What is at Issue: Dismissal or building employee ownership and staff loyalty?

By Klaas Woldring

The issue of the unfair dismissal vs. management's unfettered right of dismissing staff has derailed the IR debate. This is an old and fruitless confrontation.

In a climate of business badly needing to attract and retain competent staff it seems counterproductive that any more time and energy should be spent on that. The entire IR "reform" agenda of the Howard Government is frozen in a time warp and, sadly, the union response has mostly been likewise. Wake up Australia! Can we stop wasting time, energy and money? There is real work to be done primarily by employees and employers themselves, not some third party which is to arbitrate between old adversaries. Collective ownership bangs on the door of the enterprise itself. We are talking about developing employee ownership cultures, about involving staff at all levels, and building loyalty. That is where government should direct its energies and where unions can rebuild their membership base.

(Worksite: issues in workplace relations)