The No Disadvantage Test was part of Work Choices.
Work Choices was removed when Labor won the 2007 election.
If the preceding is wrong please provide a reference as to when Howard removed the No Disadvantage Test.
Thank you in advance, Matey."
Okay matey. I will try again. As I do will you please note that you could have clicked on the link that I provided for butcherbird. But anyway our discourse (butcherbird's and mine) seems to have created a bit of interest so lets expand a little. Lets have a look at the time line and discuss a few principles and facts lets go back to the very beginning. Going by some of the rubbish that is posted by the supporters of the Liberals it could well be an eye opener for some!
Do you remember Bob Hawke and Paul Keating - the commos? The matter we are discussing (the No Disadvantage Test) originated because of the ideas that their government had about the need to modernize Australia's capitalist economy.
In 1985 Professor Hancock presented a comprehensive report to the Hawke Government in 1985. After consideration of the Hancock recommendations, the Government introduced a legislative reform package, the centrepiece of which was the repeal of the Conciliation and Arbitration Act and its replacement by the Industrial Relations Act 1988. The scenario was being set for the dismantling of the central wage fixing system in favor of enterprise bargaining.
Now we all recognize, if we are sensible about it, that, ceteris paribus, the employer will have greater power than the worker. The Labor government, not unexpectedly, paid particular attention to this reality when it framed legislation aimed at promoting the striking of bargains in the workplace. It did so with the introduction of the Industrial relations Reform Act 1993. It is in this Act you will find the introduction of the "No Disadvantage Test".
Industrial Relations Reform Act 1993
"The Reform Act introduced far-reaching changes to federal industrial relations arrangements. In particular, it: placed emphasis on collective bargaining at the enterprise level – compulsorily arbitrated awards and wage increases were intended as a safety net and enterprise flexibility agreements were subject to a no disadvantage test" Check it out here
Now to Howard
Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005.
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices.
Work Choices was passed by the Howard Government in 2005 and was designed to improve employment levels and national economic performance by dispensing with unfair dismissal laws for companies under a certain size, removing the "removing the "no disadvantage test" " which had sought to ensure workers were not left disadvantaged by changes in legislation," thereby promoting individual efficiency and requiring workers submit their certified agreements directly to Workplace Authority rather than going through the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. It also significantly compromised a workforce's ability to legally go on strike, requiring workers to bargain for previously guaranteed conditions without collectivized representation, and significantly restricting trade union activity and recruitment on the work site. Check it out here
Now back to the present.
butcherbird has not got back to me regarding my request asking him to explain why he posted a load of rubbish. He did respond in sorts with some nonsense about voluntary workers working of a weekend after I had made a remark about voluntary work being just that: unpaid work. People do not make a living wage out of voluntary work. So why the hell he brought it up in the first place I do not know. I do recognize though that his "answering" post was nothing more than a camouflage comeback. A distracter so to speak. A distracter with the aim of drawing people's attention away from the fact that he had demonstrated that he knows absolutely zilch about recent Australian industrial relations history. Anyway to sum up. I have pointed this out to him so that he may decide to refrain from commenting upon industrial relations matters in the future. It would have to be a relief to all if he does.
