IR Reform:
WHO REALLY WINS?

Who are the real winners and losers under the Howard government's industrial relations reforms? We think you can work it out for yourselves. Here are some hints:

1. If workers in firms with fewer than 100 employees have lost their protection against unfair dismissal (not to be confused with unlawful dismissal), and if all other workers have lost their protection against unfair dismissal as long as their employers can claim "operational requirements", how will this effect workers' ability to get home loans? And how will that affect the value of your home?
2. If workers' wages become more dependent on the workers' own bargaining power, which kind of workers will lose more: those with more bargaining power, or those with less? In the past, have these workers been comparatively well-paid or poorly-paid? Are they more likely to be home owners or renters? How will this affect the rents received by mum-and-dad property investors, and the values of their investments?
3. If small employers initially become more profitable, how will this affect their ability to pay rent for commercial premises? And how will that affect commercial rents, and prices of commercial property?
4. Will commercial landlord be winners or losers? What about residential landlords? So will the winners tend to be bigger or smaller than the losers?

There — that wasn't hard, was it?

Copyright © Gavin R. Putland, Research Officer, Prosper Australia (www.prosper.org.au, www.earthsharing.org.au, www.lvrg.org.au). Permission is given to copy and distribute Prosper Australia Talking Points verbatim in any medium provided this notice is preserved.