Why pay is lagging - the collapse of unions, technology, globalization and outsourcing plus links to other news and views



Why Pay Is Lagging in a Tight Job Market - New York Times
A collapse in the rate of union membership for private-sector employees — to 6.5 percent last year from the upper teens in the early 1980s — appears to have played a key role in holding down wages. ... Technology and globalization have both made it easier for businesses to find cheaper alternatives to paying their workers more money. ... Companies have increasingly outsourced work once handled by their employees. And wages for work performed by contractors tend to be lower, because they don’t benefit as much from companies’ internal pay scales and their norms relating to fairness. Profitable businesses with generous pay scales tend to give low-skilled employees above-market wages. They appear to worry about the blow to morale and cohesion if they squeeze those workers while others share in the company’s prosperity. But once those jobs are pushed out of the company, wages fall to the market rate.
STREETVIEW: Fighting for the heart of Hartley - InDaily
We hit the streets of the most-watched electorate in South Australia - the eastern suburbs seat of Hartley - with incumbent MP Vincent Tarzia, who faces the fight of his political life against SA Best leader Nick Xenophon.
National integrity commission: got a better idea to strengthen public trust? - The Mandarin
A new federal watchdog is the only concrete idea on the table that confronts declining public trust in government. The APS would have to adapt to a new reality where there is more chance of dirty laundry being aired, but would that be such a bad thing?
Beware the #MeToo Backlash—It Masks Ugly Lies About Women - Human Rights Watch

ISIS’s War on Families Never Ended - Foreign Policy
The Islamic State's campaign for the hearts and minds of Syrian children may have laid the groundwork for its resurgence.
Why Bitcoin won't bite the dust - The Banker (requires free registration)
Ignore the naysayers: cryptocurrencies are more than just a passing fancy
Alleged abuser Leifer’s extradition hearing deferred for yet another six months - J Wire
She has canvassed politicians in Australia and Israel to have alleged chid sexual abuser Malka Leifer extradited to Australia to face 74 charges, but survivor Dassi Ehrlich has learned the Israel former principal pf Melbourne’s Adass Israel school has once again successfully avoided the extradition hearing. Victoria Police’s case for Leifer’s extradition has been thwarted by continual psychiatrist board reviews deciding she is not mentally fit to face a court. Last week, Ms Leifer convinced yet another psychiatrist review board in Israel that she was too unwell to face an extradition hearing.



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