A Relationship Dominated by Employment Relations

Gaby Ramia

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-42054-3_2

Abstract

AbstractAn identifiable relationship between employment relations and social policy began in earnest in Australia and New Zealand before anywhere else, during the quarter-century before World War I. The relationship was not one with equal partners, as the two arms of social protection had different starting points. In his account of the wage-earners’ welfare state, Castles (1985) makes that clear. His narrative misses key aspects of protection, however, which were to prove important both within the period and as each national regime developed into the future. The objective of this chapter is to account for the employment relations and social policy dimensions of social protection in the Australian and New Zealand settings with reference to the period from the 1890s until the War.

Highlights

An identifiable relationship between employment relations and social policy began in earnest in Australia and New Zealand before anywhere else, during the quarter-century before World War I
The objective of this chapter is to account for the employment relations and social policy dimensions of social protection in the Australian and New Zealand settings with reference to the period from the 1890s until the Great War
While social protection in Australia resulted from the pursuit of a largely labourist political strategy, the New Zealand story was different

Summary

Introduction

An identifiable relationship between employment relations and social policy began in earnest in Australia and New Zealand before anywhere else, during the quarter-century before World War I. The relationship was not one with equal partners, as the two arms of social protection had different starting points. In his account of the wage-earners’ welfare state, Castles (1985) makes that clear. His narrative misses key aspects of protection, which were to prove important both within the period and as each national regime developed into the future. Employment relations were the predominant protective dimension in both countries

Ramia, Governing Social Protection in the Long Term, Global Dynamics of Social

Findings

Conclusion