Compulsory proportional representation: allaying potential concerns

The present union certification system has many faults, the most important of which is its failure to deliver employee representation to all but a small and declining minority of workers. As an alternative, compulsory proportional representation (CPR) would have many advantages, particularly when compared with other reform proposals, most of which are designed to only reinvigorate, modify, or supplement the existing system. Would CPR have any disadvantages? We identify four potential concerns: reduced freedom to contract, increased interunion competition and raiding, depleted union strength, and compromised union independence. However, we argue that some of these problems would be more imagined than real, some less serious than expected, and some would have secondary effects to compensate any shortcomings

The Australian labour market in 2002

The Australian labour market continues to demonstrate resilience in the face of weaknesses in the international economy and domestic economy. The US economy remains in the doldrums and Japan still remains in recession. Locally, a severe drought has wiped at least one per cent off projected GDP growth. Yet, for the 10th successive year, jobs growth remains strong in Australia. Despite this record, employers and the Federal government continue to call for further reforms in order to ‘free’ up the labour market. With the profits share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at historic highs and trade union density at historic lows, the arguments are distinctly hollow. Indeed, there remains a considerable unfinished reform agenda for the Australian labour market. A decade of strong jobs growth has made only modest inroads into labour under-utilisation, it has seen unfettered working time developments, and important issues remain of equality and access to entitlements that confront many women workers

Statutory occupational health and safety workplace arrangements for the modern labour market.

Over the past 20 years there has been a significant refashioning of the labour market within Australia and other industrialised countries. This paper examines the implications of the growth of more flexible work arrangements for mechanisms designed to facilitate worker involvement in occupational health and safety at the workplace—a pivotal feature of post-Robens OHS legislation in Australia. It is argued that the growth of subcontracting, casual and home-based work has undermined both coverage and the effectiveness of these provisions, especially in a context where union membership and influence has also been declining. Looking at international experience, the paper examines a number of ways of remedying these deficiencies