Workplace Relations-Based Reform, Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard - Case Study Example

EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS [Author's name] [Name of institution] Overview This paper basically uses the data from a wide range of sources which also include the Australian Bureau of Statistics known as the Department of Employment and also the Workplace Relation in order to analyze the experience to date under the different Work Choices. Matters which are considered also includes the level and also the distribution of the real earnings changes, productivity and also the economic performance, the employment growth, also the conditions of employment and the content of the agreements by the Australian Fair Pay Commission. The employment relation is an important relation which should managed in order to make sure that the business is working well. There are laws which also demonstrate the laws and regulations in order to make sure that the work which is done is managed properly and will also generate the best possible results. (Sparrow & Cooper, 2003, 282) Employment relation is basically termed as an important and also a significant area which should be measured in order to make sure that all the work in the workplace is carried out at better and also at advanced level and also to make sure that people who are working in a workplace are fully devoted to their work. Employment relation is a very delicate relation which should be cater at all the levels in order to make sure that the results will be the better and better one. In 1970, adverse movements of trade along with oil price shocks immensely the capacity of the Australian economy in order to sustain the rising real living standards without even incurring the chronic balance of the payments based problems. This therefore, prompted the successive governments in order to introduce a wide range of reforms which were intended in order to enhance the competitiveness of all the Australian based industries in the international markets. These reforms, which generally consist of the reductions in tariffs, the floating pattern of the Australian dollar, and also the abolition of the most foreign exchange control, also increased Australia’s openness towards the foreign competition. When faced with a much more competitive environment and challenges, vast changes to the labour market institutions were thus inevitable. The result of this main process is therefore the industrial relations arrangements that basically give primacy to bargaining at the enterprise and also at the workplace level as compare to the centrally determined pay and also the working arrangements. It is on the other hand also widely recognized that the character of the Australia’s industrial relations systems and also the institutions have also changed dramatically over the last two years. This was only done because the wages and also the employment conditions were no longer so dependent on the arbitrated awards and instead of this they are much more likely to be the product of an enterprise and also the workplace bargaining. (Sparrow & Cooper, 2003, 282) Work Choices AWAs were known as more common in larger as compare to the smaller businesses. Around three fifths were in the businesses with 100 or more than 100 workers. But apart from this, they were in the minority in the large firms, amongst businesses with around 500 or more employees, union CAs were accounted for four fifths of the Work Choices agreement covered workers. In businesses with around less than 100 employees, however, AWAs also accounted for over three fifths of the Work Choices agreement covered workers. Overall, employees under the new union CAs also represented the majority of the Work Choices agreement covered employees. However, this number was known as the lower than the 81 per cent of the federal agreement covered based employees who were working under union CAs recorded in the year 2004. Conversely, the share of the Work Choices agreements employees also accounted for by the new AWAs, at around 28 per cent, was higher as compare to the AWAs’ share in the year 2004. The share of the non-union collective agreements was also relatively stable, which was rising from 10 per cent in the year 2004 to around 12 per cent under the Work Choices. These above mentioned data also represents that the number of employees who were working there were also working according to the given laws and regulations in order to make sure that all the work which is being done is up to the mark. (Aaron & Mathews, 1962, 861) Workplace relations based reform Since 1990, some significant and also important changes have been introduced to the Australia’s workplace relations laws. Some current legislative reform also seeks in order to maintain a strong safety net for the employees while at the same time it also helps in providing the greater flexibility and also the choice for the employers and also for the employees at the workplace level. Apart from this, the Australian Government has also introduced some transitional measures to the phase out key provisions in the existing workplace relations laws. The Transition in order to Forward along with the Fairness Act contains some key provisions which: Prevent the making of the new Australian Workplace Agreements also known as AWAs and also allow employers to offer an Individual Transitional Employment Agreements also known as ITEAs to the new employees and also employers who are already on AWAs, for about two year transitional period. It also introduces a non disadvantage test for the new collective agreements and also for ITEAs. Main features of the current national workplace relations system Until the new and also the advanced legislation is introduced, the workplace relations system will thus continue in order to include the features which are outlined below. Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard The Australian Fair Pay and also the Conditions Standard are basically sets out the statutory minimum terms and also the conditions of employment that basically apply under the federal workplace relations system. Some of the guaranteed legislated minimum entitlements are: Minimum rates of the pay and also the casual loadings. Maximum ordinary hours of around 38 hours per week. Four weeks of the paid annual leave along with an additional week for the shift workers. Ten days of the paid personal leave along with the provision for two additional days and also the two additional days of the paid compassionate leave per occasion. 52 weeks of an unpaid parental leave. Minimum wages Minimum wages for the employees are basically set out in Australian Pay and also in the Classification Scales, which are also a part of the Australian Fair Pay and also the Conditions Standard. The Australian Fair Pay Commission sets and also adjusts the Federal Minimum Wage and also the minimum and the classification wages in the Pay Scales. The Australian Fair Pay Commission also has the main responsibility for the Special Federal Minimum Wages for all the juniors, trainees, for the apprentices, and also for the employees with a disability, and the wage loading for the casual workers. Awards and award modernization Awards are also termed as legally binding instruments that basically set out minimum terms and also the conditions of employment for the employees in the specified businesses in the occupations or in the industries. Awards are also made by a national tribunal also known as the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. They basically deal with all the matters like hours of work, also the public holidays, monetary allowances, the shift work or the overtime loadings, the annual leave loadings and also the penalty rates. Freedom of association The Workplace Relations Act recognizes a legitimate and an important role for all the unions and also for the employer organizations. Freedom of association laws basically ensure that an employer cannot even dismiss an employee because he or she is or is not a member of that particular union. All the employees have the main and also an important access to all the remedies for the breaches of freedom of association provisions. The right in order to take lawful industrial action when ever negotiating a new workplace agreement is also protected by the law. Right of entry The Workplace Relations Act on the other hand side also defines the main and also the important circumstances in which the union officials have a main right of entry into the workplaces and they also empowers the Australian Industrial Relations Commission in order to deal with the abuses of the right of entry system. Industrial action In some circumstances an employee or also an employer may engage in the protected industrial action. Employees or the unions cannot be held liable for the protected industrial action unless it involves the defamation, the personal injury, damage to the property or the unlawful use of the property. For the industrial action to be protected a number of criteria should be met which also includes that the industrial action which is taken is in pursuit of the claims sought as a part of the negotiation of a collective agreement and is also a secret ballot which has authorized the taking of the particular action. The Workplace Relations Act on the other hand also provides that payments which are not to be made to an employee or not accepted by an employee in the relation to a period of an industrial action. Along with this, the Workplace Relations Act also contains safeguards in order to protect against the disputes which are or which will be between the unions that might impede the business operations. (Aaron & Mathews, 1962, 861) Unfair dismissal and unlawful termination The Workplace Relations Act also contains the provisions which are there in order to protect the employees from losing their job unfairly or because of any prohibited reason. The unfair dismissal provisions also provide employees along with the protection from any kind of harsh, unjust or any kind of unreasonable dismissal. However, the following types of the employees are basically excluded from the unfair dismissal protections: Employees who are employed by the businesses with 100 or with fewer employees. Employees who are dismissed for any genuine operational reasons. Employees who are known as the seasonal workers. Employees who are engaged for any specified period of time or in order to perform any particular task. Employees who are serving a six month qualifying period. Employees who are on probation. Casual workers who are engaged for a short period. Trainees. Employees who are not employed under an award or under any workplace agreement and also earn around more than $101 300 per year. Compliance The Workplace Ombudsman on the other hand side also undertakes the compliance and also the enforcement activities for the main reason of the national workplace relations system which generally includes the assisting of the employees along with suspected breaches of the Australian Fair Pay and also the Conditions Standard and the provisions of the awards and also the workplace agreements. A new workplace relations system The Australian Government began to develop a new and an advanced workplace relations system along with the introduction of its own transitional reform measures in the year 2008. These basic and also important measures basically initiated the award modernization process and also removed the power in order to make new AWAs. The Government is also drafting a new legislation which is also expected to be introduced into the parliament in late 2008, which will helps in enabling the commencement of a simpler, fairer and also for the more flexible workplace relations system by the start of 2010. The main elements of the Government’s new workplace relations system will be as follow: The collective enterprise bargaining, along with no provision for the statutory individual agreements. A safety net of the legislated minimum employment standards and also the modern awards. The main and an important right to the freedom of association and also the genuine workplace representation. The new workplace relations system will also encourage the employers and also the employees in order to adopt flexible and also the modern workplace arrangements which will enable workplaces to be more and more productive and also competitive and it will also helps in leading towards the greater employment opportunities and also the strong and the sustainable economic growth. (Malone, Plant & Little, 1974, 1055) REFERENCES Ed Rose, (2004), Employment relations, Financial Times Prentice Hall, pg 680-688. George Grantham, Mary MacKinnon, (1994), Labour market evolution: the economic history of market integration, wage flexibility, and the employment relation, Routledge, pg 320-322. Paul Sparrow, Cary L. Cooper, (2003), The employment relationship: key challenges for HR, Butterworth-Heinemann, pg 280-282. Robert J. Steinfeld, (2002), The Invention of Free Labor: The Employment Relation in English and American Law and Culture, 1350-1870 Studies in Legal History, UNC Press, pg 280-286. Benjamin Aaron, Labor Law Group (U.S.), Robert Elden Mathews, (1962), The employment relation and the law Law school casebook series, Little, Brown, pg 800-861. Wex S. Malone, Marcus L. Plant, Joseph W. Little, (1974), Cases and materials on the employment relation American casebook series, West Pub. Co, pg 1000-1055. Read More