|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Home | Contact | Links | ||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
|
The State of the States 2005, focusing on the State of Industrial Relations
OverviewThe Evatt Foundation's series of publications on The State of the States aims to attract national public attention to the perfomance and polices of Australia's state governments. Each issue contains a detailed comparative assessment of the performance of the states during the previous year, and substantive analyses of major state policies or major issues affecting the states. The State of the States 2005 presents the Evatt Foundation’s 12th annual assessment of the performance of Australia’s states in Part One, including the Foundation's traditional State Government League Table. In this special 2005 issue, Part Two features five invited expert essays on key aspects of the Howard government’s industrial relations proposals. About the special feature on the State of Industrial RelationsThe five chapters in Part Two of The State of the States 2005 address five key aspects of the Howard government’s bid to refashion the nation’s federal-state labour laws, as follows.The Constitutional question, by Jeff Shaw & Monika CiolekJeff Shaw and Monika Ciolek survey the Constitutional question. Can the Commonwealth use its senate majority to unilaterally destroy the jurisdiction of the states over labour? They conclude that, should the High Court uphold the unprecedented power grab – by no means a certainty – at the Commonwealth’s furthest exclusive reach, the proposed scheme will remain less than national, uncertain and litigation prone. The productivity question, by John Burgess & Peter WaringJohn Burgess and Peter Waring analyse the productivity question, upon which the Howard government has placed great rhetorical weight. As Australia’s labour economists have also virtually universally found, they find that this argument is seriously wanting. Terms like ‘productivity’ and ‘flexibility’ are masks for sustaining low wages, privileging managerial prerogative, shrinking employee rights, lowering minimum standards and intensifying work. If Australia is to depend on these proposals, real long-term productivity will go begging or decline. What about collective bargaining? by Chris Briggs, Rae Cooper & Bradon EllemChris Briggs, Rae Cooper and Bradon Ellem examine the consequences of the Howard proposals for collective bargaining. They find that the effect will be to further empower employers to force their employees onto individual contracts. The authors critique the notion that the new laws will allow more choice, as this relies on the preposterous contention that individual workers stand in the same bargaining position as their bosses. Their conclusion is that the proposals are bad news for Australian workers as they will undermine wages, working conditions and human rights. What about working women? by Meg Smith & Peter EwerMeg Smith and Peter Ewer look at the consequences for women, who have always been disadvantaged in the labour market. They observe that the Howard proposals threaten to reverse advances toward full equality for women in the workplace in two ways. Firstly, the national wage-fixing system that Howard aims to cripple has been crucial to Australia’s comparatively good international performance in achieving equal pay. Secondly, the state jurisdictions to be engulfed by the Commonwealth have been the sites of the most recent progress in correcting the undervaluing of women’s work. What about working children? by the NSW Commission for Children & Young PeopleThe concluding chapter by the NSW Commission for Children and Young People questions the proposed scheme against the experience of children, the most vulnerable in the marketplace. Almost 60 per cent of children aged 12 to 16 years work, and over 60 per cent of these work for a formal employer. Given that the government’s proposals entail a sweeping re-regulation of work relations in favour of employers, the difficulties that 15 year-olds will face in individually negotiating reasonable contracts are stark. Description of the bookThe State of the States 2005 is a 108-page paperback, edited by Christopher Sheil with a foreword by Bruce Childs, published by the Evatt Foundation, produced by Social Change Media, designed by Pro Bono Publico and printed by the University of NSW Printing Unit. The book features 13 Tables and 16 Figures. The extensively researched industrial relations chapters are professionally referenced with over 130 endnotes. ISSN 1443-0819. What people have said about The State of the States 2005"This book is essential reading for those who wish to unpack the proposed Howard government's industrial relations changes. Its five essays remove the government's spin and clearly examine the Australian Constitution and labour law; economic productivity and employment; the necessity for genuine collective bargaining; with the two final papers analyzing the much neglected issues of the impact of these changes on women and on children and young people."
"Australia's workplace landscape is being reorganised, and growing complexity, confusion and inequality will be the result. This book is a
vital guide to what is being rewritten, and what it will cost the women, men and children of Australia."
"The Howard government's industrial relations legislation is a noxious mix of weasel words, bogus advertising and legal complexity. The contributors to
this special issue of The State of the States strip away the obfuscation to explain how the new measures tilt the scales against workers."
"This is a timely analysis which will be invaluable for all who wish to understand the problems arising from the Howard government's industrial relations reforms. Leading authorities provide insights into key elements of
industrial relations policy debate on constitutional aspects of labour law, the need for collective bargaining rights and the dangers which the IR reforms spell for families and young people in Australia. The Evatt
Foundation deserves great credit for this initiative."
About the authorsChris Briggs is a Senior Research Fellow with acirrt, University of Sydney. John Burgess is Associate Professor in the Newcastle Business School and the Director of the Employment Studies Centre, University of Newcastle. Monika Ciolek is a final year graduate law student at the University of New South Wales. Rae Cooper is a Lecturer in Work and Organisational Studies in the School of Business at the University of Sydney. Bradon Ellem is an Associate Professor in the School of Business at the University of Sydney. Peter Ewer is a Doctoral Candidate at RMIT University. Jeff Shaw QC BA LL.B(Syd) was New South Wales Attorney General from 1995 to 2000. Meg Smith lectures in the School of Management at the University of Western Sydney. Peter Waring is a Post Doctoral Research Fellow and the Deputy Director of the Employment Studies Centre, University of Newcastle. The NSW Commission for Children and Young People is an independent statutory body established in 1999 to advocate on behalf of children and young people in New South Wales. Christopher Sheil is a Research Fellow in the School of History, University of New South Wales. Bruce Childs is the President of the Evatt Foundation. Buy The State of the States 2005 online nowThe State of the States 2005 costs $24.95 plus postage. You can purchase your copy of The State of the States 2005 securely online using your credit card via the Paypal service by going to this page on the Evatt Website.
|
|
© 2001-2005 The Evatt Foundation Main Quadrangle (A14) URL:http://evatt.org.au/archives/TSOTS05.html
|
 
The Evatt Foundation is a LaborNET site, proudly designed and sponsored by Social Change Online. |
