The role of the Fair Work Commission in tackling workplace bullying

From 1 January 2014, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has jurisdiction to hear complaints from workers covered by the Fair Work Act 2009 (FWA) who allege they are victims of workplace bullying.

Federal Circuit Court refuses to hear ‘union slush fund’ dispute

Union reserve funds are not illegal, but that has not stopped them from becoming controversial in the context of recently uncovered instances of serious misuse these funds. Sheehan v Australian Municipal Administrative, Clerical and Services Union & Ors [2013] FCCA 2137 is a Federal Circuit Court decision that sheds light on union members’ standing to bring actions for alleged misconduct by officials. It is cases such as this one which have attracted media attention and seen most union reserve funds pejoratively labelled ‘slush funds’.

Low Flying Kangaroo

The dispute between Qantas and unions can be seen in the context of Qantas’ attempts to remain viable in a highly competitive domestic and international aviation environment. This article examines some of the sources of these competitive pressures and the strategies that Qantas has adopted, or proposes to adopt, in responding to this environment. It finds that these strategies are broadly akin to those that Australian companies in other sectors have adopted when faced with similar circumstances.

Industrial relations reforms: boosting labour productivity?

Business leaders are citing impediments caused by the Fair Work legislation as a significant limit on labour productivity:

Mr Argus (former BHP Billiton chairman) ... warn(ed) of a return to "the dark days of the 1970s" if labour market flexibility was not boosted. He said under the Fair Work laws, unions were resisting "management attempts to achieve efficiency"... Bureau of Statistics data shows little change in labour productivity growth under the Fair Work Act when compared to the period under Work Choices, while other measures of productivity have also weakened since 2000.( ‘Labor woeful on economic reform, says Argus’)

The aim of such criticism, at a minimum, would be to widen ‘prohibited content’ in the matters addressed in enterprise bargaining, yet Australia has witnessed two decades of national industrial relations reform to make enterprise bargaining the centrepiece of our industrial relations system. It is thus reasonable to ask what were the IR reforms and have these influenced labour productivity?