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| Winter 2005 |
IMAGINE THE CHOICES
Imagine the choice a worker would face in the following real-life situations once unfair dismissal laws are changed and they could be instantly dismissed with no comeback.
CHOICE 1.
Jenny is a young worker, fresh out of school, who lands a job as a carer in a nursing home. She hasn't been inducted properly or had any training and injures her back lifting a patient the first week.
Does Jenny
a) make a compo claim,
b) tell the manager she needs time off, or
c) just keep working despite the risk of further aggravating the injury, or even causing a debilitating, life-long injury?
CHOICE 2.
Frank is a middle- aged man working as a health professional in a private firm. He is a father of three paying maintenance, and now only able to see his children every second weekend. His manager rings up and says he now needs to work Saturdays.
Does Frank
a) risk his job and say no, or
b) see even less of his children?
CHOICE 3.
Angela is a mother of three who works at a private hospital as a receptionist 3 days a week. She is married and her extra income is paying for some additional school tuition for one of her children, and to pay for the costs of her son who has won a place in the Tasmanian representative soccer team. The manager says there's a restructure occurring, everyone is being offered individual contracts with significantly reduced hours and rates.
Does Angela
a) risk her job and say no she's not signing,
b) tell her children there's no extra tuition and no reps team and accept the contract and pay cut, or
c) resign and hope she can find another job?
CHOICE 4.
Francis is single mother of three who works as a community nurse in a private not-for-profit organisation. She has had a settled pattern for some time but has had some run-ins in the past with the nurse manager over rosters and workloads. She is told she now has to work some night shifts and her caseload is going to increase.
Does Francis
a) refuse and risk her job, or
b) pay for carers to look after her children and take the pay cut and do the night shifts?
CHOICE 5.
Bob is a 55 year-old man who has been working all his life as a carpenter / maintenance person in a small private hospital. The hospital has been taken over by another company and a young manager wants to make his mark. He tells Bob that they are reviewing costs and looking at bringing outside contractors in to do the work. He offers Bob a future on an individual contract with lesser rates and conditions.
Does Bob
a) tell him to stick it and look for another job as a 55 year-old carpenter,
b) argue with him and risk instant dismissal, or
c) sign the contract?
"Choice. We just want to give people a choice!" It's a word the Federal Government and John
Howard are always promoting when they make changes to laws. But is it really about choice, or being channeled down a particular path?
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