Wages and Wage Determination in 2000  

Oleh:

Watts, Martin J.

Jenis: Article from Journal - e-Journal
Dalam koleksi: Journal of Industrial Relations vol. 43 no. 2 (Jun. 2001), page 177–195.
Fulltext: 177.pdf (185.51KB)

Isi artikel

Following the Workplace Relations Act (1996), wages continued to be determined in a fragmented manner in 2000 via the award safety net, union and non-union certified agreements and individual contracts. Inevitably tensions arose as the full ramifications of enterprise bargaining became clear in an environment of strong economic growth and falling unemployment. The equity of the wages system was again under the spotlight with the annual re-run of the Safety Net Case in May. The Federal Government attempted to tighten the provisions of the Workplace Relations Act to outlaw pattern bargaining, but was stymied in the Senate by the Democrats. The Howard Government feared that genuine enterprise bargaining would be under threat if unions could bargain across a number of workplaces on the basis of a common claim. In the second half of the year the continued depreciation of the Australian dollar, and the sharp increase in the US dollar price of oil occurred at a time when the economy was absorbing the impact of the GST. The ACTU foreshadowed demands for wage increases in excess of $20 in the next Safety Net Case. These developments threatened the inflation targets of the Reserve Bank and could lead to interest rate increases in the new year. The capacity of a fragmented, inconsistent wage determination system to accommodate the impact of higher cost inflation and maintain equitable outcomes without a rise in unemployment will be severely challenged in the coming months. In late October the Minister for Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business foreshadowed the use of the corporations power in the Constitution to achieve a unified industrial relations system.

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