WW,
Oh come on, Shirley you can't be serious.
I am an employee.................not a bl@@dy shareholder, and as an employee
I HAVE the right to turn up on time, work (and I mean work...not bludge) as I'm paid.........and then go home on time unless your going to pay me for it. I would challenge that as an employee I am not required to act any different............
Even in the RIO employee performance system this is recognised as *meeting expectations*.
Do you really want me to love this company? Truth is I've already been down that road the first few years I was here as I thought I would give the new system a go.........and the reward is exactly nothing. By all means you can work hundreds of hours OT in a year and bust your balls. Your reward is a couple of hundred dollars and a nice letter.
IMHO their needs to be a balance. In this particular company at the moment that balance has been very one sided since the switch to Federal AWA's a few years ago and is getting worse all the time - most noticably as we move to Rio Globalised systems.
RioTinto...........yep, River of Blood that would be right
Hopefully if Rudd gets in they'll be forced back to the table and the issues will be addressed - although from their meetings I'd say labour has already rolled over on this in private.
Just talking around the traps up here the mood is actually that we should stop a bit of production (this used to be called a spanner in the works) - to make 'em do a bit of a Meerkat - the only focus at the moment is on production, production,production...and oh yeah we'll do it safely as well (sic)
Oh.........and I don't want to work anywhere else thanks. I just want these b&stards to start paying attention to their most valuable asset - their employees.
When Hamersly went over to all staff and had the biffo with the AWU and the ETU back in '92 they were right to do that. Things had gotten completely out of hand, the unions were running amuck. All staff (Working Together) was great and private contracts were great, but this has now been b@stardised by Federal AWA and previous WA State AWA's.
One of the key mission statements within Hamersly Iron was to be an employer of choice. Funny how nobody wants to work for us now - further stressing out those of that are left to keep the production process flowing.
Things particularly started going backwards when Rio took over Robe River and Pilbara Iron was formed as an asset mangement company.........we all got a lesson in understanding that synergy really means lowest common denominator.
Anyhow enough of me whinging about work and tight fisted pommy mining companies..........
So what about Rudd eh? Didn't think he really stood a chance against Howard and his workplace Bader Meinhoff cohorts....but now Im really starting to think that he might pull it off.
I'm going to start calling him Teflon.
He handled the Dean Mighell issue fairly well and has also managed to send a message at the same. I knew there was going to be a high profile sacrificial pawn at some stage but didn't actually think it would be Dean......poor b@stard. He is the only union guy that I have ever met that has truely had the interests of his members first and foremost in his heart.
Mrs Rudds misdoings managed to get redirected into how noble it was that she was sacrificng her hard work and company for her husband.........the backroom boys played that nicely.
Roll on Teflon I reckon...........
ciao