Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T07:58:04.391Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Shifting the Balance of Power in Collective Bargaining: Australian Law, Industrial Action and Work Choices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Shae McCrystal
Shae McCrystal*
Affiliation:
ANU College of Law
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 (Cth) effects significant changes to the provisions of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 (Cth) governing industrial action in the federal workplace relations system. This paper examines these changes, situating them in the context of the historical relationship between law and industrial action in Australia, and evaluating the impact of the changes on the balance of power in voluntary collective bargaining. The paper argues that the Work Choices changes have elevated the power of employers, and protection of third party welfare, above access to the right to strike for employee participants in collective bargaining.

Type
Work Choices: A Critical Analysis
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 16 , Issue 2: Work Choices: A Critical Analysis , May 2006 , pp. 193 - 213
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2006

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2005) Labour Statistics in Brief, cat. no. 6104.0, Canberra.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2004) Labour Statistics in Brief, cat. no. 6104.0, Canberra.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2003) Labour Statistics in Brief, cat. no. 6104.0, Canberra.Google Scholar
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (1989) Labour Statistics in Brief, cat. no. 6104.0, Canberra.Google Scholar
Collins, H., Ewing, K. and McColgan, A. (2001) Labour Law Text and Materials, Hart Publishing, Oxford.Google Scholar
Creighton, B. and Stewart, A. (2005) Labour Law, 4th ed, Federation Press, Sydney.Google Scholar
Creighton, B. (1995) ‘The ILO and the Internationalisation of Australian Law’, International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations 11: 199–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Creighton, B. (1991) ‘Enforcement in the Federal Industrial Relations System: An Australian Paradox’, Australian Journal of Labour Law 4: 197–225.Google Scholar
Di Felice, V. (2000) ‘Stopping or Preventing Industrial Action in Australia’, Melbourne University Law Review 24: 310–348.Google Scholar
Forsyth, A. (2000) ‘Trade Union Regulation and the Accountability of Union Office-Holders: Examining the Corporate Model’, Australian Journal of Labour Law 13: 28–40.Google Scholar
International Labour Organisation. (2004) Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, Individual Observation, Convention 87, Australia, ILOLEX Document Number 062004AUS087.Google Scholar
International Labour Organisation. (2005) Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, Individual Observation, Convention 98, Australia, ILOLEX Document Number 062005AUS098.Google Scholar
Johns, L. (2004) ‘The Answer is: Not to Certify’, Australian Journal of Labour Law 17: 317–326.Google Scholar
McCallum, R. (1997) ‘Australian Workplace Agreements — An Analysis’, Australian Journal of Labour Law 10: 50–61.Google Scholar
McCarry, G. (1997) ‘Industrial Action Under the Workplace Relations Act’, Australian Journal of Labour Law 10: 133–157.Google Scholar
McCarry, G. (1994) ‘Sanctions and Industrial Action: The Impact of the Industrial Relations Reform Act’, Australian Journal of Labour Law 7: 198–245.Google Scholar
McEvoy, K and Owens, R. (1993) ‘On a Wing and a Prayer: The Pilots Dispute in the International Context’, Australian Journal of Labour Law 6: 1–30.Google Scholar
O'Neill, S. (2005) ‘Workplace Relations Legislation: Bills Passed, Rejected or Lapsed, 38th–40th Parliaments’, E Brief, Australian Parliamentary Library, [Online], Available: http://www.aph.gov.au/library [accessed 8 July 2005].Google Scholar
Pittard, M. (1986) ‘Mudginberri Station Pty Ltd v Australasian Meat Industry Employees’ Union', Australian Business Law Review 14: 130–135.Google Scholar
Sykes, E. and Glasbeek, H. (1972) Labour Law in Australia, Butterworths, Sydney.Google Scholar
Weiler, P. (1980) Reconcilable Differences: New Directions in Canadian Labour Law, The Carswell Company Ltd, Toronto.Google Scholar
Yusuf Cassim, M. (1989) ‘Freedom to Strike: The Myth of Voluntarism’, Loyola of Los Angeles: International and Comparative Law Journal 11: 281–309.Google Scholar