Unions party under the Andrews’ Socialist Left

  1. 46,394 Posts.
    Good grief . From Bolts Blog.

    Daniel Andrews’ Socialist Left government won the last Victorian election by buying off public service unions with big pay rises, funded by taxpayers.
    Now other unions want their chop, too - particularly ones with political leverage - demanding pay rises that most taxpayers could only dream of:

    The decision by the Rail, Tram and Bus Union to plunge the transport network into strike-induced chaos on a cold, wet Thursday did seem premature, with the union and Yarra Trams scheduled to continue talks on Friday morning.
    And to many Victorians, Yarra Trams’ pay offer – worth about 15 per cent over four years – would probably seem pretty reasonable, even generous in the economic climate.
    Indeed, wage growth has been relatively modest. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, average hourly pay rates (excluding bonuses) in Victoria crept up by 2.6 per cent over the year to June…
    Part of the problem faced by Labor is that pay expectations are at a heightened level, with a generous pay deal given to paramedics being used as an industrial template. The Health Workers Union, for example, wants a 20 per cent pay rise over four years.
    The Police Association also appears to be preparing the ground for a bold pay claim…
    The trouble is, such play claims are inevitably expensive. State treasury is understood to have estimated that every 1 per cent increase in police pay costs about $12 million, including on-costs. For nurses, the hit to the budget from a 1 per cent pay increase is more like $30 million.
    UPDATE
    Judith Sloan:
    But you have to give it to Dan the Man Andrews and his comrades, they really know how to get on with the job, to punish their enemies and install their mates in well-paid positions.
    Seconds after they had been sworn in:
    - The government construction code was abolished;
    - The move on laws (unionists and their mates blockading businesses)were rescinded;
    - Right-of-entry for union officials was made easier;
    - The East-West Link contract was cancelled and Victorian taxpayers have paid in excess of $600 million for nothing (real figure will forever be fudged);
    - All the members of the water boards were sacked
    - The board of Ambulance Victoria was shown the door and an egregiously generous settlement was made with the ambos who had (illegally) defaced public property and refused to deal with the Coalition government, knowing all along that they would be generously rewarded for their political support;
    - The Victorian Efficiency and Competition Commission was abolished and all the workers were sacked, notwithstanding the entreaties of former Labor premiers, Bracks and Brumby (they are both out in the cold; sensible advice is not welcomed by the Andrews government);
    - The board of VLine was sacked.
    The Andrews Government has closed more projects than it’s started.
 
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