TRUCK drivers have seized control of a narrow bridge on the Hume Highway near Gundagai in New South Wales and created a blockade causing traffic chaos.

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Good on them I say. They have appalling working conditions which make them a danger to other road users.

My cousin was a truck driver for years. He made Melbourne-Brisbane-Melbourne trips in 18 hours. He was on speed on every long trip, he said, as were all the other driver; only those working for the huge companies could afford to do without it. He agrees, the truck drivers are dangerous. Why do they drive like that? So they can have 3 or 4 day weekends. The new laws the government is trying to introduce, which thsoe truckers were complaining about, are a bloody good idea, and will probably save lives.

Trade and labour unions in Australia have too much power. Remember the MUA pickets a few years ago? They were breaking a federal laws whihc states that no protest or picket can prevent people from doing their jobs or going wherever they want. By simply being in the way, they broke a federal law. Yet our pansy bloody police did not throw the bunch of them in prison. MUA union reps make something like AU$180,000 per year. What do wharfies do? They move boxes around. In any decent society, people who move boxes should be paid less than those who volunteer to stand between guns and those box-movers; in other words, that money should go to the military and the police. These box-moving whingers have nothing to complain about.

The MUA is only one union.

The majority of the benefits <i>you</i> enjoy in the workplace are a direct result of unions. You were in the RAN, I believe, read about the conditions aboard Men of War a couple of centuries ago. I bet you would not have volunteered.

Oh, we need unions all right. But we also need them regulated. The unions, however, don't want regulation; the people in charge simply want more power and money for themselves.

Actually I propose a very simple limit on unions: It should be illegal to strike for any more money than 1.5 times or 2 times the average weekly wage.

It should be illegal to strike for any more money than 1.5 times or 2 times the average weekly wage.

I'd strike for double my pay :)

What regulations would you impose on industry to keep the "playing field" level?

Companies must comply with regulations developed by the OH&S people. http://www.safesci.unsw.edu.au/gens8003/module1/ohs.htm That's the company's responsibility. A healthy and safe workplace, with one standard set by the federal government. And unions can't strike for any more than 2x the avergae wage, for example. Now, given that you're in good working conditions, if two times the average wage isn't good enough for you, quit and look for another job.

The average wage is around $800-$900 per week. I get nowhere near that.

What about corporate CEOs who get millions? Is that right?

Not, it sucks. Corporate CEO's would have no right to strike. Such executives are not worth that much money. These days they usually hold those positions at the top for only two or three years, so we can't say they have experience worth that much money. They simply don't deserve it. Shareholders have the right to vote for execs who will work for less money. If people making decision for a company have any brains at all, they will vote to reduce executive wages so that money can instead be spent on the company.