Work and Industrial Relations : Towards a New Agenda

The relevance and continuing existence of industrial relations, as a field of academic study, is facing a number of challenges, particularly in English-speaking countries, as union membership declines, collective bargaining coverage shrinks and the number of strikes wanes each year. Yet issues of employment and workplace relations remain significant to economic prosperity and social harmony, particularly with the changing nature of work and of employment contracts. Furthermore, there are a number of other means by which employee voice is heard, through the agency of non-government organizations, community groups and various consultative bodies. In order to reinforce its relevance, industrial relations needs to include new actors, cover a wider range of issues and adopt a multi-level approach which incorporates both local and global dimensions

Changing Employment Relations and Governance in the International Auto Industry

In recent years, considerable debate has surrounded the issue of whether a fundamental transformation of employment relations is underway in both the industrialised and industrialising countries. Comparative studies at the national or macro-level of employment relations have been conducted within both an OECD group of countries (see Locke et al 1995) and newly industrialising economies (see Verma et al 1995). To these have been added complementary studies at the industry-level: in steel, telecommunications, banking and automobile manufacturing. These studies have adopted a broader similar analytical framework that focus on five sets of employment practices or issues, as follows: (1) the way work is organised (2) the process of skills acquisition and development (3) the structures and processes of pay and compensation (4) staffing and employment security arrangements (5) enterprise governance and labour-management relations issues. The analytical framework adopted for these studies argues that employment practices are shaped by features of the external environment and the choices of firms, unions and governments, as well as by the broader institutional context at the industry and firm levels. The issue of enterprise governance occupies an ambiguous position in that it may be viewed both as a feature of the external environment (especially where governments have legislated for certain arrangements) as well as an element in employment relations practice

Symposium on Employment Relations Reform in the World Automobile Industry: Introduction

The international automobile industry provides a useful basis for examining the degree and nature of change in employment relations under a variety of external conditions. By studying auto firms in various economies, it can be observed how employee relations strategies related to overall governance of the firm, to industry-level structures and institutions, and to the macro-economic and political institutions. These broader institutional arrangements in industrial relations may have a significant effect on how well the industry operates in both the domestic and international marketplace

Wage indexation and industrial relations: A comparison of recent experience in Israel and Australia

Australia and Israel both have centralised machinery for the determination of national wage policy. In Australia, the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission holds an annual national wage hearing. In Israel, a national framework agreement for determining wage levels is bargained and signed by the parties every two years. In addition, both countries have periodical arrangements for adjusting wages as a result of movement in the cost of living. This article compares the indexation arrangements of the two countries and analyses their impact on industrial relations

Work and Industrial Relations: Towards a New Agenda

Nota: Las reglas de escritura de las referencias bibliográficas pueden variar según los diferentes dominios del conocimiento. Este documento está protegido por la ley de derechos de autor. La utilización de los servicios de Érudit (comprendida la reproducción) se rige por su política de utilización que se puede consultar en el UR

Workplace reform: a new social contract for Australia

The COVID-19 crisis impels us to think about the future of Australia in many dimensions and from different perspectives including our social, economic and governance structures. A new social contract at work in Australia should rest on three pillars: a full employment policy coupled with a strong safety net for those not able to find work; a comprehensive system of post-secondary and vocational training, and easy transition between them; industrial relations reforms to provide a stronger voice for workers in decisions affecting them in the workplace. These pillars should be based not only on the historical experience of Australia but also draw on successful examples from elsewhere. The Nordic countries, for example, have based their social and economic systems on a social partnership approach that relies on voluntary cooperation between interest groups rather than legislation

Workplace change and employment relations reform in Australia

Russell D. Lansbury argues that reform of employment relations has been central to political and economic debate in Australia during the past two decades. The process of enterprise bargaining was begun by the Hawke Labor government in the late 1980s, with the cooperation of the union movement, as an attempt to decentralise the employment relations system. More radical reforms have been introduced by the Howard Coalition government since the mid 1990s designed to individualise the employment relationship and reduce union involvement. Yet the responses by employers to these recent changes have varied