Glenda Jean Strachan

The “family friendly” workplace

The closer integration of work and family responsibilities has become an important element in the promotion of the decentralisation of the Australian industrial relations system. This article outlines the origins of the work and family agenda and discusses how it has come to be incorporated into the industrial relations reform agenda. A work and family typology is developed. Examples of family friendly workplace arrangements are outlined and discussed, and the extent to which these are incorporated into enterprise agreements is then outlined. There must be doubts as to how far family friendly workplace arrangements can be extended in an economy with high rates of casualisation, falling trade union densities and considerable differences in bargaining power. Indeed, many of the current family friendly arrangements are distinctly family unfriendly. Finally, there are important gender issues to consider in relation to the family friendly industrial relations agenda.

Affirmative action or managing diversity: what is the future of equal opportunity policies in organisations?

Equal employment opportunity policies were introduced in Australia in the 1980s in response to womens disadvantaged workforce position. Australias unique form of affirmative action was underpinned by legislation, and aimed to promote gender equity in the workplace via employer action. Throughout the 1990s there has been a policy shift away from collectivism towards individualism, and away from externally driven social programmes at the workplace towards managerialist driven social programmes. The main process for implementing progressive and inclusive equity programmes at the workplace is through human resource management policies that link employment diversity to organisational objectives (for example, productivity and profitability). Programmes titled “Managing diversity” have been introduced into some organisations, and today there are a variety of approaches towards equity policies in Australian organisations. The article proposes that a distinctive Australian version of managing diversity will develop in some organisations based on the prior national legislative framework.

Equal employment opportunity legislation and policies: the Australian experience

Purpose – Organisations have to respond to a range of legislative and policy initiatives intended to promote equal employment opportunity for women. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the mix of legislation and policies in Australia: anti‐discrimination and equal opportunity legislation, equal pay, work and family and managing diversity policies.Design/methodology/approach – Legislation, industrial relations changes and policies relating to pay equity, non‐discrimination on the grounds of sex, affirmative action and equal opportunity, including work and family policies and managing diversity approaches are reviewed in the context of changing labour conditions and social trends.Findings – Organisations are presented with a range of policies from which to choose and the result is variety in the extent and type of equity programs which produce variable outcomes for women in the workplace.Practical implications – While this paper deals in particular with Australia, the pattern of multiplicity of approach...

The Expansion in Non-Standard Employment in Australia and the Extension of Employers’ Control

Employment insecurity is hardly a new phenomenon, nor is it a new means for extending employer control over the labour process. What is new, in Australia at least, is the extent and speed associated with the deregulation of employment conditions and the associated erosion of standard employment arrangements. The centralised employment regulatory regime, based on industry/occupational awards, so long a characteristic of Australian industrial relations, is being dismantled. In conjunction with this deregulatory process the security of employment is also diminishing rapidly through the growth in non-standard employment arrangements together with the decline in trade union presence at the workplace. More workers find themselves located outside of the employment regulatory regime, outside of trade uruion representation and in forms of marginal and insecure employment.

Work and family balance through equal employment opportunity programmes and agreement making in Australia

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to assess the ability of formal equal employment opportunity (EEO) programmes and workplace agreement making to facilitate work and family balance for women workers in Australia.Design/methodology/approach – This article uses documentary analysis and semi‐structured interviews in six Australian organisations that are required to develop formal EEO programmes.Findings – Formal EEO programmes and agreement making are limited in their ability to promote work and family‐friendly arrangements at the workplace. Informal arrangements and managerial discretion are important in realising work and care balance.Research limitations/implications – The paper is Australian based, and the case studies were confined to six organisations, which restricts the findings.Practical implications – Leave and work arrangements need to be required within agreements and EEO programmes. Most programmes gravitate towards minimum requirements, hence, it is important to ensure that these minimum...

Equal opportunity outcomes for women in the finance industry in Australia: Evaluating the merit of EEO plans

This paper investigates equity programs in the finance and insurance industry to identify the approach to implementing equal employment opportunity used by Australian organisations. The research uses data from organisational reports submitted to the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency in order to identify issues in one industry, and link organisational approach to equal opportunity with the employment status of women. Despite the high numbers of women employed in this female-dominated industry, there are limited numbers of women in management. The findings show no correlation between the equal opportunity approach used and numbers of women in management.

The casual academic workforce and labour market segmentation in Australia

Teaching in Australian universities is performed by two groups of academic staff, defined by the nature of the employment contract. While permanent academic staff are engaged in teaching and research, a growing group of hourly paid or casual employees deliver teaching services. This article explores some key dimensions of the work and aspirations of these casual academic staff, including levels of access to job and career supports, and career and job satisfaction. The 2011 Work and Careers in Australian Universities survey of staff in 19 universities provides data from more than 3000 casual academic staff. Three related issues are investigated: the characteristics of labour supply in the casual academic labour force; the key defining boundaries of labour segmentation; and barriers between casual and permanent academic employment. A typology of casual academic staff is proposed. In particular, gender, type of university and discipline are investigated to examine whether these have an impact on the various measures of career opportunity, job satisfaction and the incidence of the ‘frustrated academic’. The research reveals that the casual academic labour market is not integrated with the permanent academic labour market and that discipline is a key determinant of the level of ‘frustration’ of casual academic staff.

The Diversity Management Approach to Equal Employment Opportunity in Australian Organisations

This article assesses the ‘Managing Diversity’ (MD) approach in Australia, examining its drivers, discussing its relationship to legislation designed to promote equity, and examining it as a set of management practices. It has been plausibly argued, on efficiency grounds, that responsibility for achieving equality objectives must be shifted to organisations as this links contextual conditions to organisational processes. However, even where there is some prescription and guidance such as that provided by Australian Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) legislation targeted specifically to women employees, both practice and outcomes are variable. This is even more the case with MD where there are no guiding principles or legislative support. The article examines the best practice EEO and MD programs of Australian organisations to demonstrate the approaches and programs that are being developed at the workplace and to highlight the limitations of the ‘business case’ approach underlying such programs.

Equal Employment Opportunity and Industrial Relations: The Path to Equality

Since the passage of anti-discrimination legislation in Australia, there has been an increasing overlap between these new legislated areas and traditional industrial relations. Remedies for individual complaints of discrimination may now be handled in both arenas. Individual, complaint-based systems are limited in the remedies they offer and cannot redress discrimination that is perpetuated within organizational practices. Measures such as affirmative action programmes are needed to overcome this systemic discrimination. These have the potential to produce changes within an organization so that policies and practices become more accountable. These programmes will deal with many work issues that are also industrial relations issues. One major determinant of their success will be the amount and level of union consultation. The achievement of equal employment opportunity, through the new legislation and programmes in Australia is therefore inextricably tied to industrial relations.

Research staff in Australian universities: is there a career path?

As universities in Australia have undergone transformation in the past two decades, the pressure on academics to gain external grant funding for research has increased. In the same time period, the number of research academic staff has increased substantially and they account for one-third of the academic workforce. Despite this expansion, there is limited research on the employment characteristics or career aspirations of the research academic workforce. The Work and Careers in Australian Universities survey of 19 Australian universities revealed that the workforce needs to be differentiated on the basis of employment contract as the overwhelming majority of research staff are on fixed term contracts. There appears to be limited means to transfer from this ‘periphery’ employment to the ‘core’ where a permanent appointment and career path are available.