Qantas, Nurses, arbitration and the Fair Work Act
Perhaps predictably, the dispute between Qantas and unions representing its workforce is heading to arbitration, as management has refused to bargain over job security claims. The TWU is also considering a further legal challenge. Over the last couple of weeks, [...]
Guest post by Jim McDonald: An open letter to Alan Joyce
Dear Mr Joyce, I have just received your Frequent Flyer message in which you “apologise” and then present the media spin and special pleading you have promulgated during the enterprise bargaining period. The fact is that your desire to break [...]
Qantas dispute: How Joyce’s actions could backfire
The actions of Qantas in locking out its workforce yesterday, led by CEO Alan Joyce who on Friday received a 71% increase in his remuneration, have huge potential to backfire. Bernard Keane encapsulates Joyce’s strategy: Alan Joyce’s logic is the elegant [...]
Qantas industrial action thread
I notice that Saturday Salon is all about the Qantas industrial action and lockout now, so I thought it might be worthwhile to put a quick post up, a mere coat hanger if you will, on which to hang comments [...]
The productivity puzzle
Glenn Dyer at Crikey (unfortunately, behind the paywall) notes an interesting analysis by Rob Brooker of the National Australia Bank of the slowing of Australia’s productivity growth. In a nutshell, both labour productivity, and multifactor productivity have been growing very [...]
The future of retailing
If you want a sense of the financial pain being felt by some shopkeepers at the moment, all you need to do is peruse the submissions to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into Australian retailing. Whether anything should be done about [...]
A Word about Welfare
Am I the only person who is thoroughly sick of the neoliberals and right-wingers carping on about the evils of the welfare state? It was, after all, they who invented it.
The ABC, balance and right wing propaganda
I don’t know if anyone saw The Drum this afternoon? (And I don’t know if there are any audience/ratings figures for ABC News 24, but I’d be very interested if anyone does…) We had a panel composed of two ABC [...]
The public service and public values
The Centre for Policy Development has released an occasional paper as part of its Public Service Program, The State of the Australian Public Service: An alternative report. The report’s key findings include: a widening gap between the anti-public servant rhetoric [...]
Clean economy jobs pay better, employ more workers
A report by the Brookings Institution has found that clean economy jobs pay low and semi-skilled workers in the US significantly better than the median. Similar research in Australia would be very valuable in informing the carbon price debate.
The last publicly-educated generation?
If we remain complacent, it is quite likely that children born this year will be the last to enjoy free, secular and universal secondary education in NSW. (OH&S warning: Long and winding post. No overtaking for 2000 words. Snack recommended.) [...]
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