unions wage stagnation
(Image: AAP)

This is no Accord, ABC’s framing leaves a lot to be desired, and the Church of Scientology wants you. Catch up with all the latest Tips and Murmurs from the Crikey bunker.

Having a good crisis

Despite the coverage, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s “peace in our timesheets” speech on industrial relations is not a return to the Accord. Here are a few material differences:

  • Union density in the early 1980s was almost 50%. Today it’s less than 15%.
  • In the 1970s there were an average of 2368 industrial disputes a year (losing 542 days every 1000 workers), and in the 1980s it was 1919 (losing 312 days). In the 2010s (as of 2018) the average was down to 198 and the days lost per thousand workers was 14.
  • Since 2006 there have been strict restrictions on when a workforce can legally strike, and the Fair Work Commission retains incredible discretion to prevent industrial action.
  • Some number-crunching of ABS stats from Bernard Keane (download here) tells us the average GDP per hour worked — the broadest indicator of labour productivity — was 0.5% per quarter between 1980 and 1985. Under the Coalition it has been 0.2%.

Given the union movement’s decidedly rubbish hand at the moment, employer groups would be forgiven for thinking they were going to get a good deal out of all this “put your weapons down” talk.

And to give some indication of their optimism: on April 15 a number of law firms applied to amend the legal services award which covers law graduates, and legal, clerical and administrative employees.

The proposed amendments, ostensibly necessary due to the COVID-19 pandemic, included the ability to reduce hours of work, direct employees to take annual leave at half pay, or take unpaid leave during a workplace close-down. Yesterday, for whatever reason, the application was withdrawn.

ABC … still watching

At a glance who would strike you as the wronged party in this story tweeted by ABC news this morning?

Despite the impression of the clickbait “you’ll never guess the merry mix-up that led to this” framing, here’s what actually happens in the video: a masked woman tells a man filming her, “I’m going to call the police and tell them there’s an African-American man threatening my life.” It’s a threat lead-heavy with allusion after allusion after allusion.

And then (with what appears to be an affectation of panic like a character in a Jordan Peele film) that’s precisely what she does. Why? Because a stranger politely asked her to leash her dog.

That should be the newsworthy element of this ugly episode. The ABC swiftly deleted the tweet, and replaced it with a weird half-apology:

Scientology in the 7-Eleven?

If you are searching for spiritual succour in these difficult times, do we have news for you. Bad news.

The Church of Scientology is apparently making a push for members, putting not-at-all misleading brochures into 7-Elevens around the country (such as this one in Brisbane):

So you might say there is a heartless, profit-minded, vindictive company putting its brochures in 7-Eleven.

Doesn’t know whether he’s Cummings or goings

Just how much will the UK government put up with on behalf of Dominic Cummings?

While a junior minster quit in protest, Boris Johnson adviser and Brexit architect Cummings has refused to resign after multiple breaches of lockdown laws.

Johnson has defended him, as has Attorney-General Suella Braveman, who tweeted: “Protecting one’s family is what any good parent does.” Except that 14,000 Brits have been fined for breaching lockdown laws.

Beyond the rank hypocrisy, there may be serious legal implications — as the Byline Times says this could open the door to a flood of appeals. Will Johnson stand by his man if his actions end up rendering the lockdown completely unenforceable?

Far right watch

Fresh from spending 20 minutes practically unchallenged telling Kyle and Jackie O listeners his theories about vaccines — as Kyle “people need to do their own research” Sandilands jostled to reclaim his “dumbest guy in the room” status — celebrity chef Pete Evans is continuing his lurch to the far right.

Today he’s going on far-right YouTuber Dia Beltran’s channel. Beltran has links with far-right activists Neil Erikson and Blair Cottrell, and was spotted at a Victorian Liberal Party function last year, raising fears that the far right is attempting to infiltrate the party as it had the young Nationals.

Trump watch

Twitter has slapped a fact-check label on one of President Donald Trump’s tweets for the first time after he tweeted a lot of unsubstantiated nonsense about mail-in ballots.

This follows a series of tweets promoting a baseless murder conspiracy aimed at a political rival. The platform let that one slide.

When Trump inevitably responded that Twitter was “interfering in the 2020 presidential election”, who should offer its services but Gab — the favoured social media platform of neo-nazi murders.