The Workplace Relations Act 1996 attempts to expedite refom of the industrial relations system and increase the flexibility of workplaces seeking to compete in the international marketplace. This article provides a detailed guide to the legislation witb a particular focus on its likely impact on indigenous workers. Potential equity concerns arising from the operationalisation of the Act should be weighed against potential employment gains from improved macroeconomic perfomance or increased workplace flexibility. Unfortunately, tbe lack, of data on the articulation of the interests of indigenous workers within tbe industrial relations system limits the deptb of the analysis. Notwithstanding such shortcomings, the entrenched disadvantage experienced by indigenous workers means that they are unlikely to be in a position to avail themselves of any employment gains in the wider community.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (1991) Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) User Guide, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
2.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (1995) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Annual Report 1994/95, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Canberra.
3.
Alcorso, C. and Hage, G. (1994) Bargained Away? Enterprise Bargaining and Non-English Speaking Background Women Workers, Policy Paper 2, Association of Non-English Speaking Background Women of Australia, Granville.
4.
Altman, J.C. and Daly, A.E. (1995) 'Indigenous Australians in the labour market: historical trends and future prospects', Economic Papers, 14 (4): 64-74.
5.
Altman, J.C. and Hawke, A.E. (1993) 'Indigenous Australians and the labour market: issues for the union movement in the 1990s', Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper no. 45, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University , Canberra.
6.
Altman, J.C. and Sanders, W. (1991) 'The CDEP scheme: administrative and policy issues ', Australian Journal of Public Administration, 50 (4): 515-25.
7.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (1995) National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey 1994: Detailed Findings, Cat. no. 4190.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics , Canberra.
8.
Australian Industrial Relations Commission ( 1997) Safety Net Review — Wages: Co?iziizoiz=ealtl? Government Submission and Exhibits, Dec 335/97, Print no. P1997, Australian Industrial Relations Commission , Melbourne.
9.
Bennett, L. (1994) 'Women and enterprise bargaining: the legal and institutional framework', Joumal of Industrial Relations, 36 (2): 191-212.
10.
Buultjens, J. (1995) 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and enterprise bargaining: a cause for concern', paper presented at the 9th Annual Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand Conference, Melbourne, 9-11 February.
11.
Deloitte Ross Tohmatsu (1992) Impact of Industrial Awards on CDEP, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Canberra .
12.
Department of Industrial Relations (1995) Enterprise Bargaining in Australia: 1994 Annual Report, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra .
13.
Department of Industrial Relations (1996) Enterprise Bargaining in Australia: 1995 Annual Report, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra .
14.
Eichbaum, C. (1997) 'The impact of New Zealand's Employment Contracts Act: a response to Lingard', Agenda, 4 (1): 107-11.
15.
Gregory, R.G. (1993) 'Aspects of Australian living standards: the disappointing decades 1970-1990', Economic Record, 69 (204): 61-76.
16.
Hall, H. and Fruin, D. (1994) 'Gender aspects of enterprise bargaining: the good, the bad and the ugly', in D. E. Morgan (ed.) Dimensions of Enterprise Bargaining and Organisational Relations, Studies in Australian Industrial Relations Monograph no. 35, Industrial Relations Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney.
17.
Hammond, S. and Harbridge, R. (1995) 'Women and enterprise bargaining: the New Zealand experience of labour market deregulation', Journal of Industrial Relations, 37 (3): 359-76.
18.
Hunter, B. (1996) 'The determinants of indigenous employment outcomes: the importance of education and training', Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper no. 115, The Australian National University, Canberra.
19.
Hunter, B. and Taylor, J. (1996) 'Indigenous labour force status in the year 2000: estimated impacts of recent budget cuts', Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper no. 119, The Australian National University, Canberra .
20.
Katz, L. and Murphy, K.M. (1992) 'Changes in relative wages, 1963-1987: supply and demand factors', Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107(I): 35-78.
21.
May, D. ( 1994) Ahoriginal Labour and the Cattle Industry: Queensland from White Settlement to the Present, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
22.
McCorquodale, J. (1985) 'The myth of mateship: Aborigines and employment ', Journal of Industrial Relations, 27 (1): 3-16.
23.
McHugh, S. (1996) Cottoning On: Stories of Australian Cotton-growing , Hale & Iremonger, Sydney .
24.
Smith, D.E. (1994) 'Working for CDEP: a case study of the Community Development Employment Projects scheme in Port Lincoln, South Australia', Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper no. 75, The Australian National University, Canberra.
25.
Stevens, F. (1974) Ahorigines in the Northern Territory Cattle Industry , Australian National University Press, Canberra.
26.
Taylor, J. and Liu, J. (1995) 'Changes in the relative distribution of indigenous employment by industry, 1986-96', Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper no. 96, The Australian National University, Canberra.
27.
Whifehouse, G. (1990), 'Unequal pay: a comparative study of Australia, Canada, Sweden and the UK', Labour and Industry, 3(2-3): 354-71.
