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Abstract:
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is currently one of the most discussed topics by business people and scholars alike. The concept has been enthusiastically supported by three very disparate groups - by government, by non-government organisations (NGOs) ranging from charities to national and international industry groups, and by business itself, in particular large corporations. In 2000, a study by the Centre for Corporate Public Affairs and the Business Council of Australia found around half of Australia's large companies had policies related to community involvement, social responsibility or stakeholder engagement. More than half of these companies had developed policies in the last decade. In 2001, Cronin and Zappalà concluded from their survey of Australia's top 100 companies that just over 70 percent of companies surveyed had corporate community involvement (CCI) or CSR policies.

Increasing numbers of companies in Australia have policies and programs that purport to reflect their commitment to the community, society and the environment. Yet, despite the prolific amount of literature on CSR - particularly from the perspective of companies themselves and from practioners in the thriving industry of CSR consultancy - there is a dearth of empirical studies examining whether, and if so to what extent and in what manner, Australian companies are responding in practice to the increasing momentum surrounding CSR. This review outlines and discusses the small number of studies that have been conducted in Australia over the past decade by academics, business associations, government, non-profit organisations and by consultancies into these issues.

corporate social responsibility, CSR

Abstract:
Since at least the 1970s, employee share ownership has enjoyed bipartisan political support in Australia. Despite broad and sustained public policy interest in employee share ownership, however, Australian literature on the subject remains scarce. There has also been very little in the way of comprehensive analysis of the regulatory framework. This paper provides an overview of employee share ownership from an Australian perspective. It begins by reviewing the literature on broad-based employee share ownership before turning to examine available data on Australian practice. It then considers how employee share ownership plans are currently provided for in public policy and law. Companies in Australia proposing to offer shares to employees must comply with many regulatory requirements. The paper examines these requirements. The authors also examine features of the current regulatory framework which have been identified as problematic.

Abstract:
Non-executive employees are increasingly being offered the opportunity to participate in employee share ownership plans. In many cases, companies provide their employees with shares or options as a 'gift', either on a one-off or regular basis. Many plans, however, are structured so as to require employees to contribute to the value of the securities. In the cases of contributory plans, the reasons why employees choose to participate are not always clear. This paper reviews existing studies and presents a conceptual framework to explain why employees participate in employee share plans. It examines the relationship between the decision to participate in a plan and a number of demographic and workplace-specific variables. It also identifies key factors that may moderate this relationship, such as the extent of company communication on the plan and company performance. This conceptual framework has been developed on the basis of a synthesis of previous studies and twelve semi-structured interviews conducted with human resource managers and trade union representatives within publicly listed companies.

Abstract:
Analysis of the role of the state in shaping industrial relations and employment practices has traditionally focused on labour law. Certainly, a key role of government has been to set labour standards through legislation, or by establishing legal systems of industrial relations whereby conflicts between employers and unions are resolved and there is a mechanism for determination of appropriate rights and standards for employers and employees. Recently, however, a number of developments - including criticisms of labour law's capacity to accommodate flexibility in employment practices at the level of the firm (often referred to as a need for labour market deregulation), questions about the effectiveness of legally prescriptive and hierarchical models of regulation, and a growth in corporate power - have converged to shift attention to other ways in which the state may influence labour standards and practices. Increasing attention (particularly in Europe and the United States) has been paid to the use by states of soft or light touch approaches to regulating labour standards. Such regulatory approaches are yet to receive extensive consideration as forms of state labour regulation in Australian labour law scholarship.

In Australia, the Commonwealth Government's Work Choices legislation brings into further relief the actual and potential use of light touch labour regulation by the Australian States. Work Choices will reduce the impact of awards, historically the most influential and comprehensive form of legal regulation of employment conditions in Australia. Moreover, under Work Choices, the Commonwealth has created a national system of labour law by covering the field of industrial law, severely restricting the jurisdiction of State Governments to use law to regulate corporate labour practices within the States. Nevertheless, the federal takeover has the potential to bring a 'cauldron of innovation' to the boil by causing State Governments (and perhaps local governments) in Australia to consider creative approaches to labour regulation, including light touch approaches. While it is too early to identify and evaluate innovative responses to Work Choices, it is certainly possible to identify existing light touch labour regulation by State Governments, and to discuss recent and impending developments.

This paper presents preliminary findings from a study of light touch labour regulation by State Governments in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. It seeks to contribute to an understanding of how the state seeks to effect normative changes in employment practices and industrial relations in Australia other than through legislation. Part Two of the paper identifies the theoretical approaches that have informed this research. Part Three outlines how the three Australian State Governments are currently using light touch regulatory techniques to improve labour standards. We focus in turn on States' use of public procurement; financial subsidies, tax concessions or loans; codes of practice; and best practice case studies or guidelines. This discussion demonstrates that New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria already use a range of regulatory techniques to promote desired labour practices. Furthermore, there are indications that the prevalence of light touch approaches by the States is likely to increase in response to Work Choices. Part Four provides a very preliminary evaluation of light touch labour regulation in Australia. It assesses the use of light touch regulation by the Australian States against a normative model of responsive regulation. It identifies a number of weaknesses with the current approaches and offers some suggestions for improvement. Suggestions for further research are also considered.

light touch, labour, market, regulation, work choice, australia, industrial relations, deregulation

Abstract:
This research report presents findings from a survey of employee share ownership practice in Australian listed companies. The research focused on broad-based employee share ownership plans (ESOPs): that is, plans that are open to a majority of employees within the company. The purpose of this study was fourfold: (1) to inform public policy debate on the issue of employee share ownership through providing, for the first time, a detailed account of employee share plan practice in Australian listed companies; (2) to examine how, if at all, the regulatory framework in taxation and corporate law is impacting upon the decision by companies to implement ESOPs and the design of their plans; (3) to obtain company views on the adequacy of the current regulatory framework; and (4) to test a range of hypotheses as to the determinants of ESOPs in the Australian context.

Key findings as to company practice include: (1) approximately 57 percent of companies responding to the survey had at least one broad-based employee share ownership plan; (2) significantly more companies reported having a broad-based plan than a narrow-based plan: that is, a plan that is only open to executives; (3) the three most popular reasons for implementing a plan were 'showing employees the company values them'; 'sharing financial success with employees'; and 'aligning employee interests with shareholder interests'; (4) over three quarters of companies that have a broad-based plan have adopted their plan since 2000; (5) the most common type of broad-based ESOP was a plan structured to take advantage of the tax exemption in Division 13A of the Income Tax Assessment Act.

Three structural characteristics were found to have a significant and positive association with the presence of an employee share ownership plan. These were the presence of a centralised human resource function; company growth over the preceding 12 months (measured by the number of employees); and the composition of the workforce (the proportion of full-time to part-time and casual employees). We also found that companies with broad-based ESOPs were significantly more likely to have structures for communicating directly with employees.

Abstract:
This paper examines the application of labour law in micro and small enterprises (MSEs) by comparing the practices in various member States of the ILO. Extending the coverage of labour law to numerous MSEs has been problematic in several countries largely due to practical reasons of the limited state capabilities and the number of enterprises involved. While the enterprises make 'strategic choices' of which legal provisions to comply with, States have the choice of 'responsive regulation' as well.

The role of the State in creating a level playing field for all enterprises is being increasingly recognized as critical for bringing about an enabling business environment. Such role of the State in formulation and application of policies and regulations has been debated in terms of their effect in business growth as well as workers' protection as enshrined in the ILO's Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and other conventions. Although doubts have been raised about legislating the labour market without effective State wherewithal to implement such laws, the rush to deregulation in some countries has also raised the apprehension of the market anarchy in the absence of rules.

Many countries have labour law provisions applicable to all enterprises whereas many others have parallel labour law regimes or simply exemptions for the MSEs from application. Hence, a multitude of MSEs is found operating in an informal economy outside the legal purview with dim prospects of growth, poor working conditions and low productivity. During the discussion on the informal economy in 2002, the International Labour Conference concluded that the growth of the informal economy can often be traced to inappropriate, ineffective policies coupled with the lack of conducive legal and institutional frameworks and the lack of effective implementation of policies and laws. Based on the policy reviews carried out by SEED of the ILO in ten countries, labour legislation has been identified as one of the important elements of the regulatory environment affecting the performance of MSEs.

A conducive policy and regulatory environment reduces excessive administrative burdens and costs for enterprises; and at the same time, the long-term productivity gain is feasible only with workers' protection. There has been much debate about lowering the cost of doing business, including the arguments put forward in the Doing Business reports of the World Bank Group. Nonetheless, minimizing regulation to the extent of deregulation may not be the answer since the market does not operate efficiently without a legal framework; and the exploitative 'race to the bottom' under the competitive pressures in the absence of such a legal framework only damages long term survival of enterprises and jobs. Appropriate and effective regulation is necessary for reducing the burden and cost for enterprises in complying with the regulatory requirements while maintaining workers' protection.

'Responsive regulation' by the State means taking into account the attraction and incentives for the enterprises in complying with the labour regulation while the State maintains the threat of sanction as the last resort. This means an interplay of how enterprises make 'strategic choices' in complying with various regulations and how the State encourages such decisions through innovative regulatory approaches including education and awareness raising in collaboration with the ILO's social partners. This working paper provides such country examples as references for the constituents to debate their own reform processes.

micro, small, enterprises, ILO, labour, law, responsive regulation

Abstract:
The federal government's Work Choices legislation has taken over much of the jurisdiction of state governments to regulate labour practices in the conventional manner. There are already indications that the states are considering more creative forms of labour regulation, including 'soft' or 'light touch' regulation, as a response to Work Choices. This article presents findings from a study of light touch labour regulation in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. The article also makes some preliminary observations on the use of this regulatory technique by the three states, drawing upon a normative model of 'responsive regulation'. This preliminary assessment of light touch labour regulation suggests that there is considerable scope for improvement, as many of the approaches discussed are relatively weak informational strategies. The article identifies a number of possible regulatory improvements.

state, government, Australia, labour, regulation, light touch