Monday, October 24, 2005
Fucking horrifying! As I've said, I don't consider myself a political blogger, and I don't tend to get that outraged over government policy. But sometimes things are just so fucking horrifying that I am stumped.
Like the official telephone script for the Federal Government's WorkChoices hotline, which was leaked onto the internet by Rob Corr and showed up in today's Crider subscriber email. It is really reprehensible how much public money the Howard government spends on expensive advertising and PR campaigns. But one of the most wasteful things they've done is set up this massively overstaffed Canberra call centre, at which the poor phone monkeys are given only this Sir Humphrey-esque document to answer the public's questions about the new IR laws.
Two of the sillier questions were reported in today's Crider:
Q: How do I know if I'm employed by a Constitutional Corporation?
A: If you are not sure about whether or not your employer is a Constitutional Corporation you should first ask your employer whether they know if their business is a Constitutional corporation. If your employer is also unsure about whether their business is a Constitutional corporation then they may seek independent legal advice on this matter.
Q: What is the total spending on Communication campaigns?
A: At this stage, the planned scope and form of the information campaign has not been finalised. So, no precise figures are available as to the total amount of money that will be spent on the campaign.
But the part that fucking horrified me was this:
The "freedom" to choose if you want a fucking job or not? How does this possibly square with the mutual obligation crap they've been pushing for the last ten years, which is all about forcing people into the workforce regardless of their personal circumstances or preferences? As for the part about it not being "duress", I just don't understand how the government feels it's possible to bully people into signing some agreement that gives away all sorts of rights, under the threat of withholding employment, and call that 'negotiation' rather than 'duress'.
I realise I am not saying anything new here, but it really does make me want to put my head in my fucking hands. I feel really sorry for the phone monkeys. Apparently hardly anyone is calling the 'hot'line, and half the monkeys face losing their jobs. Don't worry, monkeys - you can always 'negotiate' a new one!
Like the official telephone script for the Federal Government's WorkChoices hotline, which was leaked onto the internet by Rob Corr and showed up in today's Crider subscriber email. It is really reprehensible how much public money the Howard government spends on expensive advertising and PR campaigns. But one of the most wasteful things they've done is set up this massively overstaffed Canberra call centre, at which the poor phone monkeys are given only this Sir Humphrey-esque document to answer the public's questions about the new IR laws.
Two of the sillier questions were reported in today's Crider:
Q: How do I know if I'm employed by a Constitutional Corporation?
A: If you are not sure about whether or not your employer is a Constitutional Corporation you should first ask your employer whether they know if their business is a Constitutional corporation. If your employer is also unsure about whether their business is a Constitutional corporation then they may seek independent legal advice on this matter.
Q: What is the total spending on Communication campaigns?
A: At this stage, the planned scope and form of the information campaign has not been finalised. So, no precise figures are available as to the total amount of money that will be spent on the campaign.
But the part that fucking horrified me was this:
The "freedom" to choose if you want a fucking job or not? How does this possibly square with the mutual obligation crap they've been pushing for the last ten years, which is all about forcing people into the workforce regardless of their personal circumstances or preferences? As for the part about it not being "duress", I just don't understand how the government feels it's possible to bully people into signing some agreement that gives away all sorts of rights, under the threat of withholding employment, and call that 'negotiation' rather than 'duress'.
I realise I am not saying anything new here, but it really does make me want to put my head in my fucking hands. I feel really sorry for the phone monkeys. Apparently hardly anyone is calling the 'hot'line, and half the monkeys face losing their jobs. Don't worry, monkeys - you can always 'negotiate' a new one!
