Hire and fire !

Precisely a year after winning office the Federal Labor government has presented it's " Fair Work Bill ".

This replaces " Work Choice " and there is no doubt that it has a mandate for change. The then opposition and the unions demonized Work Choice - but the voters clearly saw it as one of the reasons for the big swing to a Socialist regime.

The new bill signals a return to collective bargaining and the unions will again have a prominent position in representing their members at the bargaining table.

There will be a new umpire. The old Australian Industrial Relations Commission ( AIRC ) will be disbanded in favour of " Fair Work Australia ".

We will probably see a return of union thuggery and the new legislation will extend to small firms with a limited work force - and for the first time will cover casuals.

There is just one clause in this new regime that will make it unworkable.

The " Unfair Dismissal " definition now no longer recognises " Operational reasons as an acceptable reason for dismissal ".

This seems to be accommodating the union view that " There never is and never will be a valid reason for an employee to be dismissed ".

This comes at a critical time for Australian industry. We are at the start of an economic downturn and the government expects unemployment to rise as demand for goods and services retreats.

This provision in the Fair Work bill removes the employers right to hire and fire - and that is the basis of economic management.

When things are booming more people are hired - and when there is a downturn it is necessary to reduce the work force.

It seems that we are going back to the bad old days before Work Choice, when employers refused to take on new people and persisted on working a smaller work force with huge amounts of overtime.

This was despite record unemployment and the clear need for an expanded work force - but hampered by the cost and hassle of trying to downsize.

A savvy union official could delay a case in the courts for months - and many employers accepted that it was cheaper to pay an excess member $ 30,000 to resolve the matter than to continue court action.

It seems to be a case of union agitation influencing socialist thinking.

If the economic downturn becomes as bad as some pundits predict this refusal to recognise the employers right to hire and fire will make what is otherwise a good piece of legislation unworkable !

Those seeking work will be the losers !