Jasin wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2023 at 12:44pm:


I don't have to think it .... you are.

That example is irrelevant .... who decides the definition of "harder" working?

It matters not - if you accept Union won wages & conditions and don't join a Union & contribute to what you enjoy off the back of Unions then you are a leaner & or a scab.

Gnads wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2023 at 12:37pm:


I was a member of the NTEU for about two year. Every branch meeting was a little trip to Moscow circa 1930. They invariable pushed for more Marxist, woke positions, very often in areas that had nothing to do with employment.  Professors referred to themselves as the "workers".  Deadly and organically politicised in a Socialist International kind of way.

I am all for employees and employers negotiating and where it is done locally it is very good for both sideas. But when head office pressures local workers to take the union's or the ACTU's politicised line it can become protracted and bloody minded, leading to bad blood and stalemate. Unions operate like a cartel, something businesses would be rightly punished for.

Frank wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2023 at 1:05pm:


And employers don't operate like cartels?

Turn up to local EBA negotiations with an industrial officer & lawyer type & HR personnel to snowball the local floor rep & a couple of workers??? 

You know that businessmens/womens associations are in actual fact Unions?

Unions of Employers 

Come on Frank.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2023 at 12:19pm:

I worked for 30 to 40 years on and off as a self-employed engineering
consultant working through contract agencies in Australia and the UK.

I was never a union member in all those years, and never received the
benefits you list here:

Annual leave, sick pay, meal breaks, superannuation, maternity leave,
penalty rates etc.

I also had to fund my own superannuation and income protection.

As far as my rates of pay were concerned, it was up to me to negotiate
directly with the companies I worked for, both at the start of my contract
and through the tenure of longer contracts, which sometimes extended for
24 or 36 months. 

As a self-employed contractor, the Association of Architects, Engineers,
Surveyors and Draughtsmen of Australia (AAESDA) would not accept
self-employed engineers as members;  only salaried or wages people.

So we were left to fight our own pay battles.

And all this is one of the reasons I'm against any additional public holidays
such as the Victorian grand final Friday holiday, King's Birthday, Labour (sic) Day ,
Melbourne Cup Day, Easter Monday, and all the public holidays "manufactured"
in lieu of those  falling on Saturdays or Sundays.

This year for example New Year's Day fell on a Sunday, so we make the
following Monday a gazetted public holiday.  This is itself is absurd, and
costs the average engineering contract worker (say) $500, while the
salaried engineer pockets that amount.    Is that fair?   Not really, when
you multiply that by the 13 public holidays in Victoria.  ($6,500 in total. Ouch!)

Another massive taxpayer savings could be made in a very simple manner.
State and Federal public servants should work on weekday public holidays,
or if not, then they would not be paid for public holidays.  This could save
potentially billions of dollars annually if the second option were taken.

And yes;  I believe Australia employs far too many public servants (sic)
at all three government levels, with far too many of those sitting in comfortable,
overpaid niches, and protected by aggressive, untouchable unions.

(But that's a topic for another thread.)

freediver wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2023 at 2:27pm:


It doesn't actually come up.

The Earth revolves and creates the illusion of the sun rising over the horizon.

The sun isn't moving at all.

One other thing ....there's a further problem with your link Greggary.

1. Look who presented that misleading and deceptive information.

2. Now look at who fact checked it.

That's right. The same idiots!

Ok I need to contact a few people about this. Many thanks for bringing it up though 👌

Jasin wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2023 at 12:26pm:



How?

Jasin wrote on Jan 23^rd, 2023 at 12:28pm:



Are there EBA sites in residential?