bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Trade Union Responses to White Collar Off-Shoring
Authors: Penfold Carolyn 
Published: March 2013

AbstractFor some time, the trade union movement has been facing the challenge of repositioning itself to attract and retain members, and to remain relevant, useful, and powerful. These difficulties have been exacerbated during the recent period of intense ‘globalisation’. The political embrace of neo-liberalism, de-regulation of labour and other markets, increased capital flows, interaction between national and regional economies, and innovation and growth of information and communications technology, have created a very different, and constantly changing environment for labour. Services work in particular is increasingly mobile as a result of huge developments in information and communications technology. The white collar service sector is thus creating a particular challenge for trade unions, as the developed world increasingly buys its services off-shore. This article examines the features, extent, and effects of white collar services off-shoring, before going on to examine the responses of trade unions to this phenomenon. It looks at action taken by a number of unions in the USA, Australia, Europe and India, as well as internationally, before drawing conclusions regarding appropriate directions for unions to follow.
AWAs and Individual Bargaining in the Era of WorkChoices: A Critical Evaluation Using Negotiation Theory
Authors: Sheldon Peter , Kohn Nancy 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThe Howard government’s WorkChoices legislation appeared set to irremediably remake industrial relations in Australia by prioritising individual agreement making (through AWAs) at the expense of Australia’s traditional award systems based on collective bargaining. That government explicitly intended these changes to reduce labour market rewards to, and protections for, low paid and more vulnerable employees. Yet, it also deployed a rhetoric of individual choice in advocating these changes, promoting, in particular, a notion that individual bargaining and agreement making under WorkChoices empowered individual employees by opening opportunities for integrative (mutual gains) bargaining. This article asks what these changes really meant for bargaining between individual employee and employer. We analyse crucial elements of WorkChoices to highlight how its main structural mechanisms intensified employee bargaining weakness in individual bargaining. As well, we use negotiation theory, especially in relation to integrative bargaining, to evaluate the government’s own published advice to individual employees on how to bargain for an AWA. We find that the government explicitly sought to disempower employees through WorkChoices’ additional legal and institutional impediments and also through the concerted attempt at coaching employees to choose a losing path in their AWA negotiations.
Privatisation, Myopia and the Long-Run Provision of Economic Infrastructure in Australia
Authors: Johnson Michael 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThe privatisation of economic infrastructure in Australia that began in the 1980s has continued to be actively pursued by state and federal governments. Evaluations of the effects of the change of policy, ownership, control and regulatory arrangements that have accompanied privatisation and their impact on the longer-term stock of infrastructure and the growth of the economy have received less attention than the immediate privatisation decisions. This article reviews some of the studies that have been carried out to evaluate the impact of privatisation, focusing on long-term impacts on infrastructure provision. In particular, it discusses the myopia created by the emphasis on commercial transactions and managing markets that continues to shape the debate about the provision of infrastructure to meet Australia's economic, environmental and other objectives. Objectives have become even more difficult to achieve as an increasingly extensive and complex regulatory framework is required to manage privatised activities. This adds to costs and limits the potential for the introduction of new initiatives to address pressing problems. The issue is increasingly relevant, given the current perceived shortage of infrastructure and the flow-on effects of the current international financial crisis on Australia. The slow-down in economic growth accompanying the financial crisis is putting pressure on government budgets and threatening to perpetuate the existing policy bias towards short-term solutions, exacerbating the longer run problem of ensuring an adequate supply of public economic infrastructure.
‘The Government is the Best Landlord I've Ever Had’: Older Public Housing Tenants and Social Inclusion in Inner Sydney
Authors: Morris Alan 
Published: March 2013

AbstractIn this qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with fifteen older public housing tenants in inner-city neighbourhoods in Sydney, the life circumstances of older public housing tenants are explored. A primary aim of the study was to interrogate the notion that public housing is a form of housing tenure that is no longer worth pursuing due to it being a harbinger of misery and social exclusion for its residents. The research suggests that this conclusion is, in many ways, mythology. For the older public housing tenants interviewed, being accommodated in this tenure form was viewed as a ‘life-saver’. Despite the ever-increasing residualisation of public housing, the provision of affordable, adequate and secure accommodation in convenient locations gave them the capacity to pursue a life that they valued.
Low-Skill Workers, Technology, and Education: A New Vision for Workforce Development Policy
Authors: Gatta Mary 
Published: March 2013

AbstractMeeting the education and training needs of low-skill working adults will require a transformation of United States workforce development policy. A significant component of this transformation is the development of education and training programs that are crafted around the needs of these workers. Traditional classroom based learning — which is inflexible in time and place — presents a series of barriers to low-skill adults. This article documents the relationship between educational attainment and labour market status in the US. It explores the extent to which the use of technology and online learning may help to equalise access to education and training by providing learning opportunities that can better incorporate working adults' work, education and family demands.
The Duality of Labour and the Financial Crisis
Authors: Bryan Dick 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThe current financial crisis has meant a sudden drying-up of the widely-assumed basis of profitability and capital accumulation — reward for entrepreneurship or risk. In this context, it is timely to revisit the Marxian concept that profits derive from the dual role of labour, as both a commodity and a non-commodity. Surplus is created by the difference between the commodity dimension of labour, the value of labour power, and its non-commodity dimension — the value added by labour, over and above the value of inputs, or the cost of reproducing the workforce. Since the 1980s and 1990s, however, labour has become a commodity in a new sense. Risks to working class self-reproduction in the form of wage decline and withdrawal of state welfare, have pushed workers into becoming entrepreneurs of their own lives, calculating the risks of debt servicing and involuntarily buying services from privatised and financialised utilities and health care providers. In this sense, newly commodified labour is required to treat itself as a commercial entity, and it is thereby a player in the market for risk. The reproduction of labour power has itself become a source of surplus value, in the form of interest payments. But, as indicated by the US sub-prime housing market and its fall-out, capital now shares in the risk, through a fall in the value of labour power (lower consumption), and through incalculable financial instability.
From Terranova to Terra Firma: A Critique of the Role of Free Labour and the Digital Economy
Authors: van den Broek Diane 
Published: March 2013

AbstractOn-going class action against America Online's use of ‘free labour’ has divided opinion about the management of ‘digital’ labour in the ‘new’ economy. Web-based systems of collaboration between and within firms and their customers, as well as customer engagement in product innovation, have underscored claims about the evaporation of traditional labour markets and labour processes as well as about (weakening) divisions between production and consumption. This has led to (exaggerated) debates about the contribution of ‘free’ or ‘immaterial’ labour to contemporary economies. This paper argues that while significant restructuring has changed traditional organisational forms, capital markets remain centralised and digital labour remains as regulated as other labour. As such, while labour cannot be fully commodified, digital labour is neither free or immaterial, because it is not the content of labour itself, but rather its relationship with capital that gives it ‘weight’ and value.
The Fair Work Act: As Good as it Gets?
Authors: Barnes Alison , Lafferty George 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThe Your Rights at Work Campaign in the lead-up to the 2007 Australian federal election successfully mobilised a groundswell of community opposition to the radically anti-union Work Choices employment relations legislation of 2005. There were hopes that its successor, the 2009 Fair Work Act, would usher in a new regime of good-faith workplace relations, support for collective bargaining and vulnerable workers’ access to enforceable labour rights. Major gaps are the failure to address workplace power imbalance, especially in small workplaces, and lack of support for employee participation and voice mechanisms. A case is made for the inclusion of such mechanisms in legislative National Employment Standards. The article concludes by arguing that it is a mistake for unions to expect too much from legislation, rather than investing in the pursuit of the sort of community alliances which, after all, have made a restoration of Work Choices untenable.
Protected Industrial Action and Voluntary Collective Bargaining under the Fair Work Act 2009
Authors: McCrystal Shae 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis article explores the enactment of a right to strike in the Australian federal industrial relations system in order to ascertain what the legislation reveals about the commitment of successive federal governments to the principles of voluntary collective bargaining. The article reflects briefly on Australia’s international obligations to respect the right to strike under ILO and UN Conventions before outlining the main features of protected industrial action under the federal system from 1993 through to the passage of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The discussion reveals that the right to strike in Australia is very limited, particularly with respect to the content and level of agreement making that may be supported by protected industrial action. Focusing on multi-enterprise agreement making in particular, the article concludes that the current legislative regime does not permit industrial parties to determine their own industrial agendas and support those agendas through protected industrial action.
Good Faith and the Fair Work Act: Its Potential, in Light of the New Zealand Experience
Authors: Dorsett Shaunnagh , Lafferty George 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis article addresses the potential of the Fair Work Act’s good faith bargaining provision to enhance good faith bargaining and employment relationships, using New Zealand’s good faith provisions under the Employment Relations Act 2000 as a comparative frame of reference. It explores the limitations of the Fair Work Act’s compliance-based approach to good faith, which consists mainly of the parties presenting a legally defensible appearance of not acting in bad faith. In contrast, the New Zealand legislation aims to suffuse good faith with considerable content and definition, enabling parties to the employment relationship to extend good faith well beyond bargaining. In contrast to the Employment Relations Act, the formalistic, procedural approach promoted by the Fair Work Act is unlikely to encourage a significant cultural change towards meaningful good faith principles and practices.
Will the Fair Work Act Bring Improvements for Migrant Women Workers?
Authors: Zhang Angela 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis non-refereed article is adapted from the paper presented on 21 August 2009 by Ms Angela Zhang, to the symposium, The Fair Work Act: Promises, Potential, Protections and Pitfalls. This symposium was designed to bring academic analysis together with voices representing low-paid workers. The community organisation Asian Women at Work, based in western and south western Sydney, believes that legislative reform will bring greater fairness at work only if it is accompanied by a concerted multilingual campaign to educate women of their legal rights at work, and their sources of redress. Employer education, union right of workplace entry, and an effective inspection regime are also crucial. The legislated minimum conditions in the National Employment Standards are seen as being set too low to offer real protection. Even if low-paid workers could access the new collective bargaining stream, the Individual Flexibility Arrangements that are mandatory in every collective agreement are likely simply to continue employers’ power to dictate working arrangements. Whilst the Act improves the regulation of unfair dismissal, many migrant women will remain unprotected, because of small business exemptions. Nevertheless, in coming together to lobby and campaign, the women have found a source of strength and power.
Labour as a (Fictitious) Commodity: Polanyi and the Capitalist ‘Market Economy’
Authors: Paton Joy 
Published: March 2013

AbstractIn The Great Transformation, Karl Polanyi problematised the commodity status of labour. He described it as ‘fictitious’ and asserted the human aspect of labour necessitates ‘protection’. In bringing Polanyi’s mature works to bear on these claims, this article uses the ‘fictitious commodity’ concept to highlight the tension in neoclassical theory between concrete reality and its idealist construction of the economy. This contradiction directly challenges the veracity of the self-regulating market. The article develops two related themes. The first is Polanyi’s critique of the neoclassical conception of ‘the economy’ as an ideal (market) construct which gave rise to the notion that labour could be regulated by the forces of supply and demand. The second is the lack of logic in the notion of a ‘self regulating’ market and Polanyi’s appreciation of the concrete tendencies of capitalist economies to develop institutional arrangements that ensure the economy is always, and necessarily, more than ‘the market’.
Seeds of Destruction: The Decline and Fall of the US Car Industry
Authors: Freedman Craig , Blair Alexander 
Published: March 2013

AbstractJapanese car makers were able dramatically to expand their share of the US car market in the seventies and eighties. This was partly the result of their own efforts and partly fortuitous. This paper examines why the US car makers of this period were vulnerable and how the Japanese were able to exploit their own technical and organisational strengths. An understanding of this key period in the history of Detroit’s ‘Big Three’ indicates why some two decades later the US companies found themselves on the brink of corporate ruin.
Why Keynesian Policy was More Successful in the Fifties and Sixties than in the Last Twenty Years
Authors: Nevile J. W. , Kriesler P. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractIn the 1950s and 1960s unemployment averaged about 2 per cent. The lowest level of unemployment in the last twenty years was double that and long term unemployment, virtually unknown in the 1950s and 1960s, has been a severe problem. In each period there were two major slumps. We examine the progress of each slump and macroeconomic policy responses in each case, in order to search for reasons for this contrast. The priority given to minimising unemployment rather than restraining inflation is the most important difference between the two periods. Other major principles stand out, the most important of which are that in response to a downturn a fiscal policy stimulus is essential and must play the major part of any response; and that implementation must be swift and then followed up by further measures if necessary.
Privatisation and ‘Light-Handed’ Regulation: Sydney Airport
Authors: O’Donnell Michael , Glennie Miriam , O’Keefe Peter , Kwon Seung-Ho 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis paper examines the privatisation of Sydney Airport and the regime of ‘light-handed’ monitoring of service quality and airport charges that followed the sale in 2002. The arguments for privatisation are reviewed, in particular the need for increased competition and/or appropriate regulation where a former public monopoly, such as Sydney Airport, is sold. The aftermath of the privatisation of the airport has led to complaints by the major airlines and consumers of ever increasing charges for use of the airfield and for car parking and other services. This highlights that the ‘light-handed’ monitoring regime has not constrained the airport’s ability to charge monopoly rents. The aftermath of privatisation has resulted in labour shedding, outsourcing and a focus on cost minimisation by the airport’s management.
University Students’ Financial Literacy Levels: Obstacles and Aids
Authors: Cull Michelle , Whitton Diana 
Published: March 2013

AbstractIn the last decade, the increased complexity of, and levels of access to, financial products and services, together with rising household debt and the funding of an ageing population, have prompted the State to place increased focus on financial education, with the dual objectives of regulating to enhance market efficiency and mitigating social welfare issues attributed to poor financial decisions. Financial literacy is crucial for young adults as they embark on life events involving major expenditure and debt, particularly for university students who have already accrued a debt based on Higher Education contribution scheme liability and who are making labour market decisions. This paper investigates the determining factors of personal financial literacy levels among a sample of university students at different stages of study and across diverse study areas including business, education, arts, humanities and the sciences; with some interesting findings for policy makers. It also provides indicative evidence of students’ preferred method of learning more about personal finance to facilitate the effective design of personal financial literacy programs.
Assessing the Impact of Employment Regulation on the Low-Paid in Victoria
Authors: Cockfield Sandra , Buttigieg Donna , Jerrard Marjorie , Rainnie Al 
Published: March 2013

AbstractSince 1993 and the removal of the separate award system for the Australian State of Victoria, many Victorian workers have been on five minimum conditions and on pay levels well below that of employees in other States. Despite attempts to rectify the situation (with Victorian common rule awards), issues of coverage and employer compliance remained. The implementation of WorkChoices legislation in 2006 posed a further challenge to Victorian low-paid workers. Our research found that the impact of WorkChoices on the Victorian low-paid has been largely insidious, surfacing primarily as an increased wage-effort ratio, with people working more unpaid hours and at an increased pace. The implications of this are that these hidden effects are more likely to linger, even with the replacement of WorkChoices with the Fair Work Act, 2009. Furthermore, it appears that employer compliance with minimum conditions requires more adequate enforcement by the Federal Government.
Population Ageing and Tax Reform in a Dual Welfare State
Authors: Spies-Butcher Ben , Stebbing Adam 
Published: March 2013

AbstractTraditionally, older people have been the key targets of Australia’s targeted welfare state. Flat rate pensions and widespread home ownership have ensured relative equality in older life. However, in response to perceived fiscal pressures generated by population ageing, Australia has increasingly shifted its policy settings, encouraging private savings over public risk pooling. Private savings are increasingly supported by public subsidy through tax policy. This has led to overlapping policy priorities, as public subsidies are used both as incentives to promote savings and as social policy instruments to promote adequate living standards in retirement. This conflict is evident in recent policy reviews of taxation, public spending and pension policy. This article explores the development of this conflict and how it manifests in proposals for reform. We argue that the conflation of welfare and taxation goals increasingly creates a dual welfare state that promotes private provision at the expense of both equity and efficiency. We suggest that more explicit identification of the roles of tax policy, and the welfare implications of tax changes, would help to improve policy design.
Equity in Retirement: Are All Australians Getting a Fair Deal?
Authors: Asher Anthony 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis article evaluates the Australian retirement system using a framework of justice. Justice (alternatively, equity or fairness) is taken as requiring a full consideration of the criteria of needs, equality, liberty and just deserts, as well as matters of efficiency. Inequity occurs when the interests of weaker stakeholders are given inadequate consideration. Applying these criteria suggests that the Australian retirement system intrudes on the liberty of some groups of stakeholders inconsistently and inappropriately in mandating contributions at younger ages particularly, and by the imposition of unnecessarily bureaucratic means tests. It also fails to provide for the incapacitated older aged.
Trade Unionists in Parliament and Macroeconomic Performance: Evidence from Germany
Authors: Berlemann Michael , Zimmermann Klaus W. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis article focuses on the role of unionised members of parliament. While unions have a direct effect on the labour market via wage negotiations, they often also take part in political debates. In many countries, significant shares of the members of parliament are also members of a trade union. However, up to now little empirical evidence is available on the extent to which unionised members of parliament try to achieve union-specific goals and thereby influence the macroeconomic conditions of an economy. A recent study for Germany comes to the conclusion that union members in the Bundestag cannot be seen as the parliamentary arm of the trade unions. However, we present contradicting empirical results by showing that, in Germany at least, the degree of unionisation of parliamentary members has a negative impact on economic growth and increases inflation, while unemployment remains unaffected.