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  Issue No 117 Official Organ of LaborNet 26 October 2001  

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Neale Towart's Labour Review


With revelations that the Labor Council library was once home to an ASIO operative, we lift the lid on Neale's nefarious activities under the codename: Mullet

 
 

Individual Contracts, Collective Bargaining, Wages and Power by David Peetz

Over the past decade or more, employer use of individual contracts to determine pay and conditions for employees increased in Australia and elsewhere, in no small part due to encouragement by governments, including through legislation promoting Australian workplace Agreements (AWAs). This paper considers the evidence on the impact of individual contacts and collective bargaining on outcomes such as pay and conditions for employees and the implications for the distribution of power. Employees on AWAs receive higher pay on average than other employees, due to the overrepresentation of managerial and senior specialised skilled staff amongst AWA employees. For other employees, however, individual contracts appear to be more likely to be associated with lower wage increases and/or a reductions in other conditions of employment. This in turn reflects the impact that individual contracting, compared to collective bargaining, has on the power of employees. Collective bargaining increases the bargaining power of employees, is the mechanism by which unions achieve most gains for their members, and is strengthened when union density is high. However, not all employees receive lower wages if they shift from collective bargaining to AWAs: some receive a non-union premium, by which employers in effect purchase a transfer of power from employees. While the impact of individual contracting, by comparison with collective bargaining, on pay and conditions may vary, it is unambiguously associated with a transfer of power from employees to employers.

http://econrsss.anu.edu.au/pdf/DP437.pdf

(Centre for Economic Policy Research; Discussion Paper no. 437, September 2001)

NSW in the Vanguard of Industrial Relations Law

Our Industrial Relations Act of 1996 is widely seen as leading the way for Labor governments to set up a balanced structure for employee rights.

But Industrial Relations Minister Jeff Shaw QC and Labor Council secretaries Sams and Costa got some further runs on the board that have largely gone unnoticed.

These are highlighted by some articles in the latest issue of the Australian Journal of Labour Law (September 2001).

Julian Semphill looks at electronic workplace surveillance legislation concluding that "the NSW Act provides greater protection for employees than equivalent legislation in other Australian jurisdictions."

Suzanne Jamieson and Mark Westcott write about the 2000 Occupational Health and Safety Act, concluding that it "should provide for a more cohesive and integrated regulatory approach to health and safety in NSW than the 1983 Act.... it arguably alters the framework to encourage more thorough and meaningful consultation between employees, employers and trade unions over health and safety than had previously been the case in NSW, if not other States."

In addition, NSW has led the way in relation to pay equity principles, employer deduction of union fees, parental leave for casual employees, anti-discrimination principles as part of the industrial relations system, absolute right of entry for union officials on OHS issues, long service leave rights for union employees.

(Australian Journal of Labour Law, September 2001)

Contractors: What's the future?

Self-employed Contractors: incidence and characteristics is a report from the Productivity Commission attempting to provide a clearer picture of the extent and incidence of contracting. Two predominant forms of individual contractor are identified. The first operate as self-employed independent contractors and the relationship between contractor and firm is similar to commercial contracts between firms.

The more problematic area is the more dependent contractor who earns all or the vast majority of their income from one organisation. The report profiles contractors and discusses possible policy responses to this changing area of the employment market.

(CPD/ACIRRT Workplace Intelligence; October 2001)

A New "Post Salaried Class? Self-employed workers in Quebec, 1990-2000 by Jean-S�bastien Marsan

Ten years ago, Quebec was plunged into the severe recession. At this time self-employed workers became common. it was predicted to become a dominant form of employment but has not become so. If the rate of growth in this form had continued at the rate it was running in 1990, self-employed workers would represent 25% of Quebec's labour force. It stands at 8% today. The OECD average is 11.2%. Marsan discusses social protection and union rights in Quebec.

(World of Work; no. 40 August 2001)

Downsizing - good or bad, it's here to stay

Downsizing has been a corporate strategy in the USA since the 1970s. Boris Kabanoff from the School of Management, Qld University of Technology, has been studying its effects on US firms and employees. Downsizing got a bad name from the 1980s when it was primarily associated with massive job cuts during the recession.

The major findings of Kabanoff's research were:

� most companies that downsized had been financially under-performing prior to doing so

� downsizing did not improve the performance

� there was only a short term gain in productivity

Australian studies by Peter Dawkins and Craig Littler (published by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research) are also discussed. They look at good and bad downsizers, why they do it and the future employment prospects of downsized employees.

(CPD/ACIRRT Workplace Intelligence; October 2001)

Regulation vs Deregulation: the debate rages on

A summary of the recent Industrial Relations Society of Australia convention. Discussed are AIRC President Guidice's contribution on ther role and relevance of the AIRC, papers by Gary Black and Louise Tarrant on union responses to federal deregulation, Grace grace provided the Qld perspective. Ron Callus gave a overview of what enterprise bargaining had achieved and what he saw as the problems, including a call for new institutions such as a minimum wage fixing body, possibly based on the Reserve Bank model. Bruce Highfield from Virgin Blue outlined the approach his company had taken to IR and how this might become a model for others.

(CCH Australian Industrial Law Update; newsletter 9, September 2001)

Bargaining for Cultural Recognition

Cultural diversity recognises the great variation in background of many workers and the wide range of different skills, needs and experiences of these workers. Enterprise agreements are increasingly being used to recognise this diversity and how it might benefit workplaces. Sample clauses are discussed and the HR department role is outlined.

(CCH Australian Industrial Law Update; newsletter 9, September 2001)

Indigenous and Tribal Peoples and the ILO

ILO Convention no. 169 came into force in 1991. A series of articles look at how selected groups of indigenous and tribal peoples on four continents have fared over the past ten years. The articles look at ILO activities in implementing the convention, how new technologies are helping ancient cultures communicate and how the Maasai people are faring.

(World of Work; no. 40, August 2001)

Shearing: Tom Roberts and OHS standards

Tom Roberts painting Shearing the Rams has been critiqued from an OHS viewpoint by AWU members. The question the way the rams are carried out, the lack of decent facilities for working in the obvious heat, and the romantic view of shearing Roberts conveyed. The previous issue questioned the Bullshit in the painting. Also the article points out huge agitation in the industry that was occurring at the time Roberts did his work.

Also the Victorian Workcover Authority has just released a comprehensive Health and Safety in Shearing booklet.

(Say Safety; September 2001)

Compo Costs Still Rising as Injury Claims Fall

The third Comparative Performance Monitoring Report reveals a 20% fall in the incidence of injuries between 1995-96 and 1999-2000, but workers' compensation premiums have not shown a corresponding fall.

The standard premium rate increased from 2.39% of payroll to 2.42%, up 6.6% since 1997-98.

(Occupational Health & Safety Bulletin; vol. 10, no. 227, 10 October 2001)

Globalisation and OHS by Robin Stewart-Crompton

Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director of the World Health Organisation has argued that globalisation does not have to lead to human insecurity nor to increased inequality. For this to be achieved requires joint work by governments, civil society and the private sector to develop a long term program focused on social outcomes. For OHS attention needs to be given to international standards, for example the SafeWork program of the ILO. Also the UN Economic and Social Council is promoting a Globally Harmonised System of Classification of Labelling of Chemicals.

(CCH's OHS magazine; October/November 2001)


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*   View entire issue - print all of the articles!

*   Issue 117 contents

In this issue
Features
*  Interview: Brothers In Arms
Labour historian Marilyn Dodkin explains how she exposed ASIO ties with Labor Council's Cold War leadership.
*
*  Politics: Defending the Faith
Launching 'Brothers', Premier Bob Carr gave his own take on the allegations that union leaders worked with security agencies during the Cold War.
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*  History: Surviving the Split
In this extract from 'Brothers' Marilyn Dodkin, looks at the manouverings around the establishment of the DLP.
*
*  International: Viral Attack
Postal unions in the USA are mobilizing to protect their members from the widening repercussions of an apparent bio-terrorist attack.
*
*  Unions: A Living Wage
The ACTU this week unveiled its claim for the 2002 Living Wage Case. Here's what they'll be arguing.
*
*  Campaign Diary: Week Three: Wave Them Goodbye
In a week when our boys and girls went off to war, Labor fought a desperate battle to fight the election on the home front.
*
*  Human Rights: Colombia's 'Dirty War' Against Unions
It might be tough being an organiser in Australia under the Howard Government, but spare a thought for Colombian trade unionists.
*
*  Review: Red Rag Unfurls
Ian Syson is an upfront, knockabout bloke. He heads up a new, small, independent publishing outfit called Red Rag Publications.
*
*  Satire: New Hope for Labor: Mackerras Tips Liberal Win
The electoral hopes of the Labor party have revived dramatically, after the perennially unreliable analyst Malcolm Mackerras forecast a huge victory for the Liberals.
*

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»  Malaysian Solidarity Action in Sydney
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»  Activists Notebook
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Columns
»  The Soapbox
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»  The Locker Room
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»  Trades Hall
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»  Tool Shed
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Letters to the editor
»  Super Risks
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»  The Great Orwell Debate Continues ...
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»  In Defence of Nader
*

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