bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Labor Flexibility and Employment Law: The New Order
Authors: Brookes Brian
Published: March 2013

In the past decade there has been a retreat from full employment and a fundamental change in the labour market away from physical production work and towards the service sector. There have been changes in the structure of industry and the workforce, and changes in arrangements under which work is performed. There is emerging a secondary or marginal labour market in which both full-time and casual, temporary and part-time workers are confronted with a situation where they are required to decide whether or not to enter work arrangements geared to the flexible organisational needs of the business enterprise rather than their own needs. Tensions between employer demands for flexibility, and for a largely unregulated use of the workforce, and employee concern to ensure job security and minimal protection in employment (including health and safety) means that employment law today has to respond to organizational relationships in determining whether or not to intervene between the parties to new work arrangements. The question is whether or not the principles of traditional employment law are flexible enough to become the legal framework of a technological society.
Industrial Relations Strategies in the Air Pilots' Dispute 1989
Authors: McDonald Jim
Published: March 2013

This paper examines the defeat of the Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) in the 1989 pilots’ dispute in terms of strategic inertia. In challenging the Government, the Commission, the ACTU and the airlines over the wage fixation guidelines the AFAP failed to take full account of the current industrial relations context. A successful attempt by the Federation to achieve increases outside the indexation buidelines in 1977–78 ever one of the significant examples of AFAP strength in past campaigns which may have led the Federation leadership to emulate previous strategies. The AFAP thus limited consideration of tactical options in 1989. Its reaction to legal action initiated by the airlines was to organise the mass resignation of members, weakening its bargaining position. Both US air traffic controllers in their 1984 dispute and the AFAP maintained inflexible courses, ignoring every opportunity to retreat and regoup in the face of major defeats. In contrast, Qantas pilots and Australian Air Traffic Controllers gained significant salary increases within the guidelines. Having lost exclusive coverage of pilots, the Federation’s future may now be dependent on closer links with the trade union movement and amalgamation.
Trade Union Strategy in the 1990s
Authors: Costa Michael , Duffy Mark
Published: March 2013

The Trade Union movement enters the 1990s at the height of its political strength. The Accord relationship has proved to be flexible enough to accommodate the political and economic needs of both Accord partners. The trade union movement’s strategy for the 1990s has been formulated within the protective umbrella of the Accord.

The trade union movement has both a vision of the future and an ambitious set of strategies aimed at securing its position within Australian society. The key challenge facing the movement is the reversal of the decline in trade union participation rates. Trade union amalgamation leading to the creation of 20 large efficient union federations will generate scale economies which will free up resources for recruitment campaigns and additional services.

The strategy of the trade union movement requires critical examination in the light of structural changes to the economy, the diversity of the labour market and new management approaches to human resource management. These factors require that unions adopt a number of diverse strategies to secure the future of the union movement. New and more decentralised union structures may be required to unionise workers in non-traditional areas. The union movement needs to constantly review its strategies to ensure they remain relevant to changing realities.
What Should We Expect of Microeconomic Reform?
Authors: Chapman Ross
Published: March 2013

This paper examines recent attempts to quantify the effects of some major microeconomic reforms on the Australian economy. These micro reforms improve competitiveness. Such measures, however, would apparently do little to raise the share of the manufacturing sector in national product despite induced improvements in competitiveness. The relationship between micro reform and the balance of payments is explored. Some attempts to measure the impact of specific micro reform on the environment are also analysed.
Deregulation and the Conduct of Monetary Policy
Authors: Monadjemi M. , Kearney C.
Published: March 2013

This paper examines the evolution of monetary policy in Australia since the mid 1980s when financial markets were rapidly deregulated. The paper discusses the conduct of monetary policy within the framework of monetary targeting and how deregulation affected this framework. Alternative strategies for conducting monetary policy are discussed. However, it is argued that since 1985, monetary authorities have often changed the focus of monetary policy with no specific framework within which the policy is implemented.

Deregulation has forced interest rates to become the main focus of monetary policy. But, since the deregulation of financial markets, the transmission mechanism by which interest rates affect the economy, has changed significantly.
The Liberal-National Parties’ Industrial Relations Policy: Deregulation by Providing an Enterprise Focus
Authors: Howard John
Published: March 2013

The central objective of the Opposition’s industrial relations policy is to provide an enterprise focus to the current industrial relations system. Deregulation will be achieved by introducing voluntary unionism and creating an alternative industrial relations stream of enterprise-based voluntary agreements alongside the existing system. The new agreements will have the status of awards but will not be within the purview of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC). Over time, the alternative, deregulated system would become the predominant one as employers recognised its benefits and opted out of the centralised system. Greater flexibility would lead to greater productivity without the problem of wage break-outs.
A Decade of Striking Figures
Authors: Dabscheck Braham
Published: March 2013

This article provides information concerning various aspects associated with industrial disputes or strikes in Australia in the years 1980 to 1990. Losses to production and output from other sources are compared to those that result from industrial disputation. Australia’s strike record is compared to that of other OECD countries. An explanation is developed concerning Australia’s propensity for a high proportion of short strikes, and disputes which end with a resumption of work without negotiations. The article also explores reasons for the decline in the level of industrial disputation which occurred in Australia during the decade of the 1980s.
The Impact of the Closed Shop on the Union Movement: A Preliminary View
Authors: Zappala' Gianni
Published: March 2013

This paper provides a preliminary review of the effrects of closed shop arrangements on trade unions. In doing os it addresses four hypotheses: whether the closed shop reduces union militancy; whether it leads to poorer services; whether it affects bargaining power; and whether it leads to increased membership.
Economic Arguments for a New Consumption Tax
Authors: Freebairn John
Published: March 2013

The revenue, efficiency, distributional and simplicity effects of using a GST to replace some existing indirect taxes and to reduce income taxation are assessed. Replacing the wholesale sales tax (WST), the general revenue raising portion of petroleum excise and payroll tax with a goods and services tax (GST) promises efficiency gains and negligible net redistribution. The principal case for using a GST to fund reductions in Australia’s hybrid income tax system is to increase the productivity of saving and investment.
The Liberal-National Party Fightback! Package: A Distributional Analysis
Authors: Raskall Phil
Published: March 2013

This paper examines the distributional analysis of the impact of the Fightback! package on Australian households. The paper examines the veracity of both the results presented and the analysis undertaken by the Opposition. The critique by the Treasury is investigated, as are omissions by both Treasury and the Opposition. Some attempt to measure the direction and significance of these excluded impacts is also analysed.
The Coalition and Voluntary Industrial Agreements: Some Constitutional Questions
Authors: Craven Greg
Published: March 2013

In an earlier issue of this Journal the Shadow Minister for Industrial Relations outlined the Coalition’s industrial relations policy. A major ingredient of that policy is the provision of voluntary industrial agreements. This article reviews the constitutional heads of power under which any future Coalition government may seek to legislate for voluntary industrial agreements. It suggests that they could be major impediments to such legislation.
An Uneven Playing Field: The Contract of Employment and Labour Market Regulation
Authors: Smith Graham F.
Published: March 2013

Proponents of voluntary exchange in labour markets place great reliance on the contract of employment as an appropriate vehicle for the practical implementation of their exchange model. This paper argues a contrary view and suggests that the contract of employment may not be an appropriate vehicle for the voluntary exchange of labour.
Privatisation (Asset Sales) in New Zealand, 1987–1992
Authors: Williams Michael
Published: March 2013

It is argued that New Zealand’s privatisation programme is unlikely to meet its main overt objective of easing fiscal problems. In the case of sales of major public utilities, neither allocative, internal nor social efficiency are likely to be enhanced either. A brief history, and calendar, of the asset sales programme is provided.
Removing Poverty Traps: Taxation and Welfare Reform in Australia
Authors: Cashel M. , McGavin P. A.
Published: March 2013

This article uses data on the interactions of income taxation and state welfare transfers on effective marginal tax rates (EMTRs) in Australia to argue policy reforms for removing poverty traps created by high EMTRs. This highlights the need for state welfare and income taxation reforms to target those elements of income taxation and social welfare interaction that are most significant for high EMTRs and for high EMTRs extending across wide incomes ranges. Proposed welfare changes involve simultaneous reductions in base-level state welfare transfer payments, along with eligibility for supplementary transfer payments for able persons that are proportional to market labour activity. Proposed taxation changes include removal of distinctions between taxable and tax-exempt state welfare transfers and a gradually-progressive revised taxation scale.
The APPM Dispute: The Dinosaur and Turtles vs the ACTU
Authors: Thompson Herb
Published: March 2013

This article examines the Australian Pulp and Paper Mills Ltd. (APPM) dispute which took place in Burnie, Tasmania between March 3 and June 10, 1992. The dispute is placed within the context of major changes in Australian industrial relations, which have been in process since 1986. Management and unions throughout Australia are still experimenting with a variety of industrial weapons to achieve their aims and goals within the parameters of the “Structural Efficiency Principle” and “enterprise bargaining”, constructed in Accords III through VI, from 1986 to the present.

It is argued that the crucial change during the past six years has been the ability of companies to re-establish managerial prerogative through litigation. This has provided management with the power to confront secondary issues and agents of change such as the Accord, the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, Structural Efficiency, Enterprise Bargaining and Restructuring with a new vigour, toughness and effectuality. Increasingly docile, debilitated and legally disabled union officials and workers seem to be coming to the view that a union victory occurs if the company agrees to abide by the law while directing its workforce, and recognises the workers’ right to be represented by a “third party”.
Compulsory Unionism and the AWIRS: Redrawing the Map
Authors: Wooden Mark
Published: March 2013

This paper uses AWIRS data to examine two related questions. First, how extensive are closed shop arrangements in Australia and second, what factors are associated with closed shop coverage? The paper draws heavily on earlier work by Gianni Zappala, but argues that Zappala’s estimates substantially overstated the extent of the closed shop. Moreover, unlike other studies of the closed shop (both in Australia and overseas), this paper utilises multivariate techniques to isolate the impact of the different factors thought to be associated with closed shop coverage.
The Determination of Interest Rates and the Effectiveness of Monetary Policy in Deregulated Financial Markets
Authors: Neal Penelope N.
Published: March 2013

This paper examines two issues pertinent to the effective implementation of monetary policy: firstly, the ability of the monetary authorities to control interest rates and secondly, whether interest rates have exhibited a leading, relationship with economic activity since deregulation of the financial markets. If expenditures are unresponsive to changes in interest rates it is shown that the monetary authorities have the ability to determine the interest rate but if the authorities attempt to push interest rates into regions in which expenditures become interest rate elastic, a role for liquidity preference in determination of the interest rate is restored. This limits the effects of discretionary monetary policy to the short-term. Previous empirical studies, graphs and correlation coefficients indicate only limited evidence for a negative association between interest rates and changes in economic activity whereas Granger causality tests indicate that predictable relationships between interest rates and economic activity have existed in Australia for the period in which financial markets have been deregulated.
Strong on Policy Suggestions, but Weak on Analytical Framework: A Review of the Green Paper on Restoring Full Employment
Authors: Nevile J.W.
Published: March 2013

The Green Paper makes the fundamental point that rapid economic growth of around 4 to 5 percent a year is necessary to substantially reduce unemployment, but even 5 percent growth will not greatly reduce the numbers of long-term unemployed. Policies targeted specifically at this group are also necessary. Its analysis of the policies conducive to rapid economic growth and its arguments that things like more rapid productivity growth and reductions in the participation rate have little effect on unemployment in the medium to long run are supported by simulations of the Murphy model which assumes the results that the Green Paper argues that it demonstrates. On the other hand, the Green Paper is rich in policy suggestions to reduce long—term unemployment and to improve the working of the labour market. The Job Compact is central but improvements to social security and education and training are also important.
What Enterprise? Whose Bargain? Politicians Face Their Principals
Authors: Davis Glyn , Gardner Margaret
Published: March 2013

The introduction of enterprise bargaining poses a fascinating dilemma: with whom should politicians negotiate about their wages and conditions? The question has different implications for Labor and the Coalition. The form of enterprise bargaining proposed by the Government can accommodate current arrangements for MP salaries, though not without some special pleading. The more radical proposals of the Coalition, which emphasise a principal—agent relationship between employer and employee, pose greater challenges. This paper explores the dilemma of salaries for MPs under enterprise bargaining, and suggests a policy solution which ensures that politicians are subject to the rules they propose for others.
Long-Term Unemployment: The Role of Wage Adjustments
Authors: Lewis Philip E.T.
Published: March 2013

The problem of long-term unemployment has, at last, taken centre stage in the policy debate with the publication of the Green Paper Restoring Full Employment. While economic growth will reduce the general level of unemployment, to return the long-term unemployed to work will require increased training and reduction of labour costs. More recently the concept of a ‘training wage’ whereby employers would be allowed to pay below the current award wage to previously long-term unemployed has received some support. The Green Paper did not give much attention to training wages, preferring instead to focus on wage subsidies. In this paper the case for wage adjustments is discussed and evaluated.
Wage Differentials and Youth Unemployment
Authors: Plowman David
Published: March 2013

There has been an increase in the rate of youth unemployment since the 1960s. Initially this increase was masked by the increased number staying on in the education system and the resultant drop in the participation rate for the under 20 age group. It is contended that the compression of youth/adult wage relativities since the 1970s has affected both the demand and supply for young workers. Demand has dropped since the experience premium attached to adult wages has been reduced. In the context of unemployed adult workers, the latter will be preferred to younger workers and new entrants to the labour market. On the supply side increased relative wages have induced more young workers into the labour force, increased the participation rate for this age group, and thus further increased the rate of unemployment. The persistence of this problem over time has given rise to relatively high levels of long-term youth unemployment Policy options to remedy this social and economic problem are necessarily constrained. On the industrial relations front a constraint is trade union antipathy to youth wage reduction policies which could give rise to generalised wage reductions. This paper proposes the extension of the special provisions of awards which permit for reduced payments as a means of assuaging union concerns.
The Authority of the ACTU
Authors: Griffin Gerard
Published: March 2013

Most studies of the role of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) have argued that the peak-council has traditionally had little if any authority over its affiliates. This paper contends that this situation changed during the 1980s and that the ACTU achieved a significant degree of internal union authority. Examples of such authority are documented and the combination of external factors, such as the political and economic environment, and internal factors, such as leadership and reduced factionalism, that contributed to this growth of authority are analysed.
The Workforce of the Future: Implications for Industrial Relations, Education and Training
Authors: Lansbury Russell D.
Published: March 2013

This paper examines new forms of work organisation which may emerge in the coming decade, as the distinction between white and blue collar work fades and occupational status is defined more in terms of skills and knowledge. Demarcation barriers between skilled and unskilled work, trades and professions will become less relevant as multiskilling and inter-changeability of personnel becomes a requirement in most organisations. The proportion of self employed in the workforce will also increase and most people will work on contracts rather than be guaranteed long-term employment with one organisation. Few people will pursue the same occupation throughout their working lives. Retraining will become a constant requirement to ensure that skills remain relevant. While the latest technologies will continue to be used in order to maintain a high standard of living, there will be pressures on industry and governments to retain some labour intensive forms of work in order to contain levels of unemployment. Three possible scenarios are presented for the future of work in the twenty-first century.
Good While it Lasted: The Position and Prospects of Australian Unions in 1993
Authors: Easson Michael , Forrest Tom
Published: March 2013

Since the Australian union movement’s representational peak in the mid 1970s, the industrial, economic and political landscape has considerably changed While the election of the Hawke Government in 1983 provided much cause for optimism among the union movement, the experience of the 1980s decade has proven to be cathartic. This paper examines the union movement’s response to the changes of 1980s; examines the development of the Accord and details the ongoing implementation of strategies for its restructuring.
Workplace Finland: New Forms of Bargaining and Participation
Authors: Alasoini Tuomo , Kauppinen Timo , Ylostalo Pekka
Published: March 2013

The era of incomes policy agreements appears to have ended in Finland, with negotiations focused at sectoral and local levels, although this could change with a return to a Social Democratic-led Government. While representative systems of participation have not been abandoned, the authority of unions delegates at the workplace appears to have declined. There has also been a growth in direct forms of participation, initiated by management, and associated new forms of work organisation.
Enterprise Bargaining: The Truth — A Comment
Authors: Crockett Geoffrey , Dawkins Peter , Mulvey Charles
Published: March 2013

In a recent paper in this Review, Rimmer and Watts (1994) are critical of our attempt to relate trade union activity to the only data on workplace productivity generated by the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey [AWIRS], Crockett, Dawkins and Mulvey (1993). Their criticism is based on the fact that the data on productivity were gathered by asking managers to rank the productivity of their workplace relative to other workplaces in the industry on a five point scale ranging from ‘a lot higher’ through ‘average’ to ‘a lot lower’.
Enterprise Bargaining: The Truth — A Reply
Authors: Rimmer Malcolm , Watts Lee
Published: March 2013

At issue in this debate is whether the relative productivity question in the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (AWIRS) can give reliable data for the dependant variable in Crockett, Dawkins and Mulvey’s equations. We claim it cannot; they claim it can.

Their Comment suggests the argument turns on four points:

(i)

Does the distribution of responses suggest effects which might pollute the data?

(ii)

Did the ‘subjective’ nature of the productivity estimates leave scope for ‘error’?

(iii)

Are the likely statistical effects of this ‘error’ important?

(iv)

Do independent and informed authorities support their judgement that the data is useable?
The Tax Issues That Will Not Go Away
Authors: Warren Neil
Published: March 2013

The last decade has seen major changes made to the taxation system in Australia. However, these changes have been primarily concerned with income tax reform. Three areas of the tax reform remain outstanding - wealth taxation, State tax reform and commodity tax reform. Wealth taxation has proven a politically sensitive issue subject to little public discussion, a situation not helped by a lack of data on wealth distribution in Australia. State taxation has been the focus of more public debate through a number of Government funded reviews but despite this, few of these report’s recommendations have been implemented. Although the issue of commodity tax reform has been the subject of considerable public debate, it too has resuted in no substantive reforms. This paper argues that until the political dimension of tax reform is taken more fully into account when designing tax reform proposals, the debate on these three tax issues will not move from words to legislation.
Sociotechnical Interventions and Teams in Australia: 1970s-1990s
Authors: Griffiths Andrew
Published: March 2013

This paper sets out to highlight some of the major sociotechnical and team interventions in Australia from the seventies through to the nineties. The review notes that teamwork interventions have changed over the last two decades and argues that this may be attributed partly to the popularity and influence of Japanese management approaches during the eighties along with changes to the industrial relations institutions. Team interventions associated with earlier sociotechnical and participant design approaches, undertaken in the seventies, concentrated on changing work and jobs as a way to address quality of work life concerns. In contrast, many Australian organisations which are presently implementing teams are linking them to broader organisational design issues, taking into account product flows, customer and supplier focus, product innovation and support systems. It is noted that later-style team interventions are linked closer to an organisation’s strategic goals.
The Role of Unions in Sociotechnical Systems
Authors: Baird Marian
Published: March 2013

In 1980 Dr F. Emery published a paper discussing the design of socio-technical systems for ‘greenfield sites’. In his paper Emery argued that a new and different paradigm of work, which is based on ‘co-operative, symmetrically dependent relations’, is more easily introduced into ‘greenfield sites’ and that ‘most matters can be negotiated beforehand with trade union officials’ (1980:19&21).

In this paper the author explores the use of socio-technical design in a greenfield plant, and its application in an old, or brownfield plant of the same company. The socio-technical approach is embodied in the new production model being introduced, which is called a high commitment work system Of specific interest is the role of unions in the sites. Two questions are addressed in this respect. Are unions involved in the design and implementation of the socio-technical system? What are the implications for the future of the unions in these two sites?
How Often Should Native Forests be Logged? A Case Study on the Eden Management Area
Authors: Hartley Stephen
Published: March 2013

The question of how often to log is examined applying two different methods – one optimizes over time the value of its timber harvested and the other considers the forest as a multi-use resource. The former, applied to data for the Eden area given an optimal rotation period of 25 years, the latter suggests that it is optimal never to harvest pristine native old growth forests.
Reforming The Australian Workplace Through Employee Participation
Authors: Lansbury Russell D , Davis Edward M , Simmons David
Published: March 2013

The past decade witnessed a wide range of industrial relations reforms in Australia. Employee participation and industrial democracy was espoused by the Labor government (1983–96) as a key element in its workplace reform program. It was also embraced by the trade union movement and, to a lesser extent, by leading employers and their associations. A case study of employee participation in the Ford Motor Company is used to illustrate the process of workplace reform in Australia during this period While Ford Australia provides a positive example of workplace change, it is argued that the promise of employee participation has not generally been fulfilled in Australian industry. Contributing factors identified in the paper include economic recession, the decline of trade union membership and a lack of ‘people’ skills in managerial ranks.
Workers’ Participation in Work Organisation: The Banking Industry in the United Kingdom
Authors: Terry Michael , Newell Helen
Published: March 2013

Employee representation in decisions affecting work organisation in the UK has traditionally been handled through collective bargaining although the reluctance of employers to negotiate such issues, combined with the reactive and economistic nature of decentralised unions has limited the scope and significance of such bargaining. In the 1980s the decline of collective bargaining, with no growth in effective alternative means of employee representation, reduced this already limited involvement. At the same time employer strategies were directed at recovering unilateral control over work organisation in their drive for flexibility. A case study of a major bank reveals employer indifference or hostility to significant union involvement in work reorganisation and serious union problems in translating general national policies on job protection and technological change into effective bargaining strategies. A conclusion suggests that a stronger voice for employees can only come via guaranteed rights with companies, which may require legislative action.
Retrenchment and Labour Market Flows in Australia
Authors: Campbell Iain , Webber Michael
Published: March 2013

Retrenchment is a significant element of current labour restructuring in Australia. This article situates retrenchment and the experiences of retrenchees since the late 1980s within a broader context of labour market flows. The article refers to labour flows at the level of the individual enterprise but it concentrates on the aggregate level ofthe national economy, drawing mainly on official Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data. It points to several important factors that are neglected in contemporary discussion of the experience of retrenchment — the effects of periods of job expansion and job contraction, industry patterns of retrenchment and labour turnover, enterprise-level retrenchment and recruitment practices, and the place of ‘precarious’ employment as an increasingly significant point of departure and destination in labour flows.
The 1995 ACTU Congress: Recruitment and Retention
Authors: Davis Edward M
Published: March 2013

The 1995 Congress was unusual. It was considerably shorter than all recent Congresses and there was only one substantial policy item: the recruitment and retention of union members. Nonetheless, the Congress provided the platform for important speeches from government and ACTU leaders. These reaffirmed the Accord process and, with an election looming, contrasted it with the Opposition’s approach. The Congress also provided for a smooth transition, with Jennie George endorsed as President-elect to replace Martin Ferguson on his anticipated departure to Federal Parliament.
Determining the Minimum Wage: A Household Expenditure Approach
Authors: Plowman D.H. , Taplin J. , Henstridge J.
Published: March 2013

The establishment of a minimum wage, a wage below which no employer can pay able bodied full-time employees, is a common feature in most industrialised societies. In many of these societies the minimum wage is determined by government fiat. In Australia, the prevailing method of minimum wage determination has been by way of industrial tribunals. In their minimum wage role both governments and industrial tribunals need to determine minimum wage criteria as well as mechanisms for operationalising the criteria This paper proposes ‘reasonable living’ needs criteria for minimum wage determination. By analysing the Household Expenditure Survey it also suggests the amount which would constitute a ‘reasonable living’ minimum wage for labourers in Australia.
Participation in Labour Adjustment Assistance: The TCF Labour Adjustment Package
Authors: Webber Michael , Weller Sally , O’Neill Phillip
Published: March 2013

The 1988 sector-based industry plan for restructuring of the Australian Textiles Clothing and Footwear industries accelerated the decline of employment in the TCF sector. Many of those thrown out of work by TCF plant closures were women, older workers, and workers from non-English speaking backgrounds who would find it difficult to re-establish themselves in the labour market. The Hawke government provided a package of labour adjustment assistance designed to help the retrenched TCF workers find jobs in other industries. This paper examines the rates of participation by retrenched TCF workers in the TCF Labour Adjustment Package. Drawing on both statistical and case study evidence it explores the different take-up rates by different subgroups of retrenched TCF workers. The paper concludes by exploring the implications for labour market interventions more generally.
The Living Wage Case: How Tight were the Economic Constraints on Equity?
Authors: Jones Suzie , Harcourt Tim
Published: March 2013

The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) brought down the first stage of the ‘Living Wage’ Case decisions on 22 April 1997. For the first time in nearly 30 years the decision was split. This article analyses the economic rationale for both majority and minority decisions and argues that the majority decision was overly cautious and conservative in its assessment of the economic constraints on the Commission’s capacity to award a pay increase to low paid workers.
The German Automobile Industry in Transition
Authors: Schumann Michael
Published: March 2013

This paper describes the new approaches the German automobile industry has developed during the last four years. It deals with product strategy, production concepts, work organization, industrial relations and technology. In the automobile industry, team concepts and groupwork have been the most important innovations in increasing efficiency. There are two fundamentally different approaches to team work The concept of ‘structurally conservative groupwork’ is a more or less modernized version of Taylorism. The job descriptions of production workers remain narrow, there is not much work autonomy and no reprofessionalization. By contrast, ‘structurally innovative groupwork’ builds on the specific assets of the German industrial order: the tradition of craft work (Facharbeiter), the strong focus on qualified, self-directed work, and the consensus orientation in the field of industrial relations.
Financial System Reform: Regulatory Structure, Financial Safety, Systemic Stability and Competition Policy
Authors: Hogan Warren , Sharpe Ian G.
Published: March 2013

The paper provides an assessment of the recommendations of the Financial System Inquiry and the Government’s reform proposals relating to the regulatory structure, financial safety and the mega-prudential regulator, systemic stability, and competition policy in the financial sector. It is argued that key reform proposals are based on explicit or implicit assumptions relating to the workings of financial markets and institutions. The Report fails to test those assumptions against contemporary and prospective circumstances to determine the practical worth of the recommendations.
Factors Associated with Casual Employment: Evidence from the AWIRS
Authors: Wooden Mark , Hawke Anne
Published: March 2013

This article uses data from the Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Surveys conducted in 1989/90 and 1995 to examine the related questions of: (i) what are the characteristics of workers who accept casual employment; and (ii) what types of workplaces and firms are most likely to employ workers on a casual basis. The evidence presented suggests that while supply-side characteristics are not unimportant, demand-side factors appear to provide more likely explanations for changes in the overall level of casual employment.
The Economics of the Australian Waterfront Dispute
Authors: Harcourt Tim
Published: March 2013

Industrial Relations returned to the forefront of the Australian public debate in 1998 with the dispute between the Federal Government and Patrick Stevedores on the one hand and the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) on the other. This article, which was written in April 1998 at the height of the dispute, concentrates on the economic issues involved and the facts about ‘waterfront reform’. The article analyses the economic aspects of the dispute in terms of employment issues, productivity issues, industrial relations and the relationship between waterfront reform and Australia’s international trade. It concludes that economic issues must be understood carefully in order to distinguish between genuine practical concerns about waterfront efficiency and purely political points made by those who oppose the MUA and trade unionism in general.
An Economic Analysis of the 1998 Patrick Dispute
Authors: Sloan Judith
Published: March 2013

This article considers some of the policy issues at stake in the waterfront dispute, including an analysis of the factors that led to the dispute and a discussion of the likely outcomes of the new negotiated agreements. It concludes that the introduction of another competitor into the Australian stevedoring industry is relatively unlikely. Without such competition and in the face of 100 percent unionisation, it is not clear whether the short-run gains in productivity from the latest round of enterprise agreements will necessarily be sustained.
Inter-Firm Networks and Industrial Development in the Global Manufacturing System: Lessons from Taiwan
Authors: Poon Teresa Shuk-ching
Published: March 2013

The link between inter-firm networks and industrial development in Taiwan has rarely been conspicuously identified in the extant literature. This paper highlights the existence of such a link, first in the labour-intensive phase of industrialisation from early 1960s to late 1970s, and then in the current phase of technology-intensive industrial development in Taiwan. However, established forms of inter-firm networks within and across the Taiwanese border have structural limitations to generate innovation from within the networks. This impedes further development of Taiwan’s industries, in particular those which are more technology-intensive. Using the information technology industry as a case study, this paper examines the role of the state and the private businesses in fostering the formation of newer forms of inter-firm networks which contribute to Taiwan’s further industrial development.
Outsourcing and the Use of Contractors: Evidence from the AWIRS
Authors: Wooden Mark
Published: March 2013

Data from the two rounds of the Australian Workplace Relations Survey conducted in 1989/90 and 1995 are used to examine the extent of growth in outsourced labour (or contracting out), the characteristics of workplaces which are intensive users of outsourced labour, and the sources of growth in contractor-based employment. A key conclusion reached is that growth in the incidence of outsourcing is not a function of employment growth being most rapid in those types of firms and industries which have traditionally used contractors, but instead has taken place across a wide range of workplaces.
Macroeconomic Evaluations of Labour Market Programs
Authors: Webster Elizabeth
Published: March 2013

Labour market programs are time honoured microeconomic policies, which offer different solutions to different policy makers. Some advocate them to moderate wage inflation and thus complement macroeconomic demand expansion. For others, they are advanced as a second-best, but politically feasible, substitute for reducing real wages. For many, they are regarded as an equity measure to assist the very long-term unemployed. All these goals are macroeconomic, for the policy maker is interested in the number and type of people displaced from employment as a result of the labour market programs. However, despite this, the macroeconomic field of labour market program evaluations is surprisingly thin. Few direct measures exist in Australia and overseas on the aggregate employment effects of such programs and the inference from related works finds little consistent evidence that they increase aggregate employment. Furthermore, there is a lack of macroeconomic assessments of the equity effects.
Breakaway Unions: A Study of the Australian Entertainment Industry
Authors: Michelson Grant
Published: March 2013

Previous research reveals that failure to resolve intra-union conflict may lead to the emergence of breakaways. Drawing on evidence from the Australian entertainment industry, this study examines the more unusual case of an attempt to secede by elements of the leadership (rather than membership) from the Australian Theatrical and Amusement Employees Association. Following secession, the breakaway group merged with a different union. The paper argues that the country’s system of industrial relations shaped the form of the breakaway and ultimately provided the legal vehicle for the disaffected group to split from its parent union. It further shows how union breakaways are not necessarily caused by union merger activity although it often appears that they are.
Financial Crises and Globalisation
Authors: Grenville Stephen
Published: March 2013

Drawing on lessons learnt from an analysis of why Australia was not subject to the same degree of contagion from the Asian crisis as were our near neighbours, this paper looks at what elements of reform to the international economic architecture are desirable and why. These include: wider representation in the economic councils of the world, in part to give more legitimacy to the rules of the game; bailing in the private sector both for equity reasons and to reduce moral hazard as well as to contribute to solving the immediate problem; far reaching prudential rules e.g. restrictions on banks’ short term borrowing and on foreign currency denominated borrowing; the possibility of controls on short term capital inflow; and greater transparency with increased disclosure by all major participants including hedge funds.
Unbounding the Managerial Mind
Authors: Porac Joe , Tschang F. Ted
Published: March 2013

Management theory has been heavily influenced by Simon’s concept of bounded rationality, so much so that bounded rationality has become a first principle in many modern theories of management and organization. But this influence has come at a price. It has devolved into a view of managers as “small brains” myopically trapped in local environments. We take issue with small-brained management theory, and argue that the time is ripe to refashion the microfoundations of managerial cognition into a “big-brained” alternative.
A Critical Examination of Common Beliefs About Partial Least Squares Path Modeling
Authors: Rönkkö Mikko , Evermann Joerg
Published: March 2013

Partial least squares path modeling (PLS) was developed in the 1960s and 1970s as a method for predictive modeling. In the succeeding years, applied disciplines, including organizational and management research, have developed beliefs about the capabilities of PLS and its suitability for different applications. On close examination, some of these beliefs prove to be unfounded and to bear little correspondence to the actual capabilities of PLS. In this article, we critically examine several of these commonly held beliefs. We describe their origins, and, using simple examples, we demonstrate that many of these beliefs are not true. We conclude that the method is widely misunderstood, and our results cast strong doubts on its effectiveness for building and testing theory in organizational research.
Fingolimod and cardiac risk: latest findings and clinical implications
Authors: Vargas Wendy S , Perumal Jai S
Published: March 2013

Fingolimod is an oral medication approved for the treatment of relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). It is unique compared with other approved disease-modifying therapies for MS in that it is the first oral agent and it has a novel mechanism of action. In clinical trials and postmarket use, it demonstrates clear therapeutic efficacy. However, it is associated with certain risks including cardiac concerns. The recent reports of cardiac events potentially associated with the drug prompted a regulatory agencies review of the use of fingolimod for MS in the USA and Europe. After completion of their review, the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency concluded that its benefits outweighed the risks. However, certain recommendations were made for appropriate patient selection for fingolimod and for more cautious first-dose monitoring. We review the use of fingolimod for MS in light of the recently reported potential cardiac risks. We conclude that with appropriate patient selection and careful monitoring, it appears to have a favorable benefits/risks profile and can be a valuable treatment option for relapsing MS. Continued postmarketing surveillance and data from the extension phase of its clinical trials will be very important in understanding the long-term efficacy and safety of fingolimod and to help determine its place in the treatment algorithm for multiple sclerosis.
Rise and Fall of a Medieval Trade Centre: Economic Change from Viking Haithabu to Medieval Schleswig Revealed by Stable Isotope Analysis
Authors: Grupe Gisela , von Carnap-Bornheim Claus , Becker Cornelia
Published: March 2013

Viking Haithabu and its successor, the medieval town of Schleswig, were important international trade centres. Human skeletal finds spanning a period of approximately 400 years represent the bodily relics of the former inhabitants, who witnessed the rise and fall of these trade centres. Analysis of δ13C and δ15N from bone collagen was performed to reconstruct and detect changes in dietary preferences over time. A comparison with the respective isotopic data obtained from a large archaeofaunal sample resulted in a classic ‘mixing muddle’ that could only be deciphered using isotope mass balance mixing models applied on an individual basis. It was found that the overall subsistence economy shifted over time from a focus on fishing to one based predominantly on farming. The move to utilizing a new main source of protein did not impair overall protein supply. In addition, changing living conditions experienced by the inhabitants of Schleswig may have led to a change in infant nursing strategy.
Revisiting Iron Age Ethnicity
Authors: Fernández-Götz Manuel
Published: March 2013

The possibility of exploring ethnic identities in past societies constitutes one of the most controversial fields of archaeological research. However, the reassessment of the conceptualization of ethnicity in the human sciences and the increasing transference of these theories to archaeological research is helping to develop new analytical frameworks for the study of this problematic subject. From this perspective, the aim of this paper is to attempt a theoretical and methodological approach to the complex relationships between ethnic identity and material remains from the standpoint of Iron Age studies, showing both the possibilities and difficulties of archaeological research on ethnicity. For this period, the incipient availability of written evidence allows the development of new interdisciplinary research strategies. Finally, an introduction to practical work in this field is presented, specifically focusing on two case studies: Ruiz Zapatero and Álvarez-Sanchís' approach to the identity of the Vettones of the central Iberian Peninsula, and the author's own work on the Late Iron Age sanctuaries of the Middle Rhine-Moselle region.
Stonehenge, Wiltshire, UK: High Resolution Geophysical Surveys in the Surrounding Landscape, 2011
Authors: Darvill Timothy , Lüth Friedrich , Rassmann Knut , Fischer Andreas , Winkelmann Kay
Published: March 2013

An extensive high-resolution geophysical survey covering 2 km2was undertaken to the north of Stonehenge in June and October 2011. The survey is important in providing, for the first time, abundant detail on the form and structure of the Stonehenge Cursus, including the recognition of entrances in both of the long sides. Much additional information about the internal form of round barrows in the Cursus Round Barrow Cemetery, the course of the Avenue, the course of the so-called Gate Ditch, and numerous tracks and early roads crossing the landscape was recorded. A series of previously unrecognized features were identified: a pit-arc or cove below a barrow on the west side of King Barrow Ridge, a square-shaped feature surrounded by pits on the east side of Stonehenge Bottom, and a linear ditch on the same solstical axis, and parallel to, the southern section of the Stonehenge Avenue. An extensive scatter of small metallic anomalies marking the position of camping grounds associated with the Stonehenge Free Festival in the late 1970s and early 1980s raise interesting conservation and management issues.