Principles of Employment Relations - Literature review Example

Running Head: Principles of Employment Relations Principles of Employment Relations [Writer’s Name] [Institute’s Name] Principles of Employment Relations Introduction Waring and Bray (2006) say that the labor market in many cases has been defined as the informal market. The workers can find work and the employers can find the employees who are willing to do the work. In addition to this the labor markets are the ones in which the wage rates are being determined. As in this case it has been seen that the wage rates are the ones that are dependent upon the work being done in the market and the demands being placed from the labors in the market. Teicher and O’Rourke (2006) have argued that in this case it has been seen that the labor market can be local or can be based on an international level. In some cases the labor markets are often based on the smaller as well as interactive labor markets as these markets are composed of different qualification from the workers, the skills levels as well as the experiences of the employees in this case. Labor market also differs in case of their geographical locations. Within the labor markets an exchange of information takes place in the employers and the employees and this creates innovative skills within the employees and at the work level. In addition to this it has been seen that the information exchange can be on the basis of wage rates, employment conditions as well as the level of the competition that is being faced. Product market and the labor market Stewart (2008) says that the product market as compared to the labor market has been defined in many ways but the most important aspect that has been given is price discrimination. It has been seen that among all the main aspects that have been counted in the labor market, as has been deeply analyzed by the analysis, the most important aspect has been price discrimination in the labor market. Brown (2004) says that it has been seen in the case of the labor market that there are different buyers for the same product; thereby, they charge different prices. The product market has been differentiated from the labor market in case of the prices that are being offered for the products in the market by the different suppliers as well as the buyers. In a single market there can be many buyers and suppliers who can have the tendency of not bargaining on the product price when the price offered is too low as compared to what is being anticipated. Stewart and Williams (2007) say that the labor economics has been seen to be in an in-depth understanding of the functioning and dynamics are related to the market. The suppliers in the case of the labor services are taken into account. As one can see the employers or the ones that demand the services from the workers are on the top priority of the labor economics. Labor is the amount of work done by the employers and in the greater cases by the employees. Wage in this case has been the main topic of discussion and it has been analyzed that it is the amount that is paid to the workers for the amount of the work that is done by the workers in the labor market. In some cases it has been seen that the product market and geographical markets are interrelated. In this case the difference that has been given is that the tendency that the buyers have in order to switch between the products depending upon the price that is being offered for the particular products is the fact that has to be dealt in relation to the geographical markets. Australian labor market It has been seen that many changes are taking place in the labor market of Australia. With the introduction of the newer job network in Australia there had been many employment services that were subcontracted in the public and also the private sectors in Australia. Peetz (2006) says that Australia has been one of the first countries with an introduction of the market type mechanisms. These mechanisms have been introduced in the employment services. In addition to this it has been seen that the Australian labor market has been the most sustained in the face of the credit crunch. The employment rates in the Australian labor market have been steady at the same 5.8% since the last years and this steadiness has surprised all the economists. In the Australian labor market there has been an increase of around 33000 employees and this represents an 11% increase in the employment rates in the labor markets. Muir (2008) says that the Australian labor market as has been seen is the representative of all the labor market activities in Australia. The main responsibilities that are being fulfilled by the Australian labor market representatives has been to quantify the number of people who are in the labor market and this number includes the people who are employed as well as the unemployed. This number also includes the people who are indirectly linked to the labor market. It has been seen that 64% of the Australian people aged between 15 and 30 years of age are employed in the Australian labor market. Niland (1986) says that the major changes that have been seen to be implemented in the labor market are all dependent upon the economic factors on a global scale. One of the major changes that have been noticed in the labor markets in Australia has been the change in wage law as this is the law that will prevent the employees to make the struggles to make the bargains on the collective wage systems. Isaac & Macintyre (2004) say that in opposition to this there have been many changes in the bargaining system. Some of the major changes include the decrease in the number of the employees that are related to the sectoral agreements; there has been an increased flexibility in the sectoral agreements in the labor agreements. In this case there are many companies that have designed the employments pacts, including the additional rights being given to the employees in case of the concessions in the pays. In spite of these major changes the debate that the bargaining system is too rigid has been going on and there are many changes that are needed to change this. In comparison to the Australian labor market as well as the rigid rules that have been seen in the bargaining issues there are some conflicts that have been noticed in the industrial sector of Australia. The labor market rules and the bargaining issues deal with the employment issues; thereby, the industrial conflicts arise when the employment relations are the center of any discussions. These conflicts have been seen to be related with the minor changes that are made in the labor markets as well as the competitive bargaining systems. Cooper & Ellem (2008) say that in addition to this, this is the situation that has been related to the changes seen in the trade union memberships. The membership in case of the unions has been 7.42% in the year of 2003. At least 20% of the employees in the labor market are the members of the unions. Since the last twenty years the trade union membership has declined. Compared to the employees proportion had been around 55% in the past. The main reasons that have been given in this case related to the decrease in the industrial; manufactures as in the past the greatest number of the members had been from the industrial manufacturers. There has been an increase in the part time as well as the temporary workers in the labor market causing a decrease in the membership density of the permanent employees. Isaac & Lansbury (2005) say that there is a need of changes in the industrial rules in the Australian industrial relations. The changes and reforms that are needed in this case include higher productivity and greater employment rates in the industries so as to increase the membership in the trade unions. The employees have weak economic power as compared to the employers and keeping the fact in mind it has been realized that major changes are needed in the rules related to collective bargaining. It has been realized that in the industrial relations labor should not be considered as the commodity but the human resource and these are to be valued on every case. In this case the economic consideration in the industries needs to be balanced with all the social considerations. The rules that need to be changed include unfair dismissal and discrimination against the employees. Forsyth & Stewart (2009) say that in addition to this there has been a work related relationship between the workers and the employers. However, in this case the differences that occur in the employers and the workers are usually on the basis of terms and conditions of the employment that are to be followed by the workers. The norms that are related to the employment in relation to the fairness and the dealings with the employees are to be considered in the labor markets. In addition to this the Australian authorities realize the importance of legislations. It has been said that the legislations make sure that there are some limits in the case of industrial actions and these are the ones that should be well defined in many dealings in relation to the industrial relations. Forsyth, Creighton, Gostencnik, and Sharard (2008) say that as has been seen in the face of the credit crunch there have been many changes in the Australian industrial regulations. After the credit crunch and the newer changes that have been seen, these are the ones that have been responsible for the better economic growth in the present as well as in the future. The Australian labor markets along with the industrial sector have realized the importance of the microeconomic and macroeconomic factors for the betterment of the financial perspectives within the industry. Gardner (2008) says that the Australian Industrial Relations Commission has made changes by introducing the decentralization system in the Australian industries and these changes have been implemented by taking in mind the major union demands as one of the major challenges that is being faced by the Australian labor markets is the decline in the density of the membership in the trade unions. There has been a lot of research on the employment relations and the employment relations that has caused some segmentation in the labor market as has been seen in many countries. in this case the main object that has been seen is the informal employment as it has been seen that there is a role being played by the workers in the segmented labor markets in these days. the primary labor market seems to be providing no access to the workers who are willing to work in the permanent terms and thereby these are the workers who are willing to work in the segmented and secondary labor market. Thereby this is the reason the secondary labor market has been known as the informal labor market as the pays and the wages in the primary labor market has been seen to be facing issues. In this case it has been said that although the primary labor market has been associated with the pension benefits for the workers who work in as the permanent employees but still there are major issues that lead to the employee staking on the secondary labor market. Conclusion The trade unions, the collective bargaining as well as the collective actions on the industrial relations are one factor that has been related in one way or the other by the higher authorities. These are all the changes that have been related in case of the legislations. There have been some changes that have been implemented by the government and the newer needed laws that are to be implemented will bring the positive changes in the industrial as well as the work relations in the Australian labor market. References Journal Articles Brown, W. (2004). ‘Third party intervention reconsidered: An international perspective’, The Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 46, no. 4, December, pp. 448-458. (Online SAGE Management & Organization Studies) Niland, J. (1986), ‘Process and strategy in industrial relations reform’, in Alternatives to arbitration, (eds) R. Blandy & J. Niland, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, Central Queensland University Course Resources Online (HRMT19021)   Cooper, R. & Ellem, B. (2008). ‘The neoliberal state, trade unions and collective bargaining in Australia’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 46, no. 3, September, pp. 532-554.(online Blackwell-Synergy) Gardner, M. 2008, ‘Beyond WorkChoices: Negotiating a moment’, The Economic and Labour Relations Review, vol. 18, no. 2, May, pp. 33-42, Central Queensland University Course Resources Online (HRMT19021) Bibliography Forsyth, A., Creighton, B., Gostencnik, V. & Sharard, T. 2008, Transition to forward with fairness: Labor’s reform agenda, Thomson Lawbook Co., Sydney. Forsyth, A. & Stewart, A. (2009). Fair work: The new workplace laws and the work choices legacy, The Federation Press, Sydney. Isaac, J. & Lansbury, R.D. (2005). Labour market deregulation: Rewriting the rules: Essays in honour of Keith Hancock, The Federation Press, Sydney. Isaac, J & Macintyre, S (2004). The new province for law and order: 100 years of Australian industrial conciliation and arbitration, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Muir, K. (2008). Worth fighting for: Inside the your rights at work campaign, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney. Peetz, D. (2006). Brave new workplace: how individual contracts are changing our jobs, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest. Stewart, A & Williams, G. (2007). Work Choices: what the High Court said, The Federation Press, Sydney. Stewart, A. (2008). Stewart’s guide to employment law, The Federation Press, Sydney. Teicher, J, Holland, P & Gough, R. (2006). Employment relations management: Australia in a lobal context, Pearson Education Australia. Teicher, J, Lambert, R & O’Rourke, A.(2006). WorkChoices: the new industrial relations agenda, Pearson Education Australia, Sydney. Waring, P. & Bray, M. (2006). Evolving employment relations: Industry studies from Australia, McGraw-Hill Australia, North Ryde. Read More