Was that the beginning of privatisation of electrical services?
It was the beginning of the end for a lot of things. It was the beginning of corporatisation; the beginning of privatisation and economic rationalism. It was the beginning of the use of private contractors. The fundamental principle of the dispute was they wanted to use contractors. We wanted to make sure we kept a permanent workforce, and for a lot of social reasons as well, not just for our own benefit. Once you give everything over to the private sector, you’ve only got employment over the length of the job (on a contract basis). How do you pay off the house? How do you raise your kids? That was the premise that we fought on. We lost it. And now, basically we’re suffering the consequences, and not just in the electricity industry. Just look at every industry that’s contracting out. Hardly any apprentices are getting trained. There is an international skills shortage. I might be a bit passionate about this one area, but I reckon once you’ve looked at this dispute everything stems fro
