Principles and Values in Australian Wage Fixing

Abstract

What role can appropriately be played by Australian wage tribunals may depend on the extent to which their decisions reflect consistent, acceptable values. Various questions can be asked about principles and values that figure in decisions, including consistency, objectivity and so on. Three notable strains of principle can be identified, to do with justice, markets and enterprise productivity. Principles coming under the first two headings have figured often. They include the idea of work value and the principle of equal pay for equal work, and the idea of capacity to pay. It is arguable that while some ideas under these two headings may pull in opposed directions on occasion, nevertheless they can all be analyzed in a consistent framework and ultimately harmonized, provided that relevant empirical questions can be answered. However, there are difficulties in establishing enterprise productivity as a distinct and separate principle.