It’s illegal to smoke marijuana but it’s okay to use a bong! That seems to be the type of message the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission is sending in its latest decision to allow the Transport Workers Union to collectively bargain with the giant Japanese-owned transport company Toll.
Collective bargaining under industrial relations laws gives unions the legal authority to bargain collectively for employees, frankly whether employees agree to that or not. It’s the union that owns and controls the process, not the employees. More...
From the Desk of the Executive Director
Ken Phillips is co-founder and Executive Director of Independent Contractors of Australia. He is a published authority on independent contractor issues and directs research on related commercial and trade practices issues. Through his numerous articles in newspapers and think-tank and academic journals, Ken is known for approaching issues from outside normal perspectives and is frequently sought out for media comment.
The ACCC needs to try harder on collective bargaining
Unscrambling Gillard's OHS hash
The Gillard government's attempts to harmonise Australia's work safety laws continues to crash around them. Even in South Australia, where the ALP holds government the failure is complete.
In late October, the South Australian parliament passed new OHS laws allegedly based around Gillard's harmonised model. But amendments made to the SA Labor government bill has resulted in a vastly different piece of legislation. It needs to be different. I last discussed the collapse of the harmonised OHS process late last year (The business of OHS disharmony) a process which has continued in gridlock since then. More...
The super self-employed taking over the world
The great communist-era Premier of China Zhou Enlai was once asked what he thought were the implications of the French Revolution. He famously replied that it was too early to tell.
In this same tradition the French President, socialist François Hollande, has tried his own revolutionary tactic but it has backfired big time. In seeking to repair France's teetering public finances, Hollande decided to whack France's entrepreneurs with big new taxes. Two weeks ago Hollande announced that anyone who sold their small business would have to pay 60 per cent of the sale price to the government. More...
Small business snookered by social media rule
There’s no question. The internet has liberated people and, in particular, for people who are or want to be self-employed it has opened up undreamt of business possibilities. It’s exciting and it’s only the beginning. More...
Recent Posts
- Changes give taxman licence to monster small business
- When the Taxman proves to be a monster
- Some revolutionary thoughts for the New Year
- At last a fair deal for hard-working subbies
- Gig economy and unfair contract laws suit self-employed
- Why the new unfair contract laws are good news for soloists
- Truckies’ Act a dog that may bark again
- Why is Wesfarmers so opposed to the ‘effects test’?
- Small business is losing confidence in the ATO
- Big firms aren’t budging on business behaviour
![]() Be Protected! |
Tags
- 457 visas (1)
- Abbott government (17)
- ACCC (4)
- advertising (2)
- ALP policy (15)
- Asian economies (3)
- ASIC (3)
- ATO (11)
- Australian politics (70)
- Australian Senate (4)
- Banking sector (1)
- big business (23)
- branding (1)
- Budget 2015 (1)
- business names (2)
- business-union ties (21)
- Canada (1)
- Canadian provinces (1)
- Car industry (5)
- CFMEU (9)
- China (2)
- Coalition policy (26)
- Collusion (17)
- communication (2)
- competition policy (6)
- computer/IT sector (6)
- construction (25)
- construction codes (6)
- contractor status (11)
- corporate welfare (6)
- corruption (4)
- defending our rights (41)
- disclosure requirements (2)
- dispute resolution (4)
- disruption (3)
- effects test (2)
- Election 2013 (10)
- Election 2019 (1)
- entrepreneurship (24)
- Europe (2)
- fair contracts (19)
- Fair Work Commission (1)
- finance (2)
- financial advisers (1)
- foreign workers (1)
- franchising (1)
- freelancing (9)
- Gig economy (3)
- Global economies (4)
- global news (11)
- govt-business ties (5)
- govt-union ties (8)
- Heydon Report (4)
- ICAC (1)
- illegal logging laws (2)
- independence (11)
- industrial relations (45)
- infrastructure (4)
- innovation (14)
- Inspector-General Taxation (1)
- Japan (1)
- job creation (13)
- Job security (12)
- Kenya (1)
- liberty (1)
- management capacity (5)
- misclassification laws (1)
- Morrison Government (1)
- MUA (2)
- National Broadband Network (3)
- national debt (1)
- New South Wales (1)
- OHS harmonisation (6)
- owner-drivers (5)
- penalty rates (2)
- productivity (10)
- Productivity Commission (1)
- profiles (4)
- red tape (5)
- research (5)
- Resources (1)
- responsibility (4)
- self-employment (34)
- shopping centres (2)
- Shorten Opposition (1)
- small business (54)
- small business commisioners (2)
- small business tax tribunal (1)
- stupid legislation (3)
- superannuation (3)
- taxation (9)
- technology (8)
- tradesmen (1)
- transparency (7)
- truckies (3)
- Turnbull Government (13)
- TWU (6)
- Uber (4)
- unemployment (1)
- union power (46)
- union violence (4)
- United Kingdom (2)
- United States (1)
- US politics (1)
- Victoria (9)
- Victorian election (2)
- Western Australia (1)
- white australia (1)
- work flexibility (8)
- work safety (7)
- work-life balance (7)
- workplace interaction (1)
Small Cost, Big Benefits