Peter Waring

The 'representation gap' in Australia

Abstract Drawing on recent literature from overseas, this article identifies four alternative forms of employee representation, two union-based and two non-union. Using these categories, it argues that there is in Australia a significant and growing ‘representation gap’. To some degree, this gap is not new. The system of compulsory conciliation and arbitration that dominated Australian industrial relations for decades before the 1990s delivered significant support for union forms of representation, but they were less than perfect in their effect. Furthermore, nonunion forms of representation in this earlier period were poorly developed. The gap, however, widened dramatically during the 1990s. The well-known decline in union membership and contraction in the coverage and scope of collective bargaining and state regulation constitute the core of the problem. Less acknowledged, however, is the failure of new non-union forms to deliver effective representation. It is contended that the representation gap should be treated as an urgent public policy issue by Australian governments.

‘Complexity’ and ‘Congruence’ in Australian Labour Regulation

It is asserted that much of the literature on changing labour regulation in Australia only provides a partial analysis of recent tends. In particular, it is contended that researchers have neglected issues of complexity and congruence in the regulatory structure. In this paper we define these important dimensions of labour regulations, demonstrate their importance and attempt to explain how their omission arises from the theoretical and methodological foundations of previous research. We conclude by advocating the inclusion of these concepts in future research.

The Rhetoric and Reality of Bargaining Structures Under the Howard Government

Abstract Bargaining structures have been a central issue in policy debates of recent years. This paper seeks to explore both the ambitions of the Howard Government, through its rhetoric on bargaining structures, and the real impact of the Workplace Relations Act on bargaining structures in Australia. The main conclusion is that the government has been more successful in changing bargaining structures than previously thought.

Socially Responsible Investment: Explaining its Uneven Development and Human Resource Management Consequences

Implications for SRI fund managers are considered, especially how they might use the notion of institutional complementarities to help in their investment decisions and in the impact they can exert. Specifically SRI funds are likely to be more effective where they can form alliances with other existing bodies or where they spur the development of such bodies. The implications for other actors in HRM and corporate governance are also considered. The notion of institutional complementarities, within and across spheres of a corporate governance system is a useful theoretical lens for understanding the varied impact of SRI across different corporate governance systems. Further, future studies of HRM will need to consider the heterodox pressures produced by SRI that may influence its conduct. We map the nature and extent of SRI equities across five industrialized countries - Germany, Japan, the UK, the US and Australia. We find that differences between the institutional, corporate governance and cultural characteristics of national business systems explain variations in the size and significance of SRI across countries. We also find that SRI has an impact on HRM in institutional contexts such as where its influence is complemented by strong employee voice institutions. In this paper we address two research questions. First, to what extent has Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) developed unevenly across countries with different corporate governance systems and how might we explain this? Second, what consequences does its uneven development have for human resource management (HRM)?

Singapore's global schoolhouse strategy: retreat or recalibration?

In 2002 a high-level economic review committee recommended that Singapore position itself as a ‘global schoolhouse’. An ambitious target was set to attract 150,000 international students to Singapore by 2015 and to lift the education sectors contribution to GDP from 1.9% to 5% in the same timeframe. The global schoolhouse was viewed as producing a number of policy complementarities including addressing population, labour market and economic priorities. This article reviews the last 10 years of Singapores global schoolhouse strategy from its inception until the present time. It examines the policy successes and setbacks, and present statistical evidence of its performance. In particular, the article examine the development of both the public and private higher education sectors in Singapore, the growth of the tuition grant scheme in the public universities and the introduction of the Private Education Act of 2009 in the private sector. It is argued that the 2011 general election in Singapore has proved to be an historic watershed and exposed considerable tensions between local needs and global ambitions in higher education.

Keeping up Appearances: Aesthetic Labour and Discrimination Law

There is growing evidence of corporate demand for employees who have aesthetic qualities that can be deployed in marketing and branding strategies. This article critically examines these efforts to prefer those who ‘look good’ or possess the ‘right look’. It is argued that these strategies, designed to profit from the aesthetic qualities of employees, are exclusory and may cause harm in the same way as other discriminatory practices. Yet Australian jurisdictions, with the exception of the state of Victoria, have not addressed this challenge. An analysis of the facts and reasoning in the matter of Hopper & Ors v. Virgin Blue Airlines Pty Ltd [2004, 2005 & 2006] reveals a need for discrimination law to provide adequate remedies for those discriminated against for not possessing the ‘right look’.

The (Continuing) Importance of Industry Studies in Industrial Relations

In the context of a recent tendency towards industrial relations studies at the level of either the nation or the enterprise, the aim of this article is to demonstrate the continuing importance of industry studies. Three main arguments are advanced to support this assertion, based respectively on the empirical and public policy relevance of industries and the potential of industry studies to develop theory.

The Nature and Consequences of Temporary and Contract Employment in the Australian Black Coal Mining Industry

Abstract Since 1997, permanent employment in the coal industry has been significantly undermined by adverse product market conditions and hostile legal and institutional change. These developments have created the climate and the capacity for the rapid expansion of temporary and contract employment. This article provides evidence of this expansion before discussing one unions response to it and the far-reaching implications of these developments for the future of employment relations in the industry.

The Australian Fair Pay Commission: Rationale, Operation, Antecedents and Implications

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.

A greenfield in black coal

Studies the introduction of individualised employment relations at the Bengalla Open Cut mining operation in the Hunter Valley coalfields of New South Wales, Australia. Describes and explains the “greenfield” strategy of the managing owner of the mine, the US multinational, the Peabody Group, and the reaction and counter‐strategy of the miners’ union, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU). Argues that management’s greenfield strategy has provided some immediate benefits to the employer and rendered the CFMEU almost powerless to develop a delegate structure at the mine and bargain collectively with management. Yet the peculiar type of individualism, its justification and the CFMEU’s efforts to maintain a presence at the mine indicate that individualised employment relations may only be a transient phenomenon at the Bengalla mine.