Outsourcing at irrational scale to serve greedy or desperate employers and investors -- emptying local employment, middle class hardest hit

It has been a rough ride for middle class Australians in the last couple of years.  I'm not even talking about ever rising prices of electricity, food, housing, transport, medical, insurance and other basic necessities. It is more challenging to hold a job with decent income to support your family for those with more responsibilities than self sustenance.

No longer does a good education and specialized skill guarantee you job security till pass middle age.

Starting with manufacturing, we thought that higher value added jobs could be retained locally. Not any more. IT (information technology), accounting services, and now legal services can be outsourced on a massive scale. Employers have no qualms about taking the sledge hammer to export jobs, with little consideration to coordination, sensitivity of information and understanding of local environment.

Labour intensive  -- Low cost component -- Assembly / Semi-skilled processes -- Design -- Innovation

Every industry and sector has no qualms and almost ridiculously competing to outsource each other -  textile/garment, light industry, banks, construction, telco, airlines, financial services, etc.  Eventually, when labour of developing nations become more highly educated, skilled and creative, which they will catch up with us sooner than later, even designing and innovative jobs can be shipped overseas.  Only few food and personal services and care could not be outsourced.

Just because everyone is doing it does not make it alright.

Despite the political soundbites in favour of protecting local jobs, there is little the federal or state government could do to interfere with private business decisions.

http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/prime-minister-julia-gillard-stop-outsourcing-australian-jobs-2

Hypocritically, even local governments contemplate outsourcing jobs.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/it-pro/government-it/councils-job-outsourcing-plans-breach-eba-union-20130107-2ccy0.html

On the surface, it makes good economic sense, from the employers' point of view. Capitalist economic theories teach us to the benefits of division of labour and comparative advantage. It's good for business by lowering to cost, doing what we are best at, and maximisig profits. Welcome to the real world of globalisation and competition. It does not take into consideration social stability and compromise quality of services.

No matter how hard you have worked, giving up your health and best part of your life and time, and no matter how good you may be at your job, and contributed to your company's growth and profits, employers can be ruthless and have skilled efficient workers who do not fit into their short term purely cost (not even profit) driven gameplan to cut jobs. The air of distrust and low morale pervades many workplaces of today. It is no wonder more people are falling sick, especially work anxiety.

If jobs can be neatly compartmentalized, could be performed efficiently and cheaply by skilled workers in India, China, Indonesia and Vietnam. We have nothing against individual workers overseas as they too need to make a living and probably work under less enviable terms and conditions.

The real culprits who should be made to answer the questions are the heartless creatures who decide on making every opportunity to outsource, regardless of its suitability. Mindless restructuring and outsourcing has created a vacuum. A small percentage of former staff laid off by companies have been re-employed as contract staff at higher salaries to fill the gaps that foreign labour are unable to accomplish. There you have a dumb decision immediately exposed. There will come a time, and it should be sooner, that senior management could be outsourced too, for making silly mistakes.

Adjustments are invariably difficult and take a long time to achieve positive results, if they in fact do so.  Our education reforms have met with funding shortage and strong resistance from educationists, parents and politicians. We would be hard pressed to develop relevant skills to keep jobs locally.

Depreciation of the unrealistically high Aussie dollar is inevitable. Australian goods and services have become uncompetitive. Life has been good to us in the recent past thanks to the mining boom. Australian travellers have been able to stretch the value of their dollar and enjoy during good times.

However, with the slowdown in exports, rising unemployment, high living costs and mortgage (despite rate decrease) becomes more painful.

To be employed and have a gainful employment for a large part of our lives is a basic human right. It is useless to talk about esoteric theories and ideals when we can't even carry on with decency and dignity.

This is going to be a cold, harsh and long winter.