Workchoices

"10 inch or 12 inch bitch?"

Same job but one gets $4987 less than the other

October 20, 2005

Two people work side by side, doing the same job in the same workplace. One is paid $5000; the other gets $13, after tax.

It's hardly a good advertisement for the Federal Government's allegedly fairer proposed industrial relations regime; which is ironic, because that's exactly what it is: a Government ad for its WorkChoices regime.

Cameron Meadows is one worker who got $13, or two hours' overtime, for appearing in one of the WorkChoices ads. He is one of four people in the ad who is not an actor but a worker at a factory used as a backdrop.

The actors pretending to be happy workers were, according to industry sources, paid about $5000 for their performances.

Quite apart from the matter of pay, there is the matter of choice. The actors got to make an informed choice about whether or not they would appear in the ad; Mr Meadows did not.

He told Channel Nine he had no idea he would be part of the Government's propaganda campaign. No idea, in fact, that he would even be seen on television. As Mr Meadows related it, he was simply told by his boss at the Melbourne company where he worked until recently as a welder to "get the workshop ready because there is a crew coming in to film stuff for WorkSafe".

"But it isn't even, it's not WorkSafe is it?" he said.

Contrast this with conditions under which actors work, conditions nutted out by their union. Under standard contracts, they get told exactly what it is they are being asked to promote. They get a chance to say no if they don't like the sound of it. If the ad gets a bigger run than originally planned, they have residual rights and can get extra money.

The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance is concerned that these standard contacts could be at risk, but for now actors are doing all right out of pretending to be happy workers, creating the high-wage illusion while genuine workers experience the low-wage reality.

Here's a hint Johnny, if you want to convince people that workchoices are good for them, don't rape the people you hire to be in the ads.