| Volume 24 Number 3 | October 1999 |
Special Symposium:
Recent Developments in Australian Industrial Relations: A Unique Experience?
Special Symposium: Recent Developments in Australian Industrial Relations: A Unique Experience? |
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Messrs Bray and Ostenfeld introduce the symposium and its broad discussion of neo-liberalism and the particular reforms which have been recently introduced into Australian industrial relations.
Ms Bennett defines post-war Australian industrial relations as falling into three periods: a period where the labour movement was on the offensive, a second more difficult to define transitional period, and a third period where employers have attempted to gain more power. These periods are discussed, with the particular swings and shifts in Australian industrial relations seen as being tied to changes in the broader political economy.
Mr Briggs' paper outlines the theoretical framework for examining national union federations, as well as the rise and eventual decline of the ACTU in the 1990s. Explanations for the changing role and influence of the ACTU in Australian industrial relations are also offered, with the author arguing that the decline and transition of the ACTU as being primarily related to the erosion of the ACTU's sources of unity and centralised authority.
Renewed interest in "individualism" as an organising principle in the employment relationship has been a characteristic of contemporary developments in Australian industrial relations. State and Commonwealth legislative encouragement of individual contract formation, coupled with the diffusion and adoption of individualistic HRM techniques have fuelled the perception that collective industrial relations are consciously and systematically being replaced with newly individualised employment relations. Mr Waring's article firstly considers those factors that have given rise to this renewed interest in individualising employment relations. In particular, it provides a critical assessment of the various rationales behind the use of "individualism" as a management strategy and as a basis for government policy. Secondly, the author considers the extent to which Australian industrial relations has acutally been individualised. The conclusion is that whilst collective forms of industrial relations remain dominant, there is evidence of a growing trend towards individualism in Australian industrial relations policy and practice.
Ms Strachan and Ms Jamieson's article examines various aspects of equal opportunity policies in Australia: equal pay, affirmative action, work and family policies, enterprise bargaining and hours of work. After considering these areas, the authors argue that the role of the State is vitally important in matters of equal opportunity. They also conclude that at both state and federal levels, governments and state agencies continue to be central to both specific EEO initiatives and to the broader legislative and policy arrangements that affect the efficacy of EEO policies.
In response to crises, often associated with pressures from an increasingly internationalised economy, capitalist states have taken steps to distance themselves, not only from economic management but from the management of their own employees. In the analysis of this depoliticisation, however, there has been a failure to give sufficient attention to the role of labour and the manner in which the interaction between labour and management shapes the process of change. The authors examine developments within the Australian public service and attempt to redress this inadequacy. They find an inherent tension between the devolution and decentralisation implicit in depoliticisation, and the role of government employment as a model or flagship for the Coalition government's industrial relations agenda.
Adjudication in the Employment Tribunal: Some Facts and Figures on Caseload and Representation
Ian McAndrew
Dr McAndrew presents a statistical introduction to decisions of the New Zealand Employment Tribunal, with data from the Employment Cases Database under construction at the University of Otago. The report examines the range of subjects dealt with in Tribunal adjudications, highlighting personal grievances, and particularly dismissal grievances, as constituting the major substantive workload of the Tribunal in its adjudication jurisdiction. Various characteristics of the case and of the parties to the case are also examined, and are revealed to be correlated with the outcomes of cases in certain circumstances.
[ Click here for the full text of this article ]
The authors report the results of their most recent survey of trade union membership, which continues on from earlier surveys from 1991 to 1997 published previously in the Journal. The results reveal the continuing decline in trade union membership in the post-Employment Contracts Act environment, as well as the conflicting trends of union amalgamation and the emergence of smaller, localised unions in some areas.
November 1997 - March 1998
Erling Rasmussen and Ian McIntosh
A round-up of recent New Zealand industrial relations events from May to July 1999.
Information on recent, non-indexed NZJIR issues can be found by clicking on the appropriate links below.
Volume 23, Number 2 - June 1998
Volume 23, Number 3 - October 1998
Volume 24, Number 1 - February 1999
Volume 24, Number 2 - June 1999
Volume 24, Number 3 - October 1999
Volume 25, Number 1 - February 2000
Volume 25, Number 2 - June 2000
Volume 25, Number 3 - October 2000
Volume 26, Number 1 - February 2001
Volume 26, Number 2 - June 2001
Volume 26, Number 3 - October 2001
Volume 27, Number 1- February 2002
Volume 27, Number 2- June 2002
Volume 27, Number 3 - October 2002
Volume 28, Number 1- February 2003
Volume 28, Number 2- June 2003
Volume 28, Number 3- October 2003
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