Continuity and Change in Australian Labour Regulation: Work Choices, Fair Work and the Role of the ‘Independent Umpire’

Abstract

The direction in which [the industrial tribunal system] moves and the speed with which it moves depend ultimately on the attitudes, policies, capacities and the will of the other main players - the employers and their organisations, the employees and their unions, and governments, especially the Commonwealth. It does not have a magic wand to reduce inflation, increase productivity and reduce industrial actions, independently of tangible and appropriate support of the other players. It does not serve the public interest - its raison d’etre - by prescribing principles or taking actions which, however admirable in the abstract, do not work in practice, generating an unacceptable degree of industrial unrest or adverse economic consequences. Although referred to as a compulsory arbitration system, its capacity to achieve favourable economic and industrial outcomes depends on broad consensus on the principles and procedures it formulates, and on its ability to apply these consistently in individual cases. It must be thought of essentially as a facilitator rather than a prime mover, reactive rather than proactive, in a complex interrelationship between labour, capital and governments.

Keywords: Australian Labour Regulation, Work Choices, Fair Work, Independent Umpire

JEL Classification: K3, K31