Fair Work Research Articles

Digital togetherness as everyday resistance: The use of new media in addressing work exploitation in rural areas

The literature on spatial-temporal barriers shows that temporary migrant workers are vulnerable to exploitation and has concentrated on how they utilize new media to address underpayment and exploitation. These studies, however, have left unexplored the agency, temporality, and spatial considerations that underpin why workers prefer to activate “informal” mechanisms of complaint rather than accessing “formal” channels of redress, such as the Fair Work Ombudsman or labor unions. Using Working Holiday Makers in Australia as an example, this article focuses on digital togetherness generated through new media. I argue that digital interactions on new media platforms not only change the spatial-temporal limit of temporary migrant workers, but also create digital togetherness and connect workers with different imagined others (customers, arriving migrant workers, and workers who are facing exploitation). This connection can become an everyday resistance strategy, a remedy to space–time limits, and potentially challenge asymmetrical power relations between workers and employers.

Offline contexts of online jobs: Platform drivers, decent work, and informality in Lagos, Nigeria

SummaryMotivationThe Sustainable Development Goals targets include decent work for all by 2030 but progress in sub‐Saharan Africa has been slow. Over the past five years, the platform work sector (e‐hailing platforms in particular) has expanded considerably on the continent, providing work opportunities to the growing urban populations. The quality of this work, however, is heavily contested.PurposeWe deepen and extend our understanding of the gig economy in sub‐Saharan Africa and assess its potential for creating decent work. Our unique contribution lies in looking at the gig economy in comparison to the local threshold (the informal economy) as opposed to wage employment.Methods and approachWe first review the literature on the gig economy, the informal sector, and decent work in low‐ and lower‐middle‐income countries. We then draw on a case study of e‐hailing in Lagos, Nigeria, to assess the sector’s potential to create decent work. We discuss our findings against the four pillars of the International Labour Organization’s Decent Work Agenda: productive employment, labour standards, social protection, and social dialogue.FindingsWe find that e‐hailing platforms may offer certain gains compared to regular taxiing in the informal sector but these are context‐ and platform‐specific. Examples include access to insurance, credit, and cash transfers. Gig work remains embedded in the informal economy: it is unregulated and does not abide by labour standards nor offer social protections. We also find evidence of well‐organized labour movements.Policy implicationsE‐hailing may be productive work, as platform intermediation facilitates outreach and matching, translating into increased wages. This happens with the added cost of longer working hours in the absence of labour standards. We propose exploring the role of digital records kept by platforms (e.g. income volume and regularity, or customer ratings data) to facilitate the progressive transition of transport workers towards formality. We also recommend fostering industry standards (such as fair work certification) to protect workers’ rights.

An Improved Approach for Load Balancing among Virtual Machines in Cloud Environment

Cloud computing has shown noteworthy evolution in information technology. Users can enjoy various services of cloud technology only if internet connection is available. In cloud computing, load balancing considered as a fundamental issue that has confronted researchers in this domain. Load balancing basically works by allotting fair and efficient work among computing resources which ultimately achieve high user satisfaction and raises systems productivity. Many load-balancing techniques made efforts to resolve this problem using metaheuristics algorithm, and amplify the operation and efficiency of systems. In this paper, existing load balancing techniques has been discussed and research gaps in existing lirture hasbeeb discussed. Also a new technique has been proposed called IG-GWO - Inquisitive Genetic Grey Wolf Optimization algorithm using combination of Grey wolf optimization (GWO) algorithm and Genetic algorithm.

Termination of Enterprise Agreements Under the Fair Work Act: A Systematic Document Analysis

Termination of Enterprise Agreements Under the Fair Work Act: A Systematic Document Analysis

Unfair dismissal and the Coronavirus pandemic: Creative responses from Australia’s Fair Work Commission

This article reviews five key decisions of Australia’s Fair Work Commission, each of which concerns a claim for unfair dismissal under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) by employees whose employment was terminated during the Coronavirus pandemic. Each decision demonstrates that the Commission has exercised its decision-making powers in a creative, yet highly responsive manner, during this global crisis.

Talking about non-union collective agreements: A union perspective

In a recent contribution in this journal, Mark Bray, Shae McCrystal and Leslee Spiess posed the question, ‘Why doesn't anyone talk about non-union collective agreements?’ Surveying business, government and union perspectives, the authors identified the need for greater attention and research to understand their effect on contemporary Australian industrial relations. This article serves as a response to this concern. Two case studies illustrate how non-union agreements work in practice under the Fair Work Act 2009. We outline further examples of how unions have been talking about non-union agreements through a legal and policy strategy rather than public advocacy. Assessing employer motivations for pursuing non-union agreements, as well as bargaining outcomes for workers, we conclude that there is an urgent need for reform.

Fast-tracking Research Methodology Immersion for Students: Experiences from a Project on Fairwork in the Gig Economy

This paper showcases an innovative student research project in a South African taught Masters programme, where students learnt to apply a sound research methodology in the real world, and align their work with a global research project. The Fairwork (https://fair.work) project assesses the extent to which gig work platforms in a number of countries conform to ‘fair work’ principles for their workers. The Fairwork project has a clearly defined and rigorous research methodology used by senior academics around the world to rate labour-broking platforms such as those in e-hailing (Bolt, Uber) or delivery services (UberEats) to rate their adoption of fair work principles for their workers. The University of Pretoria adopted this research methodology in the context of a student-based group project in a taught 2020 “Digital Economy” Masters programme. Student groups used the same methodology and interviewed South African platform workers to score seven different platforms. The key motivations and intended benefits were that the research methodology was already tried and tested, students should able to apply the skills taught in an earlier (theoretical) research methods course, subject specific knowledge around the gig economy had to be researched and was internalized, each group had the freedom to select its own platform, results could be validated against publicly available ratings, students engaged themselves in real world empirical research, and their research outputs had a real world relevance. In addition, this project turned out to work well under Covid19 partial lockdown circumstances. The student submissions exceeded the expectations of everyone involved, and some groups produced research results which matched the level of highly experienced researchers. This project also provides a strong contribution to the academic community, not only because it provides a validation benchmark and alternative research approach to the Fairwork project, but also because this project is easily portable to similar courses in other country contexts.

Human Resource Management Strategy Prediction in Small Business Marketing after Pandemic

Prediction of HR management strategy in small business marketing after the pandemic is the purpose of this study. We believe that every business, both small and large, is very concerned with human resources in marketing all business products. Therefore, we have obtained raw data from electronic searches in several scientific publications, especially HRM and post-pandemic small business marketing governance. We have carefully reviewed the data, involving an in-depth evaluation and coding system so that it is easy for us to answer the questions of this study. Our data publications target journals such as Sagepub, Academic works, Google Books, Taylor and France, and other data sources. We reviewed hundreds of papers to get around 50 journal publications that we have thoroughly reviewed. Based on the discussion of the results, the result is that the human resources department develops rules and processes that promote a fair work environment. Additionally, they settle disputes and listen to employee problems to instill a sense of belonging. All of these factors contribute to the efficient operation of the company and enable workers to perform their best job. HR; marketing; small business; pandemic; publication review

Employers’ potential liability for family and domestic violence: An Australian overview

This article considers a range of legal issues that arise when family and domestic violence impacts upon the workplace. It examines the available data on the costs of family and domestic violence to employers and the community. It discusses the potential for employers to be affected by Australian State and Territory criminal and related laws that are intended to protect a person from family and domestic violence. Recent cases of discrimination arising from family and domestic violence are considered with some speculations as to other possible forms of liability for employers concerning work health and safety and workers compensation laws. The Australian Fair Work Commission’s determination of unpaid family domestic violence leave is also examined, as is the adoption of paid leave by some State and Territory governments and larger Australian employers. The article concludes with some reflections and speculations on how current laws may affect employers and what actions can be taken by employers to adopt supportive measures to protect employees. JEL Codes: K32, J28, L53

Moral Allyship At Work: Ethical Leadership and Black Employees' Psychological Diversity Climate

The issues of anti-Black racism, discrimination, marginalization, and exclusion have become a prominent topic for management and leadership scholars. Subsequently, organizations and organizational leaders have sought to understand how to be better allies to Black employees in the workplace. We seek to extend this literature by investigating how organizational leaders can improve the workplace for Black employees. For this purpose, we integrate ethical leadership and social information processing theories to explain how ethical leadership impacts Black employees’ workplace experiences. We propose that ethical leadership involves structuring of a fair work environment. Correspondingly, as ethical leaders work to establish a fair work environment, this cultivates a positive psychological diversity climate for Black employees. In turn, by establishing a positive psychological diversity climate, Black employees are more likely to be engaged and are less likely to be ostracized in the workplace. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. We conclude with limitations and future research ideas.

A UNIVERSITY QUALITY ASSURANCE TEAM SHOULD STRIVE FOR QUALITY OF WORK-LIFE

Professionalism is an important key to an organization in achieving their success. One of the essential factors influencing the formation of committed professional resources is the employees’ perception of the quality of their work life. This study aims to examine the effects of the quality of work life (QWL) (appropriate and fair compensation, work stress, employee participation, career growth and development, social relevance, work environment) on organizational commitment (OC) simultaneously or partially. The participants of this study were 109 quality assurance team employees at a state university in Indonesia. The data collected through questionnaires were analyzed by simple regression and Pearson’s correlation test. The results showed that there is a significant influence between QWL and OC. The six predictors of QWL showed a significant relationship with OC (r < .05) with the most influencing indicators as follows: career growth and development (p = .612), appropriate and fair compensation (p = .558), employee participation (p = .515), work stress (p = ˗.510), social relevance (p = .498), and work environment (p = .422). This study suggests that a state university shoud provide wider opportunities for quality assurance employees to develop and demonstrate their abilities and creativity as an effort to increase their OC.

Analysing the employment impact of Sunday wage premiums reductions: Implications for minimum wage research

This article tests the employment impact of recent reductions in Australian wage premiums, or penalty rates, using surveys of 1828 employees and 236 employers in Retail and Hospitality sectors. In applying wage premium reductions for Sunday work, the national regulator, the Fair Work Commission, anticipated improvements in trading hours, employment and hours worked as a consequence. However, the authors found no statistically significant evidence for these predictions. Nor did difference-in-differences methods indicate substitution of workers subject to cuts for those who were exempt. The authors present the first systematic purpose-designed empirical evidence on the employment impact of wage premiums. In the absence of empirical evidence, the regulator had referred substantially to minimum wage research. This study also has implications for minimum wage research, and contributes to it with a novel methodology examining both aggregate hours and employment, comparing those subject to cuts with those not, and surveying both employees and employers.

Medico-legal considerations of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for high risk workers.

Medico-legal considerations of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for high risk workers.

Exploring faculty-to-faculty incivility among nursing faculty: Related factors, reasons and solutions.

This study aimed to explore faculty-to-faculty incivility in university nursing programmes and to identify the perceptions of faculty regarding the reasons and solutions for incivility. Incivility is a fundamental problem in nursing educational settings. This cross-sectional and analytic study comprised 330 faculty members from different schools of nursing in Turkey. A personal information form and the 12-item Incivility Scale were used to collect data. The data were analysed by using descriptive analysis, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests, Spearman's correlation test, linear regression tests and thematic analysis. Faculty and research assistants who were single and holding master's degrees perceived high incivility (p<.05). There was also a significant, mildly negative relationship between age and incivility scores (r=-0.236). A strict hierarchical structure was revealed to also be a reason for incivility (p<.05). Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of the solutions for faculty-to-faculty incivility. This study can guide administrators regarding the causes and solutions of incivility within academic environments. By implementing strategies to increase awareness, administrators can become positive role models for faculty, providing a respectful and fair work environment to prevent incivility.

Multi-Stakeholder Frameworks for Rectification of Non-Compliance in Cleaning Supply Chains: The Case of the Cleaning Accountability Framework

There is now an expanding body of literature on the significant problem of business non-compliance with minimum labour standards including ‘wage theft’. Extended liability regulation beyond the direct employer is seen as one solution to this non-compliance in fragmented but hierarchically organised industries—such as the cleaning industry. This article uses empirical evidence to assess the effectiveness of one such regulatory scheme, the Cleaning Accountability Framework (CAF), in addressing non-compliance with minimum labour standards (including provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the Cleaning Services Award 2020). We find that CAF has been successful in identifying and rectifying certain non-compliance, improving working conditions for some cleaners involved in the scheme. We synthesise the key success factors of CAF in view of envisioning the adoption of such co-regulation frameworks in other industries. We also propose legal reforms that will support change across the cleaning industry.

Digging into group establishment: Intervention design and evaluation

Previous research has documented challenges in students’ group work. An identifiable segment of the previous research that relates to improving students’ group work conditions is the study of group formation and self- and peer-assessment. Though studies that primarily focus on how to address the conditions of students’ group work and the existing problems can be found, there are not many related to higher education settings. On this ground, the present article advances a qualitative evaluation of the intervention that promotes student groups’ self-awareness and thereby self-regulation toward fair group work during a software engineering project. An inductive thematic analysis was applied to the students’ written reflections on the intervention. To further understand the results, the concept of “group establishment,” referring to destructiveness that complicates individuals’ truthful living at the group level, was employed to reflect on the resulting themes. Hoggett (1998) provided this articulation by synthesizing previous results in psychoanalytic theory. Students’ experiences with the intervention revealed several value gains, including personally identified benefits as well as open group mood, consolidation of grouping, conceptual learning about group work, and regulation for task allocation. Noted challenges included dishonesty and a personal role conflict, and some students reported minor effects on group performance. Students valued safety in the intervention situation and argued that the intervention was needed from outside the group. A summative review of the students’ experiences suggests that the intervention was useful for all groups. The results are discussed from a pedagogic and the aforementioned psychoanalytic perspective, and remarks are made for software engineering education.

The Australian labour market in 2020

This article provides a review of the Australian labour market in 2020. It outlines the monetary and fiscal responses to COVID-19 (including JobKeeper, JobSeeker and JobMaker policies), describes trends in employment, unemployment and underemployment and summarises the Fair Work Commission’s 2020 minimum wage decision. Data show that in the year to September 2020, total monthly hours worked fell by 5.9% for males and 3.8% for females. Job loss was proportionately larger amongst young people (aged 20–29) and older people. It was also disproportionately higher in female-dominated sectors such as Accommodation and Food Services. Unlike the earlier recession (1991), when more than 90% of jobs lost were previously held by males, a significant share (around 40%) of the job loss in the 2020 recession (year to August 2020) were jobs previously held by females. Notwithstanding a pick-up in employment towards year’s end, the future remains uncertain.

Legal Effects of Language Issues in Workplace Discourse: Evidence from Australia’s Fairwork Commission

Abstract The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between law and language in workplace discourse. To this end, a number of pronouncements issued by Australia’s Fair Work Commission – which mostly deals with employment litigation – are examined to see to what extent language-related problems affect both the employment relationship and the decision handed down by lawmakers when evaluating the cases submitted.

COVID-19 and the Future of Labour Research, Policy and Regulation

ABSTRACT This article reflects on the profound impact of COVID-19 on labour research and those who undertake it, on both global and local labour markets, and on labour policy and regulation in Australia. It briefly discusses the many existing challenges the pandemic has highlighted for the supply, organisation and compensation of labour in one particular sector, aged care, before going on to examine the state of the Australian system of labour regulation and policy-making prior to the current crisis. It then discusses how that system has responded to the pandemic, and critically analyses the Morrison Government’s embrace and then abandonment of the idea of consultation and cooperation with the union movement, as it seeks to set an agenda for Australia’s recovery. There seems little chance that the government’s package of changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 will do anything to address deep-seated problems such as wage stagnation, insecurity, inequality and adversarialism. Indeed it may exacerbate them.

포스트 코로나 시대의 하이디라오 경쟁우위 지속성에 대한 함의

This paper This paper examines the sources of competitive advantage that Chinese hot pot restaurant company Haidilao has emerged as the number one in the industry despite its less than 30 years of history in terms of differentiation, cost advantage, and resource compliance. We looked at the implications of the sustainability of the existing competitive advantage of Haidilao, whose business environment remains uncertain due to the prolonged crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the study, Haidilao has a price advantage through quantitative top-line growth through expansion of the number of stores and systematic supply chain management. In addition, under an organizational culture that places great importance on employee satisfaction, a system of active delegation of authority to employees, training and management of human resources, and a fair and fair work environment such as ‘I can change my destiny with my two hands’ are established to continuously gain competitive advantage. Is leading. This was remarkable in terms of customer satisfaction and creating customer value through Hadilao unique excellent service. As an implication, this study aims to provide important information for strategic decision-making to related managers by suggesting ways to secure a competitive advantage for foreign franchise restaurant companies that have entered China in the post-COVID-19 era.