The Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC) is the latest institution to be created by the Federal ... more The Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC) is the latest institution to be created by the Federal government in the industrial relations arena and is one of the key pillars of the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 (Cth) No. 153. In this article we examine the rationale for the establishment of the AFPC, outline the structure and operational details associated with the AFPC and compare it with the UK Low Pay Commission. The creation of the AFPC presumes some failings of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission with respect to its safety net wage case deliberations. We attempt to identify what these failings were. Finally, we consider what the implications of the creation of the AFPC will be. On this point the establishment of the AFPC must be placed in a context of ongoing legislative change to welfare access and in the other major developments in the Work Choices legislation, especially the creation of the Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard.
The Third lTay programfor work, industrial relations and employnent is examined. The discussion c... more The Third lTay programfor work, industrial relations and employnent is examined. The discussion considers the publications of major third way proponents in the UK and Australia. It then considers what policies have been instituted under New Labour in the UK. The discussion then moves to the possibilities for Australia. Overall the Third Way program is either underdeveloped in some arees (eg the workplace) or largely following orthodox supply side policies in other areas (eg memployment). The article concludes with a list of some of the important work crtd worlcplace issues that could be addressed by a new policy program. lntroduction The Third Way program is potentially relevant for the political discourse in Australia since the Australian Labor Party has strong cultural and intellectual connections with British Labor, the standard bearers of third way politics in Europe. In addition, several ALP members have initiated a discourse on third way policies for Australia Tanner, 1999). It seems opportune to examine the context, assumptions, nature and detail of a Third Way program. In particular we address issues surrounding work and employment. Despite a decade of strong growth and extensive indus-
The minimum wage is an important support for families with care responsibilities. The debate over... more The minimum wage is an important support for families with care responsibilities. The debate over minimum wages has centred upon its appropriateness in the context of unemployment (Card and Krueger 1995) and whether directed tax/welfare arrangements are more appropriate for supporting low income workers and families (OECD 1998). In this article four broad questions regarding minimum wage determination in Australia are assessed: a. Why are minimum wages important in terms of supporting work family balance?. b. Why has Australia recently moved towards a different institutional process for minimum wage determination through the establishment of the Australian Fair Pay Commission?. c. Why does Australia, like other Anglo Saxon economies with a neo liberal policy regime, retain a minimum wage program?. d. Should the new minimum wage determination criteria be revisited in terms of its relationship with work family balance?. The article argues that the new institutional developments in Australia with respect to minimum wage determinations are largely associated with institutional transformation; that minimum wages are retained to support a neo-liberal agenda; that the role of minimum wages in supporting work and family balance remains relevant; and the wage determination criteria require re-examination in the light of a considerable supply side transformation in the labour market.
In this paper we investigate whether socially responsible investment -.investment seeking both fi... more In this paper we investigate whether socially responsible investment -.investment seeking both financial and social returns -influences the management of employment relations within corporations. Many SRI funds use investment criteria that expressly incorporate employment relations indicia; meaning that they either look to invest in companies with good reputations for employment relations or exclude companies with poor workplace practices. A further and increasingly popular approach is to try to influence corporate policy on issues of importance to the SRI fund through engagement. Given these objectives, it is relevant to ask whether SRI actually does influence employment relations and to what degree? Drawing on an analysis of SRI funds criteria and interviews with Australian SRI funds managers and consultants, we argue that although SRI has the potential to influence the management of employment relations it has not yet reached the stage of exercising significant influence.
International journal of employment studies, Oct 1, 2006
While a literature is emerging on electronic HRM practices, to date there has been little discuss... more While a literature is emerging on electronic HRM practices, to date there has been little discussion of the potential for electronic agreement making and the general application of information and communications technology (ICT) to industrial relations. The Office of the Employment Advocate (OEA) website and Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) represent an operational example of electronic agreement making in Australia. In this article we consider electronic agreement making and examine the OEA process associated with AWAs. The article also examines how ICT is impacting on the operations of trade unions.
International journal of employment studies, Apr 1, 2006
With the passage of the Howard Coalition government's WorkChoices reforms to industrial relat... more With the passage of the Howard Coalition government's WorkChoices reforms to industrial relations in 2005, the place of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs - statutory individual contracts) now seems assured. The Howard government's control of the Senate has provided it with a unique opportunity to fulfill its left-over ambitions to extend the influence of AWAs and further privilege individualism. This particular juncture, therefore, appears to be an apt time to reflect on the experience of AWAs and consider how WorkChoices will operate to privilege individulism over collectivism through reforms to AWAs. This article examines the extant AWA literature and its empirical observations of the issues, strengths, weaknesses and controversies associated with the use of AWAs since they became available in March 1997, before turning to consider the WorkChoices reforms. It is argued that the most recent reforms attach considerable incentives to the use of statutory individual contracts that arewithout international parallel.
ABSTRACT The protection of employee entitlements has been an issue of public policy debate follow... more ABSTRACT The protection of employee entitlements has been an issue of public policy debate following several major corporate failures including HIH and Ansett. While protection remains paramount on the public policy agenda and in the campaigns of trade unions, we argue that there is an equally important, yet neglected issue associated with employee entitlements. Employees are involuntary lenders of capital to their employing organisations. They do not receive interest on their loans and importantly they are invariably denied information, monitoring and voice rights within their organisations. In this article we argue that these rights should be granted to reduce risk to entitlements and in exchange for employer access to this capital.
The Singapore government has implemented series of economic reforms aimed at reviving economic gr... more The Singapore government has implemented series of economic reforms aimed at reviving economic growth, improving productivity, reducing its reliance on foreign labour, fostering a culture of innovation in businesses, and building a sustainable ecosystem over the past few years. This chapter assesses how businesses are responding to specific government measures, and how they view the government’s catalytic role of in one of the areas of reform: sustainable development. We rely on primary data and interviews conducted with SME Firms in 2014 (n=215), and analyse firm-level behavioural changes in response to government policy, incentives and influence. Our analysis finds that Singapore’s State-directed innovation efforts to improve sustainability have limitations. Our findings lend credibility to the argument that social innovation and achieving sustainable objectives cannot be driven solely using a top-down State-driven policy approach.
In this paper, we examine the concept of ‘legitimacy’ in higher education in the context of the c... more In this paper, we examine the concept of ‘legitimacy’ in higher education in the context of the city-state of Singapore. We find that ‘legitimacy’ enhancing devices like rankings and accreditation are not necessary precursors for market success, reputation building or the provision of a quality education. This result is a direct challenge to the prevailing orthodoxy.
The industrial relations policies of the Howard government during its first three terms have prod... more The industrial relations policies of the Howard government during its first three terms have produced a major change in the way decisions, especially over non-wage issues, are made in Australian workplaces: they have significantly increased the exercise of managerial prerogative. This has been achieved by reducing the scope and importance of awards, encouraging decentralized enterprise bargaining while at the same time greatly restricting the power of unions, and promoting individual contracts, the effects of which are both to directly increase management power and to further undermine the power of unions. This conclusion will be massively extended with the legislative proposals anticipated for the fourth Howard government and announced in late May 2005. Amongst other things, the further decline of awards, the elimination of unfair dismissal provisions for enterprises with less than 100 employees, the end of the 'no disadvantage test' for collective and individual agreements, the continued attacks on unions and the promotion of individual contracting will serve even further to enhance managerial prerogative.
The Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC) is the latest institution to be created by the Federal ... more The Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC) is the latest institution to be created by the Federal government in the industrial relations arena and is one of the key pillars of the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 (Cth) No. 153. In this article we examine the rationale for the establishment of the AFPC, outline the structure and operational details associated with the AFPC and compare it with the UK Low Pay Commission. The creation of the AFPC presumes some failings of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission with respect to its safety net wage case deliberations. We attempt to identify what these failings were. Finally, we consider what the implications of the creation of the AFPC will be. On this point the establishment of the AFPC must be placed in a context of ongoing legislative change to welfare access and in the other major developments in the Work Choices legislation, especially the creation of the Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard.
The Third lTay programfor work, industrial relations and employnent is examined. The discussion c... more The Third lTay programfor work, industrial relations and employnent is examined. The discussion considers the publications of major third way proponents in the UK and Australia. It then considers what policies have been instituted under New Labour in the UK. The discussion then moves to the possibilities for Australia. Overall the Third Way program is either underdeveloped in some arees (eg the workplace) or largely following orthodox supply side policies in other areas (eg memployment). The article concludes with a list of some of the important work crtd worlcplace issues that could be addressed by a new policy program. lntroduction The Third Way program is potentially relevant for the political discourse in Australia since the Australian Labor Party has strong cultural and intellectual connections with British Labor, the standard bearers of third way politics in Europe. In addition, several ALP members have initiated a discourse on third way policies for Australia Tanner, 1999). It seems opportune to examine the context, assumptions, nature and detail of a Third Way program. In particular we address issues surrounding work and employment. Despite a decade of strong growth and extensive indus-
The minimum wage is an important support for families with care responsibilities. The debate over... more The minimum wage is an important support for families with care responsibilities. The debate over minimum wages has centred upon its appropriateness in the context of unemployment (Card and Krueger 1995) and whether directed tax/welfare arrangements are more appropriate for supporting low income workers and families (OECD 1998). In this article four broad questions regarding minimum wage determination in Australia are assessed: a. Why are minimum wages important in terms of supporting work family balance?. b. Why has Australia recently moved towards a different institutional process for minimum wage determination through the establishment of the Australian Fair Pay Commission?. c. Why does Australia, like other Anglo Saxon economies with a neo liberal policy regime, retain a minimum wage program?. d. Should the new minimum wage determination criteria be revisited in terms of its relationship with work family balance?. The article argues that the new institutional developments in Australia with respect to minimum wage determinations are largely associated with institutional transformation; that minimum wages are retained to support a neo-liberal agenda; that the role of minimum wages in supporting work and family balance remains relevant; and the wage determination criteria require re-examination in the light of a considerable supply side transformation in the labour market.
In this paper we investigate whether socially responsible investment -.investment seeking both fi... more In this paper we investigate whether socially responsible investment -.investment seeking both financial and social returns -influences the management of employment relations within corporations. Many SRI funds use investment criteria that expressly incorporate employment relations indicia; meaning that they either look to invest in companies with good reputations for employment relations or exclude companies with poor workplace practices. A further and increasingly popular approach is to try to influence corporate policy on issues of importance to the SRI fund through engagement. Given these objectives, it is relevant to ask whether SRI actually does influence employment relations and to what degree? Drawing on an analysis of SRI funds criteria and interviews with Australian SRI funds managers and consultants, we argue that although SRI has the potential to influence the management of employment relations it has not yet reached the stage of exercising significant influence.
International journal of employment studies, Oct 1, 2006
While a literature is emerging on electronic HRM practices, to date there has been little discuss... more While a literature is emerging on electronic HRM practices, to date there has been little discussion of the potential for electronic agreement making and the general application of information and communications technology (ICT) to industrial relations. The Office of the Employment Advocate (OEA) website and Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) represent an operational example of electronic agreement making in Australia. In this article we consider electronic agreement making and examine the OEA process associated with AWAs. The article also examines how ICT is impacting on the operations of trade unions.
International journal of employment studies, Apr 1, 2006
With the passage of the Howard Coalition government's WorkChoices reforms to industrial relat... more With the passage of the Howard Coalition government's WorkChoices reforms to industrial relations in 2005, the place of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs - statutory individual contracts) now seems assured. The Howard government's control of the Senate has provided it with a unique opportunity to fulfill its left-over ambitions to extend the influence of AWAs and further privilege individualism. This particular juncture, therefore, appears to be an apt time to reflect on the experience of AWAs and consider how WorkChoices will operate to privilege individulism over collectivism through reforms to AWAs. This article examines the extant AWA literature and its empirical observations of the issues, strengths, weaknesses and controversies associated with the use of AWAs since they became available in March 1997, before turning to consider the WorkChoices reforms. It is argued that the most recent reforms attach considerable incentives to the use of statutory individual contracts that arewithout international parallel.
ABSTRACT The protection of employee entitlements has been an issue of public policy debate follow... more ABSTRACT The protection of employee entitlements has been an issue of public policy debate following several major corporate failures including HIH and Ansett. While protection remains paramount on the public policy agenda and in the campaigns of trade unions, we argue that there is an equally important, yet neglected issue associated with employee entitlements. Employees are involuntary lenders of capital to their employing organisations. They do not receive interest on their loans and importantly they are invariably denied information, monitoring and voice rights within their organisations. In this article we argue that these rights should be granted to reduce risk to entitlements and in exchange for employer access to this capital.
The Singapore government has implemented series of economic reforms aimed at reviving economic gr... more The Singapore government has implemented series of economic reforms aimed at reviving economic growth, improving productivity, reducing its reliance on foreign labour, fostering a culture of innovation in businesses, and building a sustainable ecosystem over the past few years. This chapter assesses how businesses are responding to specific government measures, and how they view the government’s catalytic role of in one of the areas of reform: sustainable development. We rely on primary data and interviews conducted with SME Firms in 2014 (n=215), and analyse firm-level behavioural changes in response to government policy, incentives and influence. Our analysis finds that Singapore’s State-directed innovation efforts to improve sustainability have limitations. Our findings lend credibility to the argument that social innovation and achieving sustainable objectives cannot be driven solely using a top-down State-driven policy approach.
In this paper, we examine the concept of ‘legitimacy’ in higher education in the context of the c... more In this paper, we examine the concept of ‘legitimacy’ in higher education in the context of the city-state of Singapore. We find that ‘legitimacy’ enhancing devices like rankings and accreditation are not necessary precursors for market success, reputation building or the provision of a quality education. This result is a direct challenge to the prevailing orthodoxy.
The industrial relations policies of the Howard government during its first three terms have prod... more The industrial relations policies of the Howard government during its first three terms have produced a major change in the way decisions, especially over non-wage issues, are made in Australian workplaces: they have significantly increased the exercise of managerial prerogative. This has been achieved by reducing the scope and importance of awards, encouraging decentralized enterprise bargaining while at the same time greatly restricting the power of unions, and promoting individual contracts, the effects of which are both to directly increase management power and to further undermine the power of unions. This conclusion will be massively extended with the legislative proposals anticipated for the fourth Howard government and announced in late May 2005. Amongst other things, the further decline of awards, the elimination of unfair dismissal provisions for enterprises with less than 100 employees, the end of the 'no disadvantage test' for collective and individual agreements, the continued attacks on unions and the promotion of individual contracting will serve even further to enhance managerial prerogative.
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Papers by Peter Waring