Regulation Of Industrial Relations Research Articles

Seafarers on the shore: issues raised by Australian doctors treating seafarers.

Seafarers on the shore: issues raised by Australian doctors treating seafarers.

Failing to live up to the promise: the politics of equal pay in ‘new’ workplace and industrial relations institutions

ABSTRACTWorkplace and industrial relations regulations are key sites for policy intervention to address Australia's gender pay gap, which, at 15.3 per cent, is almost as large as it was in 1997. In both the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the Workplace Gender Equality Act 2012 (Cth) the goal of equal pay has a more central place than it did in predecessor legislation. In particular, the Fair Work Act has the potential to deliver more gender-equitable wage structures through addressing systemic gender-based undervaluation at the industry level. Adopting a feminist institutional approach this article examines equal pay policy in the operations of workplace and industrial relations regulation to ask why, despite some recent successes, this potential appears unlikely to be realised.

Changes in Philippine labour relations policy: Convergence or divergence of productivity, flexibility and welfare?

AbstractIn the first decade of the present century, a succession of changes to Philippine labour law and jurisprudence sought to contribute to productivity and social welfare by introducing greater industrial relations flexibility, based on collective bargaining and voluntary dispute settlement. The article examines whether these changes actually resulted in any shift from a rights-based system for resolving industrial disputation to a system based on workplace-level interest-based negotiation, and whether they were accompanied either by higher labour productivity or by improved social welfare. The analysis draws on a conceptual framework that identifies coherent national labour regulation systems as being based on a convergence of three institutional approaches – to the operation of labour markets, of labour relations and of social security. Broadly, such labour regulation systems can be classified as either civil law or common law based. The Philippine labour regulation system is shown to have a hybrid basis, whose origins are briefly traced by identifying the legacy of the colonial and post-colonial phases, the martial law era and the restoration of democracy in 1986. Whereas Australia, another hybrid system, appears to have achieved some coherence in changes to the regulation of industrial relations, labour markets and social welfare, in the Philippines, such changes have not converged. In the 1990s, efforts to mitigate the traditional legalistic and adversarial character of industrial relations through liberalisation of restrictions on the right to organise were cross-cut by the effects of the growing labour market flexibility that resulted from integration into the global economy. Legal changes between 1999 and 2011 have not fostered voluntary self-organisation of distributive bargaining at enterprise level. Union membership, collective bargaining coverage and numbers of workers involved in notified or actual industrial action have declined, while reliance on compulsory arbitration and monetary compensation claims has remained high. Labour productivity has not improved. Within the context of globalisation, the labour market is increasingly characterised by numerical flexibility and a prevalence of small enterprises. High unemployment levels and a large informal sector indicate divergence between the systems for regulating labour and welfare.

The European Court of Justice and “Total Market” Thinking

The controversial decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the quartet of cases that are grouped under its “Laval/Viking jurisprudence” are rapidly becoming entrenched as a key dimension of the European Union (EU) constitutional imaginary. This comes with a certain “immunization” against challenge as they become much harder to treat as mistakes. In their elevated status they have aligned stances and expectational structures. They have also had significant impact on the “Nordic” models; Charles Woolfson shows, for example, how subsequent to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision, the rulings of the Swedish Labour court has “seem[ed] to confirm that the ‘Swedish model' has, at the very least, been significantly redefined, if not fundamentally altered, in the light ofLaval.” While EU lawyers largely sit it out in relative passivity, wondering what the fuss is really about, labor lawyers have been vocal in their disagreement. But the latter's voices in this debate—if we can call it such—have in turn been drowned out by the ululations of lawyers and theorists from the “new,” post-2004, EU countries loudly proclaiming a victory against the arrogance of the older Member States. If the workers of the Baltic states want to sell their labor—and their life—cheap, goes the “inclusionary” argument, why should they be constrained from doing so under protectionist regulatory policies that undercut their competitive advantage by those unwilling to rein in the exclusionary structures of social protection that limit access and opportunity for their workforce to join the Continent-wide economy? The massive impact that the decisions have had on the regulation of industrial relations in the countries of the European Union and on the position of the trade unions has hardly been ameliorated by the debacle that was the rapid withdrawal of the proposedMonti IIRegulation in the face of resistance to it by national parliaments.

Labour markets and wages in Australia in 2012

During 2012, the labour market continued to show considerable diversity in outcomes for different labour market groups. Employment growth was slower and the number of employees searching for full-time work rose alongside falling participation rates compared with the previous year. Overall, the employment situation for men was not looking as strong as for women, although women continued to exhibit higher levels of labour underutilisation. Earnings indicators suggest increased wages in low-paid sectors, although this was coming off a low base and may be indicative of catch-up for slow growth in recent years. The relative value of the minimum wage is now at its lowest level in six years, suggesting some evidence of growing earnings inequality. Recent debates in the mass media about labour productivity and industrial relations regulation appear to have limited grounding in national accounting and labour market data.

The Regulation of Paid Care Workers’ Wages and Conditions in the Non-Profit Sector: A Toronto Case Study

This paper aims to contribute to understandings of the broader regulatory context in which remuneration for care work is negotiated and determined. It draws on a case study of the non-profit sector of Toronto and moves beyond an exclusive focus on the formal regulation of the employment relationship to include other crucial regulatory mechanisms in the analysis. The paper attempts to map the intersections between these different forms of regulation and to identify the effects they produce in practice.The paper identifies four main regulatory forces that shape the quantum and basis of the wages and non-wage benefits paid to care workers. Firstly, industrial relations regulation plays an important role not only through the demarcation between unionized and non-unionized agencies, but in demarcations between smaller and larger agencies, between full-time and part-time workers and between regular and elect-to work workers. Secondly, the sources and structure of the social services funding market directly limit care worker remuneration and can work to trump the impact of unionization. Thirdly, the regulatory force of the gendered undervaluing of paid care work is reflected in and intertwined with changes in the protection offered to employees via industrial regulation. Finally, the gendered architecture of paid care work, including size of agency or whether the care work is undertaken in the home or in an institution, contributes to different outcomes for different groups of workers undertaking similar work.The interaction of these regulatory forces plays out in the wage and non-wage outcomes in all social services work at the labour market, industry and workplace levels. While the non-profit sector in Toronto provides one specific context in which this occurs, these regulatory forces, particularly the normative effect of gender, are present in other provincial and national contexts. This is at least partly because the community services funding market in other developed countries is underpinned by the same features of new public management present in Canada.

A Fair Model of Globalisation? Labour and Global Production in Cambodia

The expansion of the global economy and the governance deficit it has generated raise questions about the possibilities for regulating the practices of participants in global production networks. This paper focuses on the regulation of industrial relations in Cambodia's textile and garment industry – a unique ensemble of state, trade union, private sector and international institutions that is promoted as a “fair model of globalisation.” We track the trajectory of Cambodia's industrialisation and insertion into the global economy over three interrelated phases: first, the beginnings of export-orientated garment production in the mid- to late 1990s; secondly, the promotion of Cambodia as an “ethical producer” from 1999; and, thirdly, privileging “competitiveness” in global production networks over labour compliance for its advantage. In doing so we centre our analysis on the complex intertwining of global production, the genesis of the unique ensemble of actors in Cambodia and the anomaly of Cambodia's labour movement.

Pragmatism, Principles and Policy: Federalism and Industrial Relations Regulation in Australia

Traditionally, industrial relations in Australia have been governed by a dual system of federal and State regulation. In recent decades there have been two attempts to create a single national system of industrial relations regulation. In 1973, the Whitlam (Australian Labor Party) government proposed two constitutional alteration referendum questions to give the federal parliament plenary law making powers over `prices' and `incomes', and consequently industrial relations. In 2005, the Howard (Liberal—National parties coalition) government used the existing constitutional law making powers of the federal parliament, the corporations power, to widen the coverage of the federal industrial relations system with the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 (Cth) to capture about 85 percent of Australian employees. This article compares and contrasts these two efforts to create a national industrial relations system. The analysis shows that both efforts illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of federalism generally and suggests the political nature of industrial relations policy in Australia remain regardless of the regulatory jurisdiction.

The Origins of Federal Industrial Relations Systems: Australia, Canada and the USA

There are tensions in federal political systems over whether the central government or the states/provinces are the most suitable jurisdictions for dealing with the relationship between employers and unions. As integrated national economies developed, there are growing pressures on federal governments to intervene in industrial relations. States/provinces, however, might still maintain unique economic and social conditions that render federal legislation inappropriate. This article examines the development of federal jurisdictions in Australia, Canada and the USA up until the late 1940s. While Australia, unlike the other the two countries, had a constitution that provided for federal coverage of industrial relations, it was a limited power. Despite this, there was a gradual spread of federal coverage beyond that originally intended by the original framers of the Australian Constitution. The Canadian and US constitutions predate the rise of organized industrial relations. However, federal governments in these countries also increased their involvement in industrial relations to resolve disputes in key national industries such as railways and in response to critical events such as the Great Depression and World Wars, which challenged existing assumptions about industrial relations. While there was a trend towards the federal regulation of industrial relations, states and provinces still played a key role as innovators in both experimenting with new ways of regulating relations between employers and unions and imposing restrictions on the power of organized labour.

Otto Kahn‐Freund and Collective Laissez‐Faire: An Edifice without a Keystone?

This paper describes Otto Kahn‐Freund's advocacy of the British ‘collective laissez‐faire’ system of regulation of industrial relations, in which regulation proceeded autonomously of the state. It suggests that a weakness of collective laissez‐faire as a normative principle was its failure to make adequate provision for the furtherance of the public interest. It links this failure to a more general reluctance, on the part of Kahn‐Freund, to conceive of the state as representative of the public interest. And it seeks to explain this reluctance with reference to Kahn‐Freund's experiences of living and working as a labour court judge in the Weimar Republic, and of moving to the UK as a refugee from Nazism.

Symposium: Recent Developments in Regulation and Implications for Social Inclusion

In the face of the international financial crisis, there is mounting disillusionment with the neoliberal ideology which has underpinned public policy over the last few decades. This has been reflected by the recent change of government in Australia and the result of the American Presidential election in November. In both cases, the public's disillusionment and dissatisfaction with the regulatory and social welfare policies of the previous governments were key reasons for change. The increasing withdrawal of the state from traditional economic roles in most Western countries, including Australia, left the space open to markets and market relations. This is despite the vital role played by the state in economic development. As Chester shows, this was particularly the case in Australia from the time of European settlement. This reinforces the appropriateness of this symposium which examines a number of issues related to developments in regulation and implications for social inclusion. Chester's paper serves as an apt introduction to the symposium. Using French regulation theory, it documents the changing nature of the Australian state with an increased reliance--most marked since the 1980s--on the virtues of the market and on reducing the size of the government sector. However, Chester argues that this entailed a change in the form of regulation to 'regulation-for-competition', rather than a decline in the degree of regulation. Indeed, 'regulation-for-competition' is intrusive and involves significant direct control of the market and its participants. The six papers that follow can be divided into two distinct groups. The first three address specific issues associated with the new 'regulation-for-competition', while the final three highlight the implications of regulatory change for social inclusion and exclusion. One example of 'regulation-for-competition' is the recent WorkChoices legislation which implemented significant changes to labour market regulation under the guise of achieving structural competitiveness. Nevile and Kriesler consider the basis of these changes in the light of reforms proposed by the Rudd government. A major feature of the WorkChoices legislation was the attack on collective bargaining, and the intentional reduction in unions' power to negotiate on behalf of workers. Theoretical economics provides no clear winners in the debate over the effects of 'more or less' regulation of wages, although the role unions can play in achieving social inclusion through greater income equality is highlighted. Nevile and Kriesler note that, in direct contrast to the removal of collective bargaining rights of employees, the Trade Practices Legislation Amendment Act 2006 allows small businesses to bargain collectively with big business. However, as Isaac points out, this can present serious problems if, for example, the small business is a provider of services, and is therefore 'effectively involved in the sale of labour'--the province of industrial relations regulation. …

Voluntarism and the Single Channel: the Development of Single-Channel Worker Representation in the UK

Abstract: As a contribution to the debate on the possibility of an end to single-channel worker representation in the UK, this paper seeks to explain the persistence of single-channel representation in Britain throughout the twentieth century. It explores the meaning of the term ‘single channel’ generally, and in the British context, and examines the possibility of a causal relationship between the voluntarist approach to the regulation of industrial relations and the persistence of single-channel representation. The focus of the paper is on the Second World War and its aftermath, and the decision of the post-war government not to legislate to institute workplace representation across the board.

State and Regulation of Industrial Relations in Spain: Old Wine in a New Governance Bottle?

The paper explores the politics and outcomes of changes in modes of regulation and governance of industrial relations in Spain. The recent return to peak agreements has been interpreted as evidence of enhanced coordination and the abandonment of a system characterized by pervasive state regulation and fragmented bargaining. The analysis of the impact of these changes allows us to characterize developments in terms of continuity beneath ‘surface’ change. Negotiated reforms and soft forms of industrial relations government at national level have failed to reduce fragmentation and enhance the articulation of collective bargaining. Whilst the law remains a key source of coordination, inter-associational coordination remains weak due to conflicting collective bargaining projects and the credible threat of government intervention.

Unions and Pay Equity in New Zealand: Organisation, Negotiation, Legislation

ABSTRACT This article illustrates the role that unions can play in achieving gender pay equity through collective campaigns, particularly in occupations and/or industries where union density is high. The 2003–2005 New Zealand nurses' Fair Pay Campaign, which resulted in pay rises of between 20 to 47 per cent for experienced nurses, is detailed. The Campaign combined industrial and political strategies to mobilise union members, generate public support, and pressure the government to accede to the pay claim. Apart from substantial pay increases, the Fair Pay Campaign resulted in a high level of member participation and increased the profile of the union to its members and the general public, resulting in membership growth. The Fair Pay Campaign is discussed within the broader context of the changes that occurred in industrial relations regulation in New Zealand in the 1990s, as well as the greater focus on pay equity following the 2004 Report of the Taskforce on Pay and Employment Equity.

From Rights to Interests: The Challenge of Industrial Relations in Vietnam

Since the mid-1990s Vietnam has achieved rapid economic growth based on the attraction of foreign investment within an unchanged political environment. Changing employment relations have presented a major challenge to the rights-based institutional forms of regulation of industrial relations established in the early stages of reform, which have proved slow to adapt to the new circumstances in which disputes are interest-based. The persistence of strikes has led the authorities to pay increasing attention to industrial relations issues, but their approach remains confined within the legalistic framework of the state-socialist era. Trade unions show little inclination or ability to stand up to employers on behalf of their members, while Vietnamese workers show a preference for direct action over representation through bureaucratic industrial relations structures.

CURRENT ISSUES AND DEVELOPMENTS IN WORKERS' FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION IN NIGERIA

The year 2005 witnessed significant changes to Nigerian labour law and the system of industrial relations. In that year, the government introduced legislative reforms aimed at reducing state interference in the regulation of industrial relations by democratising labour and complying with the International Labour Organization (ILO) requirements. The changes would appear to have given more impetus to collective bargaining as a crucial mechanism in the determination of wages and other terms and conditions of the employment of workers. However, there are other areas where the law seems to have rolled back workers' rights. This article is a critical assessment of the extent to which the new law affects workers' freedom of association in Nigeria. The discussion centres on three key changes brought about by the Act, namely membership of trade unions, collective bargaining and the right to strike. This article argues that significant aspects of the law still unduly restrict workers' freedom of association and that the intended objective cannot be achieved under the present law. It concludes by calling for a new reform, the main purpose of which would be to comply fully with ILO requirements in order to protect workers and their trade unions.

Industrial Relations, Occupational Safety and Health, and Union Organising in Australia: Lessons and Opportunities

This paper examines the intersection between recent changes in industrial relations legislation and union involvement in health and safety in Australia. Of specific interest is how unions prioritise occupational safety and health concerns against other workplace issues that often form the basis of union campaigns. During this examination, claims that unions can use health and safety as an organising tool are evaluated from data collected in interviews with union officials based in regional and metropolitan centres in Queensland, Australia. Our evidence supports the view that unions have much to gain by focusing on members’ health and safety concerns, especially in an environment where union protections have been systematically weakened under industrial relations regulations. However, we also found that organising efforts around occupational safety and health remain isolated, with most unions continuing to focus on member interests within the realm of mainstream industrial relations.

THE CONSTITUTION AND A NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS REGIME

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>[</span><span>The federal Government is proposing to bring about a single national scheme for the regulation of industrial relations in Australia. This will raise a number of important constitutional questions that may need to be resolved by the High Court. These questions as examined in this article are: could a single national law for the regulation of industrial relations be passed under a head of Commonwealth power (in particular, under the Commonwealth's powers over corporations, interstate trade and commerce or external affairs); even such a law could so be enacted, would it nevertheless be struck down due to an express or implied constitutional limitation; and to what extent could the law override the State laws that already govern much of the field?</span><span>] </span></p></div></div></div>

PRECEDENT AND POLICY: AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS REFORM IN THE 21ST CENTURY USING THE CORPORATIONS POWER

<div class="page" title="Page 1"><div class="layoutArea"><div class="column"><p><span>[</span><span>This article will discuss the topical issue of whether the Commonwealth, in Australia’s federal system of government, can rely on its so-called “corporations power” in order to pass planned industrial relations laws. The Federal Government has recently indicated its plans to introduce a national system of industrial relations regulation in Australia. While the detail of the proposed legislation is not currently to hand, the planned changes raise a controversial issue whether the Australian Government would permit such regulation. This article considers the corporations power as justification for the proposed laws.</span><span>] </span></p></div></div></div>

Cleared for Take-off? Management-Labour Partnership in the European Civil Aviation Industry

As product and labour markets within the European Union are liberalized and deregulated, industrial relations regulation appears to shift from national to sector and company levels. Nonetheless, company-based initiatives such as management-labour partnerships are still more likely to flourish in coordinated rather than liberal market economies. This is demonstrated in this article by a contextualized comparison of three national airlines. While Lufthansa has been able to develop an innovative, long-term competitive strategy, both British Airways and Aer Lingus have been permitted, if not compelled, to pursue short-term, cost-minimizing strategies inimical to their management-labour partnerships.