Life of Riley: Stiff bickies
The Arnott's extortion attempt has hit the innocent hardest: the company, its employees and shareholders. The day the story broke, Arnott's shares fell 25 cents; after only three days 300 casual employees were stood down in Brisbane and Adelaide and permanent staff have been asked to take voluntary annual leave.
This is one thing this country can little afford.
Through no fault of their own, the livelihood of hard-working individuals are held to ransom. It would be hard to imagine a more callous act.
But then, extortion of this nature may not be so isolated. Indeed, it has become something of a norm. The major difference is that the other variety is legal.
An employer can sack workers if productivity doesn't rise as demanded. That's legal, but it is extortion nonetheless.
Governments fill in their budgetary black holes by hitting the guiltless — the sick, the unemployed. Why should we go along with this? Because we are forced to; besides, it's legal.
Come to think of it, we are probably reluctant to give up anything we have gained over the years. No one forfeits their job unless they are forced to. We "go along" with the cutbacks because we are intimidated into silence.
If the management at Arnott's had laid off staff and cut back production because it suited them, that would not be extortion, just stiff bickies.
The major difference this time around is that the extortionist is not the company director.
In the meantime, here we are without our Tim Tams. No country can succumb to such acts of forced denial. First it was the mettwurst, then the peanut butter. Now — unless Mum bakes up a batch of Anzacs — we go without our favourite pastries.
Isn't it enough that we confront job losses and the dismantling of welfare benefits, down-sizing and user pays, without having to go without such morsels? Give us a break: the belly comes first. Economics after.
We innocents are always the hardest hit.
By Dave Riley (E-mail: dhell@ozemail.com.au)