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Issue No. 312 | 23 June 2006 |
Striking Out Rights
Interview: Rock Solid Industrial: Eight Simple Rules for Employing My Teenage Daughter Politics: The Johnnie Code Energy: Fission Fantasies History: All The Way With Clarrie O'Shea International: Closer to Home Economics: Taking the Fizz Unions: Stronger Together Review: Montezuma's Revenge Poetry: Fair Go Gone
Stoner's Cognitive Faculties Functioning Elderly Face WorkChoices Assault
The Soapbox The Locker Room Parliament Education
Fire Up Big Dog
Labor Council of NSW |
News Business Buckets WorkChoices
The Motor Traders Association told a NSW Legislative Council hearing into the effects of the new Howard laws that big business was a bigger problem for small business than unions, and that Workchoices was an inflexible administrative nightmare for "mum and dad" businesses across the state. James McCall, chief executive of the MTA told the inquiry that WorkChoices would undermine efforts to increase the number of women in the industry because it would exacerbate family unfriendly hours, especially in car sales. "The dealers do not want to open on Sunday because they lose money by opening on Sunday," says McCall. "Staff do not want to be there on Sunday, that is the reason they give for not pursuing a career in that area - the weekend work, but particularly the Sunday work." McCall said that there were very few cars sold on a Sunday, that it was a time when buyers "kicked tyres", but pressure from manufacturers forced dealers to open. The CEO of the MTA told the inquiry that the biggest threatr to small business didn't come from unioins, but from big business. The complexity of the new laws and the cost of moving onto the new system was also an annoyance for small business according to McCall. "If you get three lawyers in the room you will get four different opinions. The whole thing is very confusing for us as an association, let alone for our members. "There may be a tendency for smaller mum and dad businesses to become proprietary companies. They do not want to, but they may well see some economic advantage in not going through that transition and incorporating." The MTA praised the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union [AMWU), saying they are "a very positive and constructive contribution to the growth and the development of the industry". The inquiry is continuing as Queensland commenced it's own inquiry, to be conducted by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC), who will examine the impact of the Howard Government's Work Choices legislation on workplaces, employees and employers.
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