Australian Waterfront Dispute of 1998 - Coursework Example

Executive Summary The report which analyzes the Australian Waterfront Dispute of 1998 and the manner in which it shaped the industrial relation in Australia highlights different core areas. The dispute which was done with the objective of reducing the power of the trade union has helped to bring about the required transformation in the industry. It is seen that different external stakeholders and parties also impacted the dispute and were impacted either positively or negatively by the dispute. This thereby had helped to bring about the required changes in the employment reforms and has helped to develop laws based on the international requirements. The impact of the dispute has been such that changes have been made in employer-employee relationship and will help to ensure that the overall working framework is improve which has thereby helped in ensuring that Fair Work Act has been identified. This has helped to consolidate the overall mechanism of working and will thereby lead towards improving the manner in which the industry performs. Table of Contents Introduction 3 Background Information about the Dispute 3 External Factors leading to dispute 5 Analysis of dispute from different stakeholders 7 Solution for the dispute 9 Implication of dispute on Employment Relations in Australia 10 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction This report looks at analyzing the Australian Waterfront Dispute of 1998 and the manner in which it shaped the industrial relation in Australia. The report will concentrate by bringing forward information about the water dispute, the different external factors which led to the dispute, the impact it had on different stakeholders, the solution of the dispute, and the implications it has for employment relations in Australia. This will thereby also provide useful insights and directions regarding the manner in which Fair Work Act was developed and will help to analyze the role different disputes had in shaping employment relations in Australia. Background Information about the Dispute The waterfront dispute of 1998 was one of the most serious challenges that the trade unions in Australia had to face. Maritime Union of Australia (MUA), which was one of the most powerful unions in Australia, had to witness an attempt from Patrick Stevedores, the federal Coalition government and National Farmers Federation (NFF) to smash its power. Despite, the attack MUA was able to come out winners (Dabscheck, 1998). Even though MUA had to make enormous concessions to reduce cost during the final settlement the final outcome can be adjudged as one which was victorious for the union. The Australian Waterfront Dispute has been an issue since the 1980’s. Patrick Corporation looked at reducing the redundancies in the system by reducing the overtime entitlements for its employees who were permanent and was of the notion of hiring more casual employees than permanent employees. The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) was born during the process and had a heavy presence in the maritime union. The union members and officials of MUA had to face several allegations with regard to illegal activity, frauds, grafting and bullying strategies which was being carried out on the waterfront To get a permanent job it was imperative for the prospective employee to have a card which would signify that the employee was a member of the MUA. The government at that time looked towards dealing with the issue of union and thereby formed non-union workforces which compete against the MUA. The government also framed the required changes in the legislative so that the non-union workers could work freely. This made different operators to look at a formula of having different individual contract workers to form a part of the workforce but had to drop the idea due to strong opposition from the union and other activist group. One of the operators in Australia named Fynwest Pty Ltd looked towards recruiting defence force members of Australia so that they could counter MUA. They started recruiting members from different defence area likes Special Air Services, 3RAR, 4RAR and other military services. Fynwest also aimed towards sending those employees to Dubai where they would be provided the required training and would work as non-union workers who could easily compete against MUA workers (Neill, 1998). The MUA came to know about the matter and reported the same to the media when the employees boarded the flight to Dubai. Criticism and threat from international industrial retaliation forced the Dubai government to cancel the visas of the employees and as a result they were not provided with the required training and had to return back. To deal with the issue Patrick in 1997 implemented a strategy which was aimed at restructuring the business by restructuring the different functions of the employees, workforce and stevedoring business into different companies. The stevedoring business and assets which were under the control of employer entities were passed on to other entities within the group. The employee entities engaged into different contracts with their owner entities which would look towards supplying them employees. This made labour supplier agreement as the main entities with the employer. The process also provided an option where the labour supply agreements can be terminated by the owner without any notice especially in case of industrial disputes. The details of the same were not provided to the union especially the MUA. After some time in 1998 the employees working in Patrick engaged into an industrial dispute. The management as a result dismissed all its employees, liquidated its assets and became insolvent and closed all the ports where the work was carried out (Department of the Parliamentary Library, 1998). The government also supported the move and as a result the employees had to leave their job. The next morning Patrick hired non-union workers to carry out the job and opened the ports again. The MUA realized that the owners were cheating them on the name of restructuring and were carrying out their plans to remove the union which was present in the MUA. A case was filed before the Federal Court where justice was being provided to the union. The court found that the company had done the work of restructuring deliberately with the intention to remove the union. Even appeals to the higher court didn’t provide any result and all the verdicts were given in favour of the union. External Factors leading to dispute The dispute between Patrick and MUA intensified due to both direct and indirect relation from different external factors. Different external factors had a role in impacting the dispute and aggravated the problem further. The different factors are International Standards: The international standards which were developed were so stringent that reforms were required to be incorporated so that employee relations in Australia could be changed. Since, the unions were dominating and looked at having their dominance so the level of service was not to the international standards. This made the Australian government to think in line of international standards which thereby required that changes and ramifications were made so that better functioning could be ensured (McCallum, 1998). This would have become possible if the control of unions were reduced which thereby forced the dispute as the government was guided by objectives which would improve productivity and help to deal with things as per the needs and requirements of the international standards. Political Framework: The government was looking for radical reforms in the labour market with the objective of promoting free market and deregulating the labour market. The government at that time even in their election manifesto had looked towards making changes in the labour reforms. This external factor made the government to look at adopting ways which would help to bring about the required changes in the labour reforms. While looking to achieve free market the government looked at reducing cartels so that the interest of all section of the society could be preserved (McCallum, 1998). The political situation and framework at that point of time was such that the government had no option but to look at radical reforms which would help both the employer and the employee and help to bring about the required changes in the labour market. Analysis of dispute from different stakeholders The dispute had an impact on different stakeholders in different ways and was able to achieve different gains and losses for different stakeholders. The details of the impact on different stakeholders are as Employer: It will have an impact on the employer as the dispute will help the employer to ensure that they are saved from hassles, able to save on cost and improve overall productivity. The goal of the employer is to reduce the bargaining power of trade unions and have more and more employees from non-union groups. This will help the employer to improve their interest in the business, reduce cost and ensure that different international standards are achieved. The overall impact will be witnessed through reduction in cost and improvement in productivity. The employer has thereby looked towards bringing the case forward as one where they are looking to restructuring their business so that efficiency improves and overall business potential multiplies (Williams, 1997). The employer looks to state that the condition of the business is worsening and having appropriate strategies which will look at restructuring will provide the impetus through which growth would become possible. Further, on the backdrop the employer looks at using this opportunity to reduce the power of unions and have more and more control over the working so that business is able to grow. Employee: The dispute will result in having a negative impact on employees as it would lead towards having an impact on the manner different business decisions are taken. The employees look to bring forward the incident as one where the process adopted by the employer will lead towards having an impact on their future job potential. The employees argue that the steps have been taken on the ground to remove them and hire new employees while the employer is adopting a strategy of restructuring. The employees will thereby have to lose job and look at working at some other places. The employees are looking to protect their interest and are looking to use the dispute in a way through which they will be able to retain their jobs and ensure better bargaining. This thereby will impact their future and have a bearing on the manner different decisions are taken by them. Union: The dispute has been created with the intention of reducing the bargaining power of trade unions and will thereby have an impact on the manner different working decisions are taken by them. The trade union through the dispute are looking towards ensuring that they still have the same power and are able to control the employer and employee for the betterment of the employees. The trade union is looking forward towards ensuring that the strategy helps them to have a presence in MUA and the entire work is carried out in similar ways (Williams, 1997). This will thereby help to ensure that the work is carried out in the same manner and the trade unions determine what is good and better for the employees. The dispute would lead towards reducing the control of the trade union and will make them ineffective. This will have an implication for employees as employers will be in a position to hire non-union workers and determine the actions. This could lead towards increased working hours, lower wages and more powers being vested in the hands of the employees. The overall impact of such a decision will be such that it will reflect on changing employer employee relations and will impact the manner in which trade union works and take different decisions. Employer Association: The employer association are of the motive of having better control over the business and reducing cost so that better standards are developed. Through the process of dispute the employer and employee association looks to reduce the bargaining power of trade unions and having policies and reforms which are according to the international standards. This will help to devise a mechanism through which employer association will be able to control most of the business assets especially human capital. The dispute would provide an opportunity to transform and make changes in the manner different business decisions are taken and would bring the best out of the employees. The employer association will thereby be able to justify their position and role and ensure that they look towards betterment in working conditions. State & Federal Government: The state and federal government are part of the dispute as they look to fulfil their promise and are looking to make changes in the employee relation by reducing the bargaining power of unions. The State and Federal government to meet the increasing expectations from the international arena is focusing towards major ramifications which will be aimed towards improving relations among the employer and employee. The State & Federal government through the process is thereby looking to improve their brand image among different people and investors so that they are able to work and have strategies as per the international standards (Hamilton, 1998). This will provide an opportunity through which the government will be able to carry out the different roles and activities in a better way and garner a path through which overall business prospect improves in the near future. Solution for the dispute The dispute ended with a win for the union as the company was cheating on the employees. The court found that the company had done the work of restructuring deliberately with the intention to remove the union. Even appeals to the higher court didn’t provide any result and all the verdicts were given in favour of the union. Despite the win the union still had to undergo numerous negotiations and worked on a new agreement which was undertaken and used by the company since 1998. The agreement looked at halving the permanent employees through the process of voluntary redundancies, contracting certain job and having casual workers for those job, having smaller crew workers, longer working hours, company having majority of the control and bonuses for employees who look at loading the foods quicker. The union was able to retain the ability to represent workers working in maritime and at the same time major changes were being achieved in the work practices. The reforms which were achieved looked at achieving the different framework through which better reforms will b achieved. The non-union workers which the employer had hired had to be removed at the end of the dispute. The owner had to compensate the employees heavily and had to pay bonuses and commission along with salaries to the non-union workers. Despite the huge payout the owner was able to bring about the required changes and develop new better reforms which would help to improve work place relations and develop new rules and reforms which would govern employees and employer. Implication of dispute on Employment Relations in Australia The waterfront dispute helped to shape the employment relation in Australia as it brought about the required changes in reforms which govern employees. The Australian economy witnessed major changes with regard to employment laws after the dispute. The Australian government prior to the dispute made policies by relying on Corporation Power which falls under the Australian Constitution and has been replaced by the Fair Work System. This was slowly replaced by the Fair Work Australia which helped to develop better rules so that the interest of the society and employees could be protected and at the same time opportunities of growth could be ensured (Fair Work, 2013). The dispute helped to develop the Fair Work Act which aims towards ensuring that employers are educated, developments are monitored and interventions are possible from government bodies if the interest of the employees is exploited. It also looked at reducing the role and dependence of unions and making employee free so that they could take important decisions concerning their future. The developments helped to bring Australia on the path of growth and provided an opportunity where the employment laws were governed as per the international standards (Griffin and Svensen, 1998). This helped the economy to attract investors and people from different region of the globe and provided an opportunity through which overall business fundamental was better shaped. The dispute also helped to bring major changes and helped in finding out development policies as the legislation aims at removing the enterprise agreement clause and restricts engagement of contractors and on hire basis. This helped to remove the difference between contractual and permanent employees as it provided an opportunity to ensure that all employees were compensated equally (Griffin and Svensen, 1998). The process led towards reducing differences which were previously present between the employee and employer. This thereby shaped the relation and helped to foster an environment where both employer and employee looked to work together for their mutual gains. The dispute has helped to develop reforms which aim towards equal participation from both the employer and the employees. This would thereby ensure that unions have a reduced role as the differences between the employer and employee will reduce. This will thereby help to cultivate an environment where the differences between the employer and employee reduce. The dispute has helped to ensure that appropriate strategies are developed in the same direction through which the overall framework of working will improve. The dispute has thereby helped to bring about major changes in the employment relations and has developed the required framework through which overall development for the business and the economy would become possible. In addition to it the dispute also had provided an opportunity to develop reforms and laws based on the international needs and requirements. This would thereby help to meet the different needs of the international arena and would provide an opportunity through which better working conditions would prevail. This will thereby help to improve the business opportunities and would help to develop ways through which business performance would be better in the future. Conclusion The report thereby looks to present and bring forward the manner in which water dispute in Australia has shaped the employment laws. It is seen that different external stakeholders and parties also impacted the dispute and were impacted either positively or negatively by the dispute. This thereby had helped to bring about the required changes in the employment reforms and has helped to develop laws based on the international requirements. Despite, the decision being in favour of the union different compromises had to be made. This thereby resulted in a gain-gain situation for both the parties and thereby had a role in shaping the manner in which employment reforms are developed. The dispute has also helped to ensure that better employment reforms are developed in the direction of Fair Work Act and has thereby helped to bring about the required change in the manner different laws are being governed. References Department of the Parliamentary Library, 1998. Understanding Container Handling Statistics, Research Note No. 43 Dabscheck, B. 1998, The Waterfront Dispute: Of Vendetta and the Australian Way, The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 9 (2), 181 Fair Work, 2013. Review of Fair Work Act. Business Council of Australia, Australia Griffin, G. and Svensen, S. 1998. Industrial Relations Implications of the Australian Waterside Dispute, Australian Bulletin of Labour, 24 (3), 202 Hamilton, C. 1998. Productivity in Australian Container Terminals, Mimeo, the Australia Institute Neill, S. 1998. A Preliminary Outline of the Waterfront Dispute, Current Issues Brief No.15 1997-98, Department of the Parliamentary Library McCallum, R. 1998. A Priority of Rights: Freedom of Association and the Waterfront Dispute, Australian Bulletin of Labour, 24 (3), 207 Williams, P. 1997. Secret plan to cripple dock unions, The Australian Financial Review Read More