THE POWER OF MONEY AND THE UNION MOVEMENT IN AUSTRALIA OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS
Dated 8th September, 2024.
Over such time union membership has declined from above 50% of the workforce being union members in the 1950/1960’s to less than 10% in the 2020’s.
Union political power has increased massively over such time via union investment in the superannuation industry since 1990. Industry superannuation has given the general union movement in the country much more money to manage and control and hence much more power.
In Victoria the “Big Build” has required a massive commitment of labor (carpenters, electricians, plumbers, general laborers to build the SRL (suburban rail link) and Westgate underground crossing of the Yarra River and the northeast connection of the Western Ring Road to the Eastern Freeway.
The Victorian government has taken labor away from private industry (house building) and re-deployed it on the above public projects.
Moreover, labor has gone there because the wages/salaries for these jobs are much higher than the rates offered by private business to build homes and maintain and develop residential, commercial, retail and industrial development.
That in turn has put pressure on private business particularly in the housing industry – the increasing cost of materials and the cost and time to apply and process the development through local municipalities and state regulations and the cost of significantly higher wages/salaries has put a lot of domestic housing developments “on hold” or worse still resulted in the demise of the building company itself.
The union movement cannot think laterally and into the future in regard to wages/salaries. It must urgently simplify the wage structure we have today. The sooner the better. Please refer to my more comprehensive overview of this subject in Paper 3.
Simply put today we desperately need to import labor in industry where we are “short on” – the housing industry and carpenters, bricklayers, electricians, plumbers and general laborers and the hospitality industry and the childcare and aged industries and the nursing, teaching and policing industries.
These are the people today we need to migrate to Australia and take up work here.
In aged care for instance there is a need to engage a “live in” carer for a wealthy couple or single person to provide everyday needs “at home” to purchase foodstuffs, prepare meals, clean the property, wash and iron clothes and generally look after and communicate with the person or persons paying for the service.
The cost will be lower than the normal rate because there will be offsets for rent, use of facilities such as gas, electricity and water, telephone, car and food and general living expenses at home. After deducting fees for such items, the carer would be paid by the provider of the services a net weekly sum of around A$700. The benefits of this further choice to older Australians is enormous:
Professional and efficient service.
A trust and loyalty and respect with a style of life which provides communication and a lifestyle of choice for the aged persons.
A tax effective and professional service paid by the user and not the general taxpayer.
Administered by an Australian corporation (or government-controlled entity) accountable directly to the national government.
Such a service is for wealthy aged persons and transfers the cost of the service from the government to the user. The migrant carer is no burden on housing and provides an economic benefit to national accounts by spending money on food and other goods in our economy. A win win win for everybody.
Unions and the national government must adapt and allow migrants into the country today in industries only where they are needed and provide those migrants with comfortable housing and embrace them for what they do and who they are.
Too much migration over the last 20 years by both liberal and labor governments has been migration of “rich persons” into Australia. If you have the money honey you are welcome. How pathetic. Shame on both parties for their hopeless narrowmindedness which has put us in our current precarious financial position today.