Ingrid Landau

Law and Civil Society in Cambodia and Vietnam: A Gramscian Perspective

Abstract Commentators have long struggled to understand state-society relations in Asia within the framework of the dominant liberal-democratic conceptualisation of civil society. This article examines the relevance of Antonio Gramscis theory of civil society for understanding contemporary Cambodia and Vietnam, with reference to both legal and social frameworks. Such an analysis illuminates important aspects of state-society relations in Southeast Asia that tend to be overlooked by dominant liberal and Marxist perspectives. This article argues, however, that the utility of Gramscis conception of civil society for understanding state-society relations in Cambodia and Vietnam, by retaining the notion of civil society as a realm associatively separate from the state, is limited.

Using Public Procurement to Promote Better Labour Standards in Australia: A Case Study of Responsive Regulatory Design

The former Federal Coalition Government’s industrial relations reforms restricted the capacity of state governments to make labour law, inspiring them to consider more innovative ways of regulating labour standards in the private sector including through greater use of public procurement. This article presents a case study of a program in which an Australian state government has sought to use its purchasing power to regulate labour standards in the cleaning industry. The authors assess this program against a model of responsive regulation. They suggest that there is potential to extend this model to other areas of government procurement.

Old game, new rules? The dynamics of enterprise bargaining under the Fair Work Act

Over the last quarter century, enterprise bargaining has evolved to be a primary mechanism through which wages and conditions of employment are determined in Australia. Since the introduction of the Fair Work Act, the process for negotiating enterprise agreements has been governed by principles of good faith bargaining. There has been considerable debate over the potential for these provisions to change the dynamics of bargaining, yet empirical evidence of these effects remains limited. This article reports on a field study investigating the experiences of industrial parties negotiating enterprise agreements during the first three years of the Fair Work Act. Drawing on the tribunals own case management database, along with a large sample of interviews, the study provides a more systematic examination of the extent to which the parties have deployed the new principles governing collective bargaining, with a particular focus on good faith provisions, and whether these principles have altered the dynamics of bargaining practices.

Trade Union Ambivalence Toward Enforcement of Employment Standards as an Organizing Strategy

Trade unions in Australia have long played an important role in the enforcement of minimum employment standards. The legislative framework today continues to recognize this enforcement role, but in a way that is more individualistic and legalistic than in the past. At the same time that the law has evolved to emphasize the representation and servicing role of trade unions, the Australian union movement has sought to revitalize and grow through the adoption of an “organizing model” of unionism that emphasizes workplace-level activism. This Article explores how these seemingly opposing trends have manifested themselves in the enforcement-related activities of five trade unions. Considerable diversity was found among the unions in relation to the extent to which and how the unions performed enforcement-related activities. However, all five unions spent significant time and resources on monitoring and enforcing employer compliance with minimum standards and saw this work as a core part of what they do. The case studies suggest, however, that the way in which this work is undertaken within unions and by whom has changed significantly in recent decades. While there was evidence that enforcement work was used tactically by unions in certain cases, this was largely on an ad hoc basis and there was little indication that the enforcement work was integrated into broader organizing objectives and strategies. Overall, the unions were ambivalent, if not skeptical, as to the capacity for enforcement work to grow unions through building workplace activism and collective strength.

DO INVESTMENT ATTRACTION INCENTIVES CREATE DECENT JOBS? A STUDY OF LABOUR CONDITIONS IN INDUSTRY ASSISTANCE CONTRACTS

All levels of government in Australia offer financial assistance in one form or another to private corporations in order to encourage, facilitate or retain business investment in their respective jurisdictions. This disbursement of public funds is often justified on the basis of the number of jobs that will be created by the assisted firm, with relatively little attention paid to the quality of these jobs. This article presents findings on the extent to which three State Governments in Australia (NSW, Queensland and Victoria) use industry assistance to influence job quality and the character of employment relations in assisted corporations. It also examines how any such conditions attached to the disbursement of financial assistance are monitored and enforced. State Governments remain less than forthcoming as to the details of these grants. Nonetheless, it is possible to draw a number of observations as to the extent to which industry assistance is and could be used in the three Australian States as a means through which to regulate job quality. We conclude by discussing the potential use of industry assistance to promote job quality in subsidised corporations, drawing on existing regulatory approaches in the United States.

Major court and tribunal decisions in Australia in 2017

This annual survey of significant court and tribunal decisions in Australia in 2017 covers changes to the award safety net implemented through the 4-yearly review, including in relation to penalty rates and casual employment. It outlines developments in collective bargaining, focusing on agreement-making, protected industrial action, the good faith bargaining provisions and the rise in successful applications by employers for termination of agreements. A Queensland decision considering community pickets and the interaction between state peaceful assembly legislation and the Fair Work Act is also noted. Decisions on workplace discrimination show that the courts are still grappling with Fair Work Act provisions in this area, and taking divergent approaches. The survey also discusses a successful accessorial liability action taken by the Fair Work Ombudsman, which is significant for both internal and external business advisors.