Leading academics agree IR changes are bad for workers
Monday June 27, 2005
A group of Australia's leading academics has pooled their resources to investigate the impact of the Federal Government's planned Industrial Relations reforms on Australian workers, and the net result, they say, is a new system which is overwhelmingly bad for workers; particularly the low paid.
The 17 academics, led by Professor Russell Lansbury from Sydney University, are all leaders in the field of industrial relations and labour market studies.
The group has produced a series of papers dealing with the key issues in the Federal Government’s reform package and their overwhelming conclusion is that the changes do little to fix the major problems in Australia’s workplaces.
Instead, they say, the Government has produced an “old-fashioned” package of reforms which will “damage the fabric of Australian society by encouraging poorly-paid jobs with irregular hours and little security, worsening work-family balance”.
Their report goes on to say “The focus of the Federal Government policy is to give employers power over employees instead of promoting innovative solutions based on workplace partnerships”.
This report is in keeping with the union movement’s response to the Government’s agenda.
Despite its public rhetoric, the Government has refused to guarantee that no Australian worker will be worse off under the changes, and that is because they can’t – many workers will be worse off.
The research proves it.
And all the while, according to this report, the key issues in Australia’s labour market – skills shortages, a productivity slow-down, the growth of low-bad casual employment and the difficulty finding a work-family balance – have been largely ignored.
The tide of opposition to the Federal Government’s so-called reforms is growing by the day.
And with Australian workers becoming more educated about the changes, as the ACTU launches its national week of action this week, the call for these reforms to be scraped, will only get louder.
While the NUW has held mass meetings about these reforms at most worksites – or will do so in the coming weeks – the best way to keep up-to-date with the NUW’s response to the changes, is to read the campaigns section of this website.
As issues arise, or events occur, we will update the website to make sure our members are fully informed of just how these changes will affect them and their families.
To read more of the academic report, please click on the link below.
Last modified 2005-06-27 04:07 PM
