Margaret Thatcher broke the power of the unions during her time as Britain's Prime Minister.
Australia has old-fashioned union arrangements and needs "a dose of Margaret Thatcher," says Mark Adamson, the British chief executive of Fletcher Building.
On a media call following the release of Fletcher's annual profit, Adamson said he had been "amazed" at both the level of salaries and inefficiencies in Australia. He
took the top job at Fletcher last October, having run the company's Laminex & Panels division, based in the US.
"I do come across unions and union arrangements the likes of which I haven't come across since I was a child in the UK in the 1970s," Adamson said. Australia needs "a dose of Margaret Thatcher."
Nick-named 'The Iron Lady', Thatcher was British prime minister between 1979 and 1990, during which time her government privatised state assets, deregulated industry, closed unprofitable coal mines and broke the power of the unions as part of what became known as 'Thatcherism.'
Australia was the black spot in Fletcher's latest results, with operating earnings before one-time items falling 22 per cent. The company garners 45 per cent of its sales in New Zealand and 50 per cent of EBIT, while Australia generates 43 per cent in revenue but only 36 per cent of earnings.
