Unions good for economy

The Age December 23, 2007

The purpose of the Howard government's WorkChoices legislation was to destroy trade unions in the name of improving labour productivity and reducing unemployment.

WorkChoices was the biggest single factor in the demise of the Coalition government. It was electoral poison because most employees, including those who weren't members of unions and would never think about joining a union, recognised that the legislation could be used to undermine their terms and conditions of employment.

The right-wing putsch against the trade unions failed for much the same reasons as it failed in 1929, when the Bruce government lost the election on the issue of abolishing the Arbitration Court and Stanley Bruce, like John Howard, lost his seat.

It is an inconvenient truth that unionised work forces can contribute to labour productivity by driving up wages faster than non-unionised work forces and this provides a stimulus to innovation, as employers will be motivated to economise on the use of labour by capital substitution. Studies in the US have shown that unionised workers also promote productivity because strong unions foster a culture where workers are less inhibited about pointing out problems as they emerge on the shop floor because they feel the union will protect their employment security.

As US economist and author Robert Kuttner puts it, there are allocative efficiencies to be gained as labour markets become more like spot markets and pay scales are matched with marginal productivity. But there are major mechanisms such as stronger unions, fair trade, wage subsidies and social incomes and education and training that can combine equity with efficiency. The analogy is the old paradox that brakes allow the car to go faster, according to Kuttner.

Employees are less likely to point out management mistakes when they don't enjoy the protection of unions or unfair dismissal rules.

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Haneef wins fight for visa

Indian doctor Mohamed Haneef has won his court battle to have his Australian work visa reinstated but the new Rudd Government may appeal it to the High Court.

The full bench of the Federal Court, sitting in Melbourne, today dismissed an appeal lodged by federal government lawyers against a judge's decision to reinstate Dr Haneef's visa.

The Federal Court decision, handed down by Chief Justice Michael Black in Melbourne, was another slap in the face for former immigration minister Kevin Andrews, who had cancelled the former Gold Coast doctor's visa on character grounds.

Dr Haneef's lawyer Peter Russo said his client had reservations about coming back to work as a doctor in Queensland.

His main aim was to clear his name, said Mr Russo.

"Firstly, to enable him to make that decision as to whether or not he will come back and secondly, for him to clear his name and get on with his life," he told ABC radio before today's decision was handed down.

"As time goes by I don't know whether that wish is as strong as it was when we started."

update ...

The secret information relied on by former immigration minister Kevin Andrews to cancel Mohamed Haneef's visa has been discarded by his Labor successor, Chris Evans, who found there was no basis to deny the Indian doctor entry to Australia.

Senator Evans said Dr Haneef was free to reclaim his work visa, adding cryptically that he had based his decision on the "latest federal police information".

STOP THE SELL-OFF!

Shock A Pollie - Email Iemma Today!

The NSW Government is planning to hand over the state's electricity to big business - taking power out of our hands.

The experience in other states and overseas shows us private ownership leads to:

• higher prices
• less reliable supply
• key service jobs sent offshore

In NSW our electricity would be taken over by multinational companies who will be more interested in profits than making the best decisions for our energy future.

Don't hand over our electricity to big business.

The industry currently delivers billions of dollars in profits to the government to fund hospitals, schools and other public services and employs tens of thousands of workers across the state.

Steps must be taken now to secure NSW's energy future but privatising our power industry is not the way to go.

The State Government should instead upgrade its existing power stations to meet our short-term needs while taking urgent action to promote renewable energy.

http://www.stoptheselloff.org.au/

AWAs: dismantling begins

The new Labor government will turn the resumption of Parliament into an immediate test of the Liberal Party's loyalty to Work Choices by making the abolition of the policy the first item of his legislative agenda.

Cabinet agreed yesterday to introduce transitional legislation in February that would outlaw new Australian Workplace Agreements and abolish the fairness test. "We believe this is an important step forward because so many working families have been adversely affected by the existing range of laws," said Kevin Rudd.

The Coalition, which will control the Senate until July 1, remains deeply split over whether to abandon all or any of the policy, which was a big factor in its election loss.

The former workplace relations minister, Joe Hockey, has declared Work Choices "dead", while his predecessor, Kevin Andrews, says the Coalition should stick by it. "Are we to say to these people [who voted Liberal] that what we believed was for the good of Australia is no longer the case," he wrote yesterday in a newspaper column.

Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard today urged employers not to draft new AWAs before the laws are changed, but conceded there was nothing the government could do to stop employers putting new workers on AWAs before the introduction of the new legislation.

"They are the Liberal party's laws, and the Liberal party's laws are in operation today,'' she told Southern Cross Broadcasting.

"I can't change the Liberal party's laws until parliament can be brought together and the bill dealt with by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.''

But Ms Gillard urged employers to act in good faith, and resist drafting new AWAs in compliance with the incoming legislation.

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Mining: ready to tackle climate change

Australia's mining industry is well placed to take a leading role in tackling climate change, the mining union says.

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) has congratulated the government for its involvement in the recent climate change conference in Bali.

The union also welcomed the "strong support" Australian negotiators gave for developed countries to negotiate slashing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 40 per cent over the next decade.

"We do need deep cuts there's no doubt about that and now we can get on with the job of working out how to get there."

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