great stayer “Divide and Conquer”.

“A Nation Distracted” and “Fear” are pushing “Divide and Conquer” forward.

“Shoot to Kill”, and “A Nation Distracted” are battling it out. IT’S NECK AND NECK. “Shoot to Kill”, “Divide and Conquer” and “A Nation Distracted”.

It’s close AND HERE COMES “CROSS THE FLOOR” FROM NOWHERE. IT’S A FOUR WAY PHOTO FINISH.

The race that doesn’t stop the nation is too close to call. A four way photo and a steward’s appeal by “High Court Challenge” mean the final result won’t be known for a while.

(Malcolm Farr’s problem is that he reads the wrong blogs.)

Liam Hogan is moving from Cut Price Commentariat, and setting up shop at his own domain: Stoush.net. He is joined by some worthy comrades, so make sure you put it on your “daily reads” list.

What’s this? Could it be the WorkChoices hotline script? It includes gems like:

How do I know if I’m employed by a Constitutional Corporation?

ANSWER

If you are not sure about whether or not your employer is a Constitutional corporation you should first ask your employer whether they know if their business is a Constitutional corporation. If your employer is also unsure about whether their business is a Constitutional corporation then they may seek independent legal advice on this matter.

Does that clear it up for you?

And then there’s the claim that the No Disadvantage Test “creates uncertainty for … employees”, and “fails to provide a consistent minimum standard which all agreements must meet”.

Or this one:

How often will the minimum wages be increased?

ANSWER

The Australian Fair Pay Commission will set and adjust minimum wages periodically.

That often, huh?

Will people still be paid overtime if they work more than 38 hrs per week?
Answer

The reforms won’t affect an employee’s current right to be paid overtime… unless an employer and employee agree to alternative arrangements.

How will penalty rates for weekend work be affected?

The proposed reforms will not affect an employee’s existing right to be paid penalty rates for weekend work… unless an employer and employee agree to alternative arrangements.

Oh, and I love this one, too:

What is the total spending on Communication campaigns?

At this stage, the planned scope and form of the information campaign has not been finalised. So, no precise figures are available as to the total amount of money that will be spent on the campaign.

Really? I’ve heard it will cost another $20 million over the next ten days…

Each page of the script is marked, “CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, DO NOT REMOVE FROM THE WORKPLACE”, so I guess the Government didn’t want us to see it — but then, what did they expect when they hired people to tell us how well employees would be treated under the new package, and then sacked them at short notice?

• The Government’s advertising campaign has been ineffective so far. A Morgan poll says only 1% more people have heard of the IR proposals since the WorkChoices campaign began. 49% of respondents opposed the package, with a measly 17% in support.

• In particular, the WorkChoices hotline has been a spectacular failure. The operators are worried about the information they are giving out — they’re forced to mislead workers, while giving employers advice on how to sack people and cut their wages. The Government has already sacked fifty call centre staff in Sydney because nobody was ringing the hotline, and Crikey reported yesterday that a Melbourne call centre was also closed, “apparently because of a lack of public interest about the new workplace changes.”

• After reviewing the policy detail announced last week, the Salvation Army has joined the ranks of religious opposition to WorkChoices: “When you look at this reform package from the most disadvantaged in Australia, it is not ethical because it exploits them.” Meanwhile, Anglican Primate Dr Phillip Aspinall has reiterated his concerns, and promised to scrutinise the legislation closely.

• The WorkChoices propaganda campaign has been talking up the Office of Workplace Services, promising that “your rights will be protected” by it — but the facts tell a different story. In 2002-03, it received 5254 complaints, substantiated 3500, but only recovered monies in 3 cases. With a prosecution success rate of less than 1% of substantiated claims, it’s hard to believe the Office will protect anything at all.

• We’ve all heard about Billy, the jobseeker who is offered a “take it or leave it” AWA that strips him of all holidays, penalty rates, and overtime loadings, with no compensatory wage increase. Kevin Andrews confirmed that if Billy turns down the job because he doesn’t want to be exploited, he will be breached and lose his Centrelink payments.

• When Peter Costello said there was “nothing magic in a number”, it was thought he planned to scap unfair dismissal protections across the board at some point in the future. But lawyers are questioning whether the Government is already weakening protections for workers in big firms, by reversing the current onus of proof in certain cases: “The question which is not answered in WorkChoices is how is the onus of proof going to work in the future.”

• It will be harder for researchers to assess the impact of the WorkChoices package, because the Australian Bureau of Statistics is scrapping an important work-related statistical measure. Starting next year, the ABS Earnings and Hours survey will no longer ask on what basis people are employed — which means it will be impossible to compare AWAs to other measures. The Government was embarrassed by ABS figures that show non-managerial workers earn less than people on collective agreements.

• While the WorkChoices propaganda claims it will provide family-friendly workplaces, the truth is it will wind back recent gains won by unions in the Industrial Relations Commission. Dr Jill Murray asked, “Why go back to the 1970s standards when we have got a 2005 standard? It’s a tragedy for families. It is going to be desperately hard for them to achieve a work-family balance”.

• Kim Beazley challenged John Howard to a televised debate on the IR changes; Howard is chicken.

• Workers who feature in the Government’s WorkChoices propaganda campaign are fuming about being misled: they were told they were being filmed for a workplace safety video. Kevin Andrews says they signed a release form, but perhaps they wouldn’t have signed it if they knew what the footage was actually going to be used for?

• The Electrical Trades Union has embraced the internet to keep its members informed and campaign against the Howard Government. Phil Cleary says, “Our members express frustration about how the media portrays trade unionists, so we see the podcast as a way to disseminate more objective and independent views about trade unionists.” Find out more about the Spark podcast, or subscribe to the feed.

My aunt and uncle are good Labour Party members in Ireland. On the political spectrum, it’s pretty darn close to the Left of the ALP, so when Mick and Claire visited we had some good discussions about politics. They told me quite a bit about their local Teachta Dála, Michael D Higgins.

It turns out that Sunili’s boyfriend, who is on student exchange in Dublin, is currently doing an internship at the Dáil — for Michael D. Small world, and all that. Anyway, the point of this post is to share a report from his internship:

my dude
screwed up today
in the House of Reps
instead of saying
the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Communication
he said
the Minister for
Forei’n'ication

everyone cracked up laughing
and then the guy rang him up
and he had to apologize and ‘withdraw’ it
it was ridiculous

he then (in Parliament)
blamed that he had a big night last night because of the soccer
and then everyone laughed more

Heh heh.

He said “Fornication”.

This is a big one…

• Because the Government hadn’t finished drafting the legislation but wanted to press ahead with its propaganda campaign, it was forced to relaunch its industrial relations policy. Business leaders were summoned to Canberra to be given a special “lock-up” briefing about the package. Apparently, “One invitee isn’t coming because, among other reasons, he thought it a bit rich to be asked to give up his day off. Did anyone in the Government notice the symbolism?” Stephen Smith complained about the event’s exclusivity: “John Howard will brief industry and business — continuing to keep 10 million employees in the dark about these proposals.”

• The policy and advertising campaign is now called WorkChoices. Its orange colour was stolen from the ACTU’s Rights at Work campaign, and the people in the ads have copped flak for being ridiculously happy. Alan Wood (pro-Government commentator), mocked its “groups of workers so happy in their jobs that one suspects indulgence in illicit chemicals.” Kim Beazley condemned the package for “using Orwellian language and Stalinist images”: the Government was “trying to present a new version of “Happy Workers in Tractor Factory Number 451.’” It’s also worth noting that all of the people featured in the ads are white.

• The rush to begin advertising before the legislation has been drafted has attracted criticism. Michelle Grattan says “[t]he time to inform the public about changes is after a policy has been legislated”, and WorkChoices is “nothing more or less than a propaganda campaign.” Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett says the ads are a waste of money because before the legislation has been seen, “everyone’s fundamentally responding to shadows”.

Read the rest of this entry…

Thanks, Tony!

Update: Other bloggers are joining in. This is from Rooster (who points out that the Government’s ads stole their orange colour from the Rights at Work campaign):

And this is from Weezil (who says “John HoWARd’s idea of workplace ‘flexibility’ involves you, the worker, being able to assume the position”):

This one’s from Sub Junctive:

Update: A comrade sent through a couple more parodies (pdf).

If you see any more, point ‘em out. I’ll collate them in this post.

Why can’t I get an electronic copy of the WorkChoices booklet? I’m at the website, I want to save a couple of taxpayer dollars in postage, but I can’t. Now I have to wait a few days to find out how I’ll be shafted. (Seriously, if anyone has access to a PDF copy, I’d be most grateful.) Update: I found it, by ignoring the WorkChoices site and instead googling for “workchoices 68″. Anyway, here it is.

It’s hard to stay focussed on writing 12 000 words of legal analysis (cough) when you could be tickling cats, balancing pigs, or throwing eggs around instead. (Go on, try one…)

Exhibit A:

Scientists have taught dolphins to combine both rhythm and vocalisations to produce music, resulting in an extremely high-pitched, short version of the Batman theme song.

Exhibit B:

Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Conclusion? Vigilante dolphins. Obviously.