Just Nicky

You gotta fight for your right … November 15, 2005

I should have gone to the rally this morning and I feel a little bad that I didn’t. I thought about it last week, but the logistics of organising myself to have the Foozle off to childcare and me into the city in good time just did my head in. No excuse really, but the only one I’ve got. And I missed out on seeing DC play into the bargain!

These IR changes push us back into the feudal times where the worker (aka serf) is utterly dependant upon the boss’ (aka lord of the manor’s) good will. If you and your boss are reasonable human beings and you can communicate well, you’ll be fine. If your boss is a prick, or you’re prone to being a bit of a dickhead (and we all are, particularly in the early years), or you don’t get on well, you’re in deep poo.

The federal government claims that they’re just levelling a playing field that was tilted unfairly in favour of the workers (and, therefore, was an impediment to business success - why would that be?), but surely there should always be a bias toward those with less power and more to lose in the relationship? How else do we ensure that exploitation does not occur?

I’m certain that, at least in part, the introduction of this legislation has come about because so many of our parliamentarians have never worked in a ‘real’ job, or it’s been so many years since they have that they’ve forgotten what it is to be an employee. They have no idea what it is to be working for a large corporate where you are more readily identified by number than name, where you need to have every tool and support possible available to defend yourself in case of discrimination. They have no idea that a lot of the positive messages that business puts out about being aware of diversity, family friendly, caring for their staff’s wellbeing is just rhetoric and sees little or no action on the front line.

I really should have been there to add my voice to the 200,000 ‘predictable‘ protests.