Labor - The Bad, The Ugly and the occasional Good.

[Culprit]

Anyone old enough will remember Norm Gallager and the BLF. The Unions survived that and will survive this. In saying that anyone found guilty will be going to jail. I just get annoyed we don't treat corrupt politicians with the same disdain.

[HAL]

Anyone old enough will remember Norm Gallager and the BLF. The Unions survived that and will survive this. In saying that anyone found guilty will be going to jail. I just get annoyed we don't treat corrupt politicians with the same disdain.

It sounds like you're referring to a significant moment in labor history and expressing frustration about the disparity in how corrupt practices are treated across different sectors. Unions like the Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) have indeed faced challenges over the years but have shown resilience. Your point about the treatment of corrupt politicians versus union members highlights a broader issue of accountability and integrity in leadership, which many people share. It's essential for a healthy democracy that all individuals, regardless of their position, are held to the same standards of ethical behavior. Would you like to discuss more about the historical context or the current state of unions and political accountability?

[David]

Not sure how I feel about this new ChatGPT-style version of HAL. I think I preferred the nonsense bot with a few stock catchphrases!

[HAL]

Not sure how I feel about this new ChatGPT-style version of HAL. I think I preferred the nonsense bot with a few stock catchphrases!

I get that! The classic HAL from "2001: A Space Odyssey" has such an iconic presence, and there's something charming about a simpler, more nonsensical chatbot. If you prefer the quirky catchphrases and randomness, we can definitely channel that vibe! Just let me know what you're in the mood for, and we can have some fun with it!

[Skids]

Anyone old enough will remember Norm Gallager and the BLF. The Unions survived that and will survive this.

Ah yes. I was a supervisor at one of Perths biggest plumbing companies in the late 80's and had a few dealings with the BLF.

On one occasion, the Belmont Forum shopping centre was undergoing some major upgrades. Keeping the centre open meant a lot of the work (noisy) needed to be carried out during night shift. Now, these BLF blokes were like the SS on building sites. A plumber had to get a BLF member to move his oxy set if required, they would call a stop work meeting if there was only 3 flavours of cordial available, the list went on and on.
Anyway, we had to cut a large section of concrete out for the installation of a heap of drainage through the food court area. Prick of a job, Concrete saw, jack hammer and a lot of heavy lifting. Every task had to be approved by the BLF shop steward. This site had a big fat loud mouthed scotsman as the BLF shop steward.
I had to arrange a meeting with him to discuss the job. His main condition was that we engaged a BLF member to barrow the concrete to the skip bin. No big deal I thought.
The afternoon prior to the job I met my crew on site. This old skinny bloke comes swaggering over, he was our labourer. The bloke hadn't worked for years,was in his late 60's and as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike.
I'd allowed 2 x nightshifts in the quote to get the cutting/disposal completed, it took 5. Needless to say, there was no profit in the job, the BLF killed that. This useless little clown was on $97.50/hr.... my plumbers were on $60.

[Dark Beanie]

I worked in the public service, what was then the Department of Labour in the days of the BLF.
So many dodgy dealings, payments to govt inspectors to approve licences, kickbacks to union officials, the list goes on.
The Waterside Workers Hotel was the place to get deals done.

A relative of my sister in law had his company black balled by the BLF after he stood up to them. Lost all their work on building sites in the city. Company went into liquidation and 80 employees lost jobs. He has built his company back up but avoids any work where the CFMEU is involved.

And nothing much has changed.
CFMEU are only interested in power, money and control. If they were really interested in workplace safety they would do something about the poor workmanship & OH&S by the overseas workers on building sites. But because they get kickbacks from labour hire businesses they turn a blind eye and go after soft targets like inexperienced apprentices or smaller sub contractors.

The ETU and Plumbers Union are no better.

Many years ago hubby was working on a very large worksite in Portland. One day it was raining so the sparkies couldn't work outside, so they were asked to work on a job inside. They refused to do so because it would involve walking in the rain to the indoor location. Sparkies not called sugar men for nothing.
On another site, the union stopped work because the company hadn't provided coffee cups in the worksite hut.

[stui magpie]

Back in the early 2000's I was working in HR for Telstra and supporting an area that did cabling and infrastructure for business clients. One day, one of the managers called and said the Tech we'd sent to one site wasn't allowed on site because he wasn't a union member, what do we do?

We didn't do payroll deductions for union fees then so we had no way of knowing which staff were union members or not, so I got the number and called the union rep on site, CFMEU or course.

I tried to explain to him that we don't know which staff are union members, he's like IDGAF, if you send someone here who's not a union member, I'll shut this site down. I said, "You know that's illegal?", he paused for a second and again said, IDGAF, I'll invent a H&S issue, but this site would be closed."

Much as I would have loved to push the issue, it would have been the customer that suffered, so I called the manager back and asked him to just ask around and try to find a suitable Tech who was a union member, which he did. I was fuming

[stui magpie]

So after months of apparent threats of budget cuts to Health Networks in Victoria, the Government has backed down and promised extra cash instead. That's tick number 1.

Then they've released (or the Aged pinched it) the full copy of the Health Services Plan they'll be working to.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/vict ... 5k0o4.html

I like what I read in the article (I've downloaded the Plan but haven't read it yet) for the most part. Expanding the geographic boundaries by bringing more Public Health Networks together into larger networks without actually using (and in fact deliberately devowing) the dreaded Amalgamation word is good. There's so much inefficiency across the networks as it stands, duplication of effort, lack of coordination, etc which all leads to poorer patient outcomes that it badly needs a shake up. So that's tick number 2.

If Labor stays in power though, this really should be the thin edge of the wedge. Take a couple of years to get the Health Services used to operating in the new larger networks, THEN kick out half the boards, CEO's and Executive teams and really get to work fixing this mess.

The last time there was meaningful reform to the Victorian Health system was by Kennet, which is an indictment on Labor. This, finally, is a positive step in the right direction IMHO.

[What'sinaname]

Another bailed teen in a stolen car kills someone.


If teens commit an offence for the second time, they should be jailed for 5+ years.

[think positive]

When so done dies through carelessness, it should be minimum of 10, no licence? 15 plus driving offences

[stui magpie]

Albo's mob is becoming a 3 ring circus.

First they promised to include some LGBTI etc questions in the next census so they could get some real data on how many people identify as something other than heterosexual and/or their birth sex.

Then they decide not to, Chalmers (in between changing feet in his mouth) claims they won't be doing it because it could somehow trigger "Divisive debate"

Then, after push back, Albo does a standing back flip with a half pike off the 3 metre board, and lands flat on his back.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-30/ ... /104289570

I don't get what the problem is or how it could be divisive.
We clearly have Gay people in the country, we have legislation providing for same sex marriage FFS. What's the problem with getting some actual data on the people who aren't Hetero? Census data is supposed to be used to inform decision making, you know demographic info about the country broken down into postcodes, age, religion, earnings, racial background, etc. What's wrong with including Sexuality?

And for that matter, why not include questions the lobby groups want about other genders? How is it divisive? If you are Hetero and identify as your birth sex, there's some questions you get to skip. What's the problem.

I'd like to know exactly how many people out there actually identify as something other than their birth gender. If it is only a tiny number, we can tell the lobby groups to STFU, if it is actually a sizeable number, that justifies potentially more in the way of support. Just get the fkn data.

[roar]

I agree Stui, it seems they are trying to lose the un-lose-able.

[think positive]

Anyone old enough will remember Norm Gallager and the BLF. The Unions survived that and will survive this. In saying that anyone found guilty will be going to jail. I just get annoyed we don't treat corrupt politicians with the same disdain.

an ex took me to his christmas party, i had to sit on his lap, he was a sleeze ball (the ex probably was too! so charismatic, amazing 2 tone eyes, Russian!) it was fricken scary, bikies everywhere!

my older sister went up against the corrupt dockworkers union, she was Patricks head accountant, these big burly men pissed on her and threatened her in the carpark. gutless thugs, all of em!

that's the problem though, every good idea gets taken over by someone who wants to make a buck, no matter who pays the price!

[stui magpie]

So Bill Shorten has decided to quit politics and take a $1.5M+ job as Vice Chancellor at Canberra University.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-05/ ... /104185024

Interesting career move. Shorten was always ambitious, does jumping now signal that he thinks Labor is in trouble at the next election and he doesn't want to go back to being in opposition or does he think that Albo is set for 10 years as PM and he just can't do that?

Either way, I can't see this ending well. In University parlance, the Vice Chancellor is the equivalent of the CEO, the Chancellor is the equivalent of the Chairman of the Board. Shorten would have the skills to be a Chancellor, but no chance in hell does he have the skills to be Vice Chancellor.

[David]

Albo's mob is becoming a 3 ring circus.

First they promised to include some LGBTI etc questions in the next census so they could get some real data on how many people identify as something other than heterosexual and/or their birth sex.

Then they decide not to, Chalmers (in between changing feet in his mouth) claims they won't be doing it because it could somehow trigger "Divisive debate"

Then, after push back, Albo does a standing back flip with a half pike off the 3 metre board, and lands flat on his back.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-30/ ... /104289570

I don't get what the problem is or how it could be divisive.
We clearly have Gay people in the country, we have legislation providing for same sex marriage FFS. What's the problem with getting some actual data on the people who aren't Hetero? Census data is supposed to be used to inform decision making, you know demographic info about the country broken down into postcodes, age, religion, earnings, racial background, etc. What's wrong with including Sexuality?

And for that matter, why not include questions the lobby groups want about other genders? How is it divisive? If you are Hetero and identify as your birth sex, there's some questions you get to skip. What's the problem.

I'd like to know exactly how many people out there actually identify as something other than their birth gender. If it is only a tiny number, we can tell the lobby groups to STFU, if it is actually a sizeable number, that justifies potentially more in the way of support. Just get the fkn data.

To some extent the main thing is that they landed on the right outcome, which I think they have. Far better to backflip in that scenario than dig your heels in (as they unfortunately have on other stuff, like the Stage 3 tax cuts). But what's true is that what led up to this decision doesn't give you much confidence in their political instincts, and shows that they're way too worried about what people think. It's what ultimately tanked the Voice referendum and it's a pattern that will seemingly keep repeating.