Yes, Joe, I reckon he’s on the nose too! Yet another desperate ploy by this aged PM to counter a somewhat flawed, but eminently more acceptable-to-the-voters opposition approach to the most sensitive political subject to have arisen in these past eleven years.
The most telling point of the linked article, and the Workchoices legislation as now admitted by the Howardian cabal, is that existing AWA’s will not be re-opened to allow workers to re-coup lost terms and conditions.
Those who have lost conditions under WorkChoices over the past year will not be compensated. Mr Howard said it was not realistic for the Government to "reopen" agreements to allow employees to try to win back lost conditions.
Not realistic for THE GOVERNMENT. Hang on a mo….. Aren’t AWA’s, by definition, agreements between employer and individual employees? In other words, existing AWA’s did strip away working benefits and conditions for which workers haven’t been adequately compensated. The admission is plain and clear. Workchoices is not a tool for the benefit of workers. It is a political device purpose designed to rid the workplace of any Union involvement, granting total and complete control of the Industrial Relations environment to business and industry and it’s greatest friend, conservative politics. This latest so-called ’softening’ is merely a knee jerk reaction to the realities of how the people feel about this draconian, biased and morally unjust legislation.
The whole subject stinks. Even Joe Hockey admits it.