Listening To: Remedy (Disc 2) : Various Artists

So you’ve probably noticed I haven’t posted for a while, right ? Blame it on lack of inspiration, ongoing loneliness (IG gets back on Saturday, thank sod !) and a certain level of brain-mush induced by too many nights (weeks ?) of successive drinking. Today however I spotted something over at Margot Kingstons site which I think is more than worthy of comment.

Australia’s world-class industrial relations system, and the Howard governments successive attempts to butcher it and take away the rights of ordinary workers like you and I have always left a bitter taste in my mouth. A recent episode of My Restaurant Rules highlights the perils facing all of us come July 1st, when the government will use its Senate majority to push through legislation once again undermining the ‘Award Wages’ system and making it easier for greedy employers to force their workers into accepting AWAs.

You can background to the story here and here, but essentially what it boils down to is that in the recent episode of the show, Evan and Bella who run Sydney’s Pink Salt decided to move their staff off Award wages and on to Howardesque AWA (Australian Workplace Agreement) contracts - without prior discussion with or agreement from the staff in question ! Stewart the sous chef was understandably pissed when he found out he would be taking home 300 bucks a week less for his troubles, and confronted Evan about it on camera. Pink Salt have since hastily back-peddled, no doubt after some advice from Channel 7’s legal eagels, and their staff are back on the Award. But it’s a scary glimpse of a dilemma many of you out there in reader-land may be facing in the near future.

As for myself kids - I’m already there !!! If you read back over some previous posts, you’ll see I’ve expressed anger on a number of occasions about the employment contract I’m currently on. Guess what ? It’s basically an AWA. As a contractor to my lovely employer, I enjoy no union representation, nor was the option of any offered to me when signing the contract. Further to this, I’m doing a more demanding role now than I was when I worked here previously as full-time employee, yet my hourly pay rate on paper remains the same as it was before the company and came back. Back then I was also on a pseudo-AWA and my hourly rate was already woefully below the Award (as indeed are the majority of pay-rates where I work). However, back then I was getting public holidays, annual leave, weekend loadings and the like paid. Now I am no longer getting any of those loadings on my new ‘contractor’ status … and I’m actually WORSE OFF then when I was working as a full-time employee.

I was aware of all this when negotiating to come back, so I built a 10% increase into my wage demand to cover that. AWA’s are supposed to be all about negotiation (’Agreement’) after all, or that’s what The Rat and his ministers would have you believe. Guess what ? My employer came back and told me “sure, you’ll get the rate you want”. Only they neglected to mention the rate they were quoting was including superannuation, while I was talking ex-super. What’s the rate of super these days kids ? That’s right, 9% ! So surprise, surprise … my 10% increase is wiped out by employer/HR dirty tricks. Anybody surprised ? If you are, you shouldn’t be !!!

AWA’s are inherantly dishonest, and deprive the worker of the protection of 150 years of industrial relations gains made on their behalf by the Unions of Australia, and other individuals and organisations. Don’t get me wrong - I’m not anti-employer or anti-small business. I (still) run my own small (sole-trader) design company, never mind that I don’t actively seek clients and would be lucky to do work ‘for my company’ once a year if that. I even go through the pain-in-the-arse that is lodging BAS returns every quarter, because I’m hoping one day I’ll get the business back up and running. The point is though - if ever grow enough to have employees, I recognise that I have a responsibility to them as an employer, not just my own bottom line ! IF I ever have employees, they go on an Award at minimum, or if I can afford it, a contract which is better for them and me, not just my greedy wallet !

An AWA which leaves your staff worse off than they would be under the Award, as almost happened at Pink Salt, is just plain wrong ! Yet the lack of transperancy all of Howard’s successive changes to IR have created mean, unless you’re lucky enough to have your workplace on reality TV, there is a big danger that you’ll end up like me post July 1st - locked into an AWA that pays you sweet bugger all, and denies you the basic rights you used to take for granted under our old system of industrial relations !!! Think about it kids, it’s not a happy thought …