I read the transcripts of the proceedings before this committee, and one witness who appeared was Mr. McDermott, who is not a union representative, not an employee representative; he's a senior, long-standing member of the Labour Department, and was involved in the Sims task force. His evidence was pretty clear, and I want to quote from it, because it's the feeling our member employers have. This is what he said:
In contrast to the intensive consultations held when labour laws have previously been amended, there appears to have been no attempt to reconcile differing views. The process invites retaliation and corrosive pendulum swings in the event of changes in the political conjuncture. It manifestly ignores the delicate balance achieved when part I was last comprehensively reviewed. It offers a one-sided and piecemeal addition to the statute that gives no compensating provision to those who disagree.
Our view is simply that. We are looking for an illness. We have a pill, and there is no illness.