The Irony of IR Laws is not wasted
April 30th 2007 07:02
The Irony of IR Laws is not wasted
There is a common belief in some people that if they run the right advertising campaign, were give a sympathetic hearing in the press and kept on repeating the message then eventually people will come around to their way of thinking. Master propagandist sfirst sell the concept that propaganda always works to them selves long before they sell the concept to anyone else. They must believe that humans are basically lemmings that will follow anyone who takes the reins of power. The few who have ceased power have earned their right to tell the rest what to do. Unfortunately convincing all the people of this message is not easy. People may be collectively foolish from time to time by selecting bad rulers but they are not completely stupid. They know which side their bread is buttered on and they know when someone is trying to take money from their pockets. Once someone is aware that a slick salesman is conning them out of their hard earned cash they become tone deaf to the pleadings.
Australian elections have usually been won on the hip pocket nerve. Keating’s ‘Recession we had have,’ and high interest rates were electoral poison; Frazer’s record unemployment rates made Bob Hawke in the new messiah; Gough Whitlam’s hyper inflation sent him packing in just 3 years. The majority of people will be rather disinterested in much else. The message is, ‘Mess with my pay and there will be hell to pay’ and no amount of advertising can make financial struggle seem all rosy.
Business spokes people and organizations love the Industrial Relation laws that were rolled out as soon as the Howard government had an absolute majority in both the houses of parliament. The right to sack people and the spot was applauded by the business council and condemned by worker groups and unions. Wages and condition of almost every job in Australia now had a new balance of power, one that focused upon individual contracts and stiff penalties for union involvement. Public holiday, penalty rates, unfair dismissal and overtime now had a new set rules in what the Howard government calls ‘Work Choices.’
If we accept the rosy picture painted by the government we will only see higher wages and employment. Jobs will be more stable because employing people becomes more affordable and we will get rich together in this endless good time. Unfortunately this is an unusually good time of national prosperity which is in many ways being created by the rapid development of China and the demand for resources. What happen when China can stand on its own industrial feet and exploit its own resources? What happen when China has completed it construction boom? What happens if China’s boom is followed by a bust? These are the concern of employed people who fall under the new laws and though many may be factory laborers they are not blind to reality. Recessions do happen, booms do turn to busts and companies look for the easiest people to sack when it happens. Exploiting the laws to their full potential makes this sacking process much smoother for companies.
The sales pitch for getting rid the unfair dismissal laws has been to have the freedom to get rid of the bad worker in order to make room for a good worker. The assumption is that the employer always knows best and will always have the professional integrity not to exploit their new found power. In the real world this not always the case as most people do eventually find a good employer. Yet there is difference between a good company today and how it may be in a few years. Good supervisors can be replaced with bad ones, companies can focus upon the bottom lines at the expense of their workers. Even cruel and sadistic people can rise senior positions in a work place. Cronyism and exploitation can operate even within a profitable organization. Sometimes you can find a manager without any training or aptitude being given the role. These places still exist and no amount of PR can hide suffering to the person who is their victim. For such people the new IR laws are frightening.
It is clear now that the big issue of the upcoming Australian federal election will be the IR laws. Howard has already asked the business community to contribute millions of dollars to pay for an advertising campaign to promote the laws. The union run ads are already playing on television condemning the IR Laws and Opposition leader Kevin Rudd had repeated his promise to tear up the legislation if elected. It is a hot issue that will become more heated as we approach voting day.
Unlike the War in Iraq and the Boat People this issue does affect nearly every working Australian at a financial level. If people are suffering worse working conditions as a reward for working hard to create the current prosperity then no amount of glossy ads will make them see anything else. Talk of small businesses having a hard time because they must pay the correct overtime rates will find little sympathy with who are paid less. Big business talking in terms of reducing wages in order to hire more people will result in hostility. Hostility will reflect it self at the ballot box if people suffer any financial loss due to some grand plan that makes them or their children the losers.
The claimed of how the IR laws are helping build the nation are dubious because the causal link between them and improved employment has not been established. Instead we have rhetoric that completely ignores the impact of China’s economic boom.
Marketers have several terms that they use to explain bad sales figure despite a great advertising campaign. One is ‘Consumer Resistance’ and the other ‘Purchasers Disenchantment.’ If the product obviously sucks then telling people it does not won’t change their minds. Also if enough people give a bad report about a product after trying it then the word gets out to others. The analogy may seem clumsy but I suspect that we will be seeing plenty of clumsy analogies before the next election.
There is a common belief in some people that if they run the right advertising campaign, were give a sympathetic hearing in the press and kept on repeating the message then eventually people will come around to their way of thinking. Master propagandist sfirst sell the concept that propaganda always works to them selves long before they sell the concept to anyone else. They must believe that humans are basically lemmings that will follow anyone who takes the reins of power. The few who have ceased power have earned their right to tell the rest what to do. Unfortunately convincing all the people of this message is not easy. People may be collectively foolish from time to time by selecting bad rulers but they are not completely stupid. They know which side their bread is buttered on and they know when someone is trying to take money from their pockets. Once someone is aware that a slick salesman is conning them out of their hard earned cash they become tone deaf to the pleadings.
Australian elections have usually been won on the hip pocket nerve. Keating’s ‘Recession we had have,’ and high interest rates were electoral poison; Frazer’s record unemployment rates made Bob Hawke in the new messiah; Gough Whitlam’s hyper inflation sent him packing in just 3 years. The majority of people will be rather disinterested in much else. The message is, ‘Mess with my pay and there will be hell to pay’ and no amount of advertising can make financial struggle seem all rosy.
Business spokes people and organizations love the Industrial Relation laws that were rolled out as soon as the Howard government had an absolute majority in both the houses of parliament. The right to sack people and the spot was applauded by the business council and condemned by worker groups and unions. Wages and condition of almost every job in Australia now had a new balance of power, one that focused upon individual contracts and stiff penalties for union involvement. Public holiday, penalty rates, unfair dismissal and overtime now had a new set rules in what the Howard government calls ‘Work Choices.’
If we accept the rosy picture painted by the government we will only see higher wages and employment. Jobs will be more stable because employing people becomes more affordable and we will get rich together in this endless good time. Unfortunately this is an unusually good time of national prosperity which is in many ways being created by the rapid development of China and the demand for resources. What happen when China can stand on its own industrial feet and exploit its own resources? What happen when China has completed it construction boom? What happens if China’s boom is followed by a bust? These are the concern of employed people who fall under the new laws and though many may be factory laborers they are not blind to reality. Recessions do happen, booms do turn to busts and companies look for the easiest people to sack when it happens. Exploiting the laws to their full potential makes this sacking process much smoother for companies.
The sales pitch for getting rid the unfair dismissal laws has been to have the freedom to get rid of the bad worker in order to make room for a good worker. The assumption is that the employer always knows best and will always have the professional integrity not to exploit their new found power. In the real world this not always the case as most people do eventually find a good employer. Yet there is difference between a good company today and how it may be in a few years. Good supervisors can be replaced with bad ones, companies can focus upon the bottom lines at the expense of their workers. Even cruel and sadistic people can rise senior positions in a work place. Cronyism and exploitation can operate even within a profitable organization. Sometimes you can find a manager without any training or aptitude being given the role. These places still exist and no amount of PR can hide suffering to the person who is their victim. For such people the new IR laws are frightening.
It is clear now that the big issue of the upcoming Australian federal election will be the IR laws. Howard has already asked the business community to contribute millions of dollars to pay for an advertising campaign to promote the laws. The union run ads are already playing on television condemning the IR Laws and Opposition leader Kevin Rudd had repeated his promise to tear up the legislation if elected. It is a hot issue that will become more heated as we approach voting day.
Unlike the War in Iraq and the Boat People this issue does affect nearly every working Australian at a financial level. If people are suffering worse working conditions as a reward for working hard to create the current prosperity then no amount of glossy ads will make them see anything else. Talk of small businesses having a hard time because they must pay the correct overtime rates will find little sympathy with who are paid less. Big business talking in terms of reducing wages in order to hire more people will result in hostility. Hostility will reflect it self at the ballot box if people suffer any financial loss due to some grand plan that makes them or their children the losers.
The claimed of how the IR laws are helping build the nation are dubious because the causal link between them and improved employment has not been established. Instead we have rhetoric that completely ignores the impact of China’s economic boom.
Marketers have several terms that they use to explain bad sales figure despite a great advertising campaign. One is ‘Consumer Resistance’ and the other ‘Purchasers Disenchantment.’ If the product obviously sucks then telling people it does not won’t change their minds. Also if enough people give a bad report about a product after trying it then the word gets out to others. The analogy may seem clumsy but I suspect that we will be seeing plenty of clumsy analogies before the next election.
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