Charter of Contractual Fairness
On 1 July we launched our Charter of Contractual Fairness

We have heavily drawn the principles of contract fairness from the new consumer unfair contract protections laws. If it's fair for consumers, it's fair for small business people - the self-employed and independent contractors.

We are currently writing to Australian corporations asking them to commit to contract fairness in their dealings with small business people.
Election Face-off 2010
Here's how the 2 sides currently shape up for small business/self employed people! (10 July 2010)
Gillard's ALP

So far, they've told us "here's what we've done!"

• Started a superannuation clearing house
• Begun a small business online inquiry service
• Established a Small Business Advisory Committee
• New liability contract guidelines for government procurement
• National Business Name Registration
• A new guide for self-employed people
Abbott's Coalition
They've announced the first part of "here's what we're going to do!"

• A dedicated Small Business Minister who will be in Cabinet
• A new Small Business Ombudsman to handle and resolve small business complaints about the federal government
• The extension of consumer unfair contract protections to small business people
• Retention of the current self-employed (PSI) tax laws
• Stop small business red tape on Paid Parental Leave
• Mr Abbott's and Mr Billson's joint press release
What we've been asking for
• The extension of consumer unfair contract protections to small business people

• Retention of the current self-employed (PSI) tax laws. Our letter to the PM (28 May 2010)

Failure to fix unfair business contracts
ICA says "extend unfair contract protections for consumers to small business".

New laws:
Legislation #1 (March 2010)
Legislation #2 (June 2010)

Here's our summary of the situation.
How the legislation defines unfair contract terms.
Why small business people should have TPA protections from unfair contracts.
We need an answer on tax, please
We've made it quite clear that self-employed (PSI) tax should not be changed.

We've written to the PM for an answer, but we do not yet have a reply.

Tony Abbott has been clear. NO change!
Industry/Retail super funds must come out
The Cooper Review into superannuation says the big funds are not disclosing enough and must be forced to do so. This is vital. See Chapter 4.

Here's why workers' money is at risk if disclosure is not enforced.
Look after your retirement
The Cooper Review of superannuation says Self Managed Super Funds are good and need little change to existing arrangements. This is welcome. See Chapter 8.

The Report also seems to have stopped the attack against SMSF's.
Stand Up for Your (Contract) Rights!
We're monitoring contracts in general and promoting good contracts in particular. For example:
Another bad contract (Jun 2010)
One of the worst contracts we've seen (Jan 2010)
'Tom' versus DEEWR (Nov 2009)
But a positive development from government
Ken Phillips comments
And some interesting discussions
Central Banks on Debt
Since mid-May, central banks have been worried about sovereign debt. Click here for a list of useful links and summaries.
Problems with Phoenix companies
Two ICA members' tell their stories
ATO information on reporting suspect activity.

Govt's attempts to do something:
ICA comment

Newspaper comment:
The Australian
The Age/Sydney Morning Herald
Business Spectator

What 'Tom' thinks
What 'Jim' thinks
Dick Davies Writes...
"...the human fabric of the workplace precedes in importance that of technology!"
Dick Davies prods us to think about management, independence and motivation. Click here.
Stop Sham Contracts!
ICA supports the prevention of sham contracts. We monitor what's happening with them:
One person's story
Successful FWO prosecution (Dec 2009)
Info from Fair Work Ombudsman (July 2009)
First sham contract prosecution: ICA summary
Make a complaint to FWO
Business Spectator article
Read the debate
... Unquote
The Pessimists' Economic Views
(Posted January 2010)
We've brought together some pessimistic views about economics and likely economic trends in 2010:
US toxic loans
'US as sick as Greece'
Ken Phillips's summary
An 'IMF' perspective
Predicting 2010
Government debt a giant ponzi scheme?


Click to enlarge.

Ken Phillips on the debt equation


Watching Goldman Sachs
Rolling Stone magazine has blown the lid on Goldman Sachs:
Article 1 [July 2009]
Article 2 [April 2010]
Article 3 [May 2010]
Tax burden: UK versus Australia
Just as the UK is moving toward more sensible small business (contractor) tax laws, in Australia we're having to defend the progress we've made.
Laughing lawyers
You'll be amazed by the 'slips' that some lawyers make in court.

Independents and the Future of Work


2 February 2010

I had a transformative experience in my late twenties when I got a job that totally changed my notion of work.

In other places I had worked, I had been drearily aware of needing to look busy, be careful about who was allowed to be told what, never be seen leaving early and so on. It was made clear who you had to salute and who you could look down on.

At the new job, I was amazed early on when I mentioned to the boss's secretary that I needed a filing cabinet, imagining this to be the start of a drawn out campaign. She handed me a brochure and asked which one I wanted. Gradually I came to realise that I had come to work in a place where trust was the norm, along with the assumption that people actually came to work with the purpose of doing something worthwhile. And, do you know, I still remember vividly the pride and sense of responsibility that were born in me at that time.

Over the years it became clearer to me what the key difference was between that company and others I had experienced. In a nutshell, it was designed to locate power with knowledge, not position. If a decision was being made, the issue was what was the right thing for the business. If you had a big job, your responsibility was to make sure that the people who had something to chip in were consulted, and make sure they argued things out where there were disagreements.

People in this environment had autonomy. As individuals they were equals, peers in terms of their right to recognition and trust. If they had a view relevant to the business, they were free to express it. Passionate conflict was part of the process, and people were expected to take their contribution to the business seriously.

This autonomy is, I think, a very different thing from today's much vaunted empowerment which sounds like a rather condescending delegation of choice in specified areas. In my company, if something was wrong and you knew it, you were expected to get it fixed, even if you had to scream your head off, and never mind who might be embarrassed or inconvenienced. It wasn't always pretty, but it was wonderfully productive.

Last week, Prime Minister Rudd was telling Australians that a rise in productivity will be needed for the nation to meet its commitments to pensioners as the population ages.

As I look at employment in Australia, it occurs to me that the knowledge of how to develop a work environment like the one I have described lies largely with independents. But independents have neither the financial resources nor the infrastructure to build it themselves on any scale, far less to have influence at the commanding heights of the economy.

On the other hand, big organisations, public and private, have money and infrastructure, but lack the knowledge of the independents' work style. I believe that independent workers could take a central role in creating the rise in productivity that the prime minister is calling for. Furthermore, were they to do so, they would bring great benefit to themselves and everybody else working in Australia.

Over the next few weeks, I'll offer some ideas of how this could be brought about.

What do you think about Dick's thoughts on this issue? If you would like to contribute your own thoughts, please e-mail your contribution to us at: dickdavies@contractworld.com.au.