The Guardian 1 February, 2006
Dingo bytes
McDonald’s in Britain have come up with a way of exploiting the labour of entire families while at the same time artificially cutting unemployment figures — and it’s coming to Australia. The Family Contract, which McDonald’s is using in six British cities, is a job-sharing agreement that allows family members to swap shifts at a fast food outlet without notifying management. To get the real object of such a set up look no further than labour hire consultancy Talent2 in Australia which champions it. "To some degree Australia has been a little unsophisticated in this area. We see people as full-time or part-time or casual", said a Talent2 spokesperson last week. The spokesperson went on to claim that it would help companies to fill skill shortages, but then admitted it would probably only fill jobs that were unskilled. It assumes that there will be families whose members are over the age of 16, will all be available to head off at a moment’s notice and work a shift: they will either be unemployed or working part-time in two or more casual jobs. In reality it will entrench families on low incomes in the growing number of the working poor.
Another "innovation" in Britain, and no doubt destined for Australia, is the outsourcing of social security advice to offshore call centres. Britain’s Department of Work and Pensions is planning the outsourcing to meet cuts of $2.4 billion a year demanded by Treasury. A leaked document says that private firms will "undertake work for or on behalf of the department, overseas. This could involve the transfer of part or even all of the functions of a Department of Work and Pensions area that would have previously been located in the UK, to a centre located outside the UK." Say goodbye to Centrelink.
The passing last December of the Voluntary Student Unionism legislation with the support of Family First Senator Stephen Fielding (did he get a guarantee that measures would be implemented against the right to abortion?) will kill off services, social and cultural clubs and sports teams and facilities that are funded by student dues. The legislation, which comes into force from July 1, bans compulsory membership of student organisations, unions or guilds. It is also a precursor to the outlawing of unionised workplaces everywhere. VSU will also hit student services such as health, dental, welfare and child care. The idiocy of government claims that if a service or club was "relevant" people would pay to use it, is highlighted by Macquarie University in Sydney which will use $8 million from its profitable economic and financial division to bankroll services until 2008.
CAPITALIST HOG OF THE WEEK: is Kerry Packer. Although dead, his exploitation of the Australian people will continue with a February 17 taxpayer-funded memorial service thanks to the fawning Howard Government. Hundreds of thousands of dollars will be spent by the government at a lavish service for the country’s richest man.