Australian Labor Laws - Assignment Example

Question 2 The Australian labour market has undergone one of the most turbulent times as major amendments with regard to the federal legislation has undergone both under the Labour and Coalition governments. The Work Choice Reforms have been replaced by the Fair Works Act 2009 and has played a major role in transforming and regulating the Australian labour market. The process of moving from the Work Relation Act has begun and it will take time before the Fair Work Act regime is used in all aspects. The development and implementation of the Fair Work Act has helped to bring a major change in the conditions of the employers and employees and has ensured that the void which was present in the previous reforms gets filled. The Fair Work Act has ensured better regulations and has ensured that the employers and educated, the progress is monitored and the government can intervene in matters which tends to exploit the employees (Fair Work, 2013). This has provided the required competitiveness which was missing in the labour system and has helped so strengthen the progress of the economy as better control is being exercised from the perspective of both the employer and the employees. The use of Fair Work Australia has provided better legislation, control and reforms as it has aimed at removing the enterprise agreement clause and restricts engagement of contractors on hire basis. This has regulated the labour market as employees whether they are hired on a permanent or contractual basis are paid similarly and has thereby exemplified the labour market with better control and stronger reforms (Teicher, Holland & Gough, 2010). The regulation of the labour market has helped to remove the differences which existed among the employees and thereby forecast for an improvement in the living status and conditions as shown below Regulating the labour market has helped people to be compensated correctly and based on the international standards which has helped to improve the growth rate and has thereby affected the real disposable income. This has helped to ensure that people are better off and are able to get correct compensation and rewards (Provis, 2009). Fair Work Act has played a major role as it has removed the different gaps and hurdles and has ensured that employees are compensated correctly and not exploited. The impact of the Fair Work Act can be seen in the manner the employment rates have gone up as better control and reforms has reduced the differences between the casual and permanent employees. The impact has been positive for the entire economy and has resulted in brining the required changes so that people are better off. This can be seen from the growth in employment rates as shown below The applicability and adoption of the Fair Work Act has helped both the employers and employees to understand each other perspective and has helped to develop a process which governs the society. The Fair Work Act has regulated the style of working as it has determined the manner in which employees have to work and has also ensured that employees work according the work schedule and working hours that has been laid by the reforms. This is shown in the chart below The use of the Fair Work Act and development of reforms has ensured that employees at the present juncture work according to the international standards and work for the number of hours which has been prescribed by law. This has thereby multiplied the overall productivity and improved the usage of resources. The impact has been positive and has become possible only due to the change in reforms which was witnessed through the Fair Work Act. The Fair Work Act has also tended to reduce the role of unions as it has helped to reduce the differences between the employer and the employees. This has thereby provided an opportunity where employees are treated with respect and has ensured that they are compensated properly for the different work which has been undertaken by them. The impact has been positive as strikes, lockouts have reduced as seen below The impact of the Fair Work Act has been positive as the number of days wasted has reduced considerably and has provided the opportunity through which the employer and the employees are able to gain. The impact from the Act has been positive and the labour market has become better controllable and has resulted in widespread changes in the relations and working style. The labour market of Australia due to the enforcement of the Fair Work Act has been able to bring the required transformation and change through which has multiplied job opportunities and ensured better relations with the employers. The government needs to ensure that the other impeding factors like inflation is controlled so that the different benefits which Fair Work Act seems to provide can be achieved (Korczynski, Hudson and Edwards, 2006). The labour market regulation is an example for other economies as it has exercised better control on both the employer and the employee and has provided the required opportunity through which resources are being used in the best possible manner. The applicability of the Fair Work Act which has replaced the previous reforms has helped to fill the gap and treats both the employer and the employee equally so that a platform which will be aimed towards maximizing the overall returns for both can be achieved. This has helped to remove the differences between the employer and the employees and has created an environment where the role of trade unions have decreased and the overall productivity has multiplied. Question 5 The issue of tariff and their phased reduction has been a topic of central debate in Australia. The Australian economy which mostly relies on the service sector industry for their growth needs to evaluate the manner tariffs will be reduced and the implications it will have on the manufacturing sector which comprises of nearly 26% of the GDP. The tariffs for the manufacturing sector is continuously decreasing and is around 5 percent for most products which has reduced the level of protection that it received from imports and further reducing the tariffs could have different impacts. The manufacturing industry in Australia is facing competition from different international players as tariffs are already low except for certain industry like car, textile, clothing and footwear. The tariffs for this industry are also decreasing and the manner it will have an impact on the GDP and its contribution towards GDP is an area which needs to be examined and looked at (Gibson, Wainio, Whitley and Bohman. 2001). A further reduction in the tariffs for manufacturing concerns would mean that the industry would be open to external competition and would mean increased imports. This would transform to a situation where the local industry has to compete against international players and would complicate the situation as it would multiply the risk for the business and could have a drastic impact on the overall performance of the economy. Reduction in the tariff will have a positive impact on the national economic benefit as it could boost the revenues from extra sales and could contribute positively towards the national economic benefit. This would thereby have a positive impact on the GDP and could help to improve the growth rate but on the other hand intensified competition will have a negative impact on the local industry and could lead towards increase in unemployment due to closure of certain players who won’t be able to sustain the increase in competition. The economy would also witness a diminishing marginal benefit due to tariff reduction as it would mean that reducing the tariffs by 1 basic percentage points would have an impact of around thrice the size (Murphy, 1997). This will have a positive impact on the overall economy and will help to improve the overall economic condition but the government along with it has to look and reflect on the manner the local industry will be impacted. This would lead towards having a major impact on the overall level of employment and is an area which needs to be analyzed and considered so that the policies which the government adopts still looks at improving the condition of the economy and the society as a whole. A reduction in the tariff would mean that the international business which takes place through the export and import of different commodities and services will increase. This could both have a positive and a negative impact on the overall exchange rate and foreign currency. This is an aspect which could bring major changes in the outlook of the economy towards the world as it would mean removal and reduction of protectionism and opening of the economies to international competition (Hertel and Martin, 2000). The different policies and stances through the development of different contracts and free trade agreement is already a step in that direction and the impact it will have on the manufacturing concern is still to be gauged. Looking at the same from the positive perspective a tariff reduction would mean that the domestic industry is developed and has the potential to deal with the level of competition. This would thereby help to ensure that the domestic industry is able to deal with the external players and have the required products and infrastructure which supports such industries (Murphy, 1997). This would help to facilitate a process which will be aimed at ensuring that a process is developed through which the different dimensions of international trade are better understood. The situation will also lead to a stand where the society gains as removal of protectionism through the reduction in tariffs would mean that the domestic industry is left free and competition would mean that the correct pricing is achieved. This would help the society as they won’t be exploited through additional pricing mechanism and would have a positive impact on the future performance. Reduction in tariffs is bound to create unemployment as competition would mean that certain players shut down their operations or reduce production or so on. This will increase the level of unemployment but only for a short period of time as over a longer period of time the employees will be absorbed in other industry which will arise due to the reduction in tariffs and increase in imports. Over a longer period of horizon the overall gains will outweigh the negatives but the Australian government while looking to implement the policies have to ensure that the local industry doesn’t gets wipe off as it could lead towards societal and other pressure which could make the domestic industry suffer. The use of tariff reduction as a mechanism for reduction in protectionism would have a positive impact over a longer period of time as it will help to improve the level of competition ensuring correct pricing, better quality products and options to choose from and would create a positive impact with regard to the foreign policies of the economy. The different framework suggests a rise in unemployment but over a short period of time and would finally result in transforming the economy and provide opportunity to improve the overall growth rate. Question 6 The Australian financial system has been deregulated after the 1980’s which has brought competitiveness in the financial sector and provided the required scope through which developments have taken place in the financial sector. Deregulation of the financial sector helped to reduce the loss of the banks and ensured that the initial dominance of banks reduced and the market witnessed stronger banks. The deregulation of the financial sector in Australia took place due to different impeding and underlying forces which completely transformed the financial sector and its style of working. One of the prime reason for the development and change has been the growth in technology which brought about a change in the supply situation and ensured an interaction between the pricing and cost structure (Corcoran and Richardson, 1995). The different benefits which were been accrued due to the changes ensured competitiveness and helped the banks and other financial sectors to bring about a change in their working style. This resulted in a shift in production technology of the financial services which multiplied the effectiveness through which the different financial services were being carried out. The banking system in Australia before the deregulation followed a joint production technology where deposit, lending and other financial services were carried out from the same place. This called for an urgent need to deregulate the market and create specialist to handle the different financial positions (Corcoran and Richardson, 1995). The demand for separate production technology which is specialist in their respective positions led towards a demand for financial services like cash management accounts, payment services and mortgages. The need and want to have specialized department and agencies capable of carrying out the different financial services led towards an increase in the demand for deregulating the market and exercising better control over the different functions of the financial sector. The other reason which can be identified towards the deregulation of the financial markets is the high interest margins which banks used to charge due to lack of competition. Since, banks carried out most of the financial services and functions it led towards a situation where major of the functions were being heavily priced through a high interest margin which had an impact on the overall lending rates. This was followed by increasing competition and pressure from international bodies and the willingness to perform and deliver superior performance according to the standards which have been developed and prescribed led towards the need of deregulating the financial markets. The deregulation of the financial market as a result has brought about changes in the financial system and has provided the required dimensions through which better gains have been achieved. Deregulation has increased the level of competition which has thereby reduced the interest margins and provided the required competitiveness through which correct prices and interest is being charged. The mechanism has helped to maximize the gains for the business and has helped to ensure that the society is able to get specialist services which has benefitted them and is likely to bring about a turnaround in the financial system of Australia. The different reasons for the deregulation of the financial system of Australia can also be largely attributed to the changes that the otherworld bodies are witnessing. USA along with other developed countries has been able to bring a change and transformation in the financial sector. Australia was under pressure to match the standards which have been achieved worldwide and thereby led towards a change in perception and adopting a business model which will be aimed towards maximizing the gains (Boyd and Gertler, 1994). The deregulation of the financial sector of Australia witnessed a change and revolutionizes the working style of the economy. This brought about the required changes and dimensions through which business effectiveness were achieved and the overall process ensured better competition. Deregulating the financial sector of Australia also helped to ensure that the reforms were stronger and banks and other financial institutions were able to maintain the required liquidity within the system (Edey, Foster and Macfarlane, 2001). This helped to ensure that the overall financial system gained strengthened and was able to deal with the different requirements of the financial system. The different needs and reasons which led towards the deregulation have helped to increase the degree of competition and thereby ensure better control over the different resources. This led towards a complete turnaround and transformation through which the financial sector has been able to demonstrated stability and projects for better growth rate in the near future. The deregulation of the financial sector has also helped Australia to achieve the different international standards relevant towards the field of financial management. This has helped and multiplied the effectiveness in managing the different resources and provides an opportunity where better and specialist services for the varied financial services can be delivered. The overall mechanism has been aimed towards strengthening the reforms and the financial sector so that no bankruptcy takes place and the overall process of managing the different financial resources gains prominence. The different factors which have led towards the deregulation of the financial sector in Australia can be allocated to weakening reforms, lack of proper monitoring and control over the financials, development of technology, division of financial services into different field and international standards. The different factors ensured that the financial sector of Australia strengthens and has helped to provide the required framework through which better and quality service can be delivered to the different stakeholders. This has also helped to reduce the risk and has created an opportunity to maximize the returns for the stakeholders and ensure better safety of their financials. References Boyd, J.H. and Gertler, M. 1994, ‘Are Banks Dead? Or, Are the Reports Greatly Exaggerated?’,Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review, (18)3, pp. 2-23 Corcoran, S. and Richardson, C. 1995. Superannuation and the Macro economy. paper presented at the 24th Conference of Economists, Adelaide Edey, M., Foster, R. and Macfarlane, I. 2001. The Role of Superannuation in the Financial Sector and in Aggregate Saving: A Review of Recent Trends. Reserve Bank of Australia Research Discussion Paper No. 9112 Fair Work, 2013. Review of Fair Work Act. Business Council of Australia, Australia Gibson, P., J. Wainio, D. Whitley and Mm Bohman. 2001. Profiles of Tariffs in Global Agricultural Markers. AER No. 796. Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, DC. Hertel, T.W. and Martin, W. 2000. Liberalising Agriculture and Manufactures in a Millennium Round: Implications for Developing Countries. World Economy, 455-469 Korczynski, M., Hudson, R. and Edwards, P. 2006. Social theory at work. Oxford: Oxford University Press Murphy, C. 1997. Tariffs: How Low Should We Go? Modelling the Impact of Tariff Changes. Retrieved on Dec 9 2013 from http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/RP9697/97rp15 Provis, C. 2009. Ethics and Industrial Relations' in C. Leggett and G. Treuren (eds.), Proceedings of 13th AIRAANZ Conference (Adelaide), 1 (7), pp. 193-206 Teicher, K., Holland, I. & Gough, P. 2010. The True Society: The Philosophy of Labour, Jonathan Cape, London Read More