Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is attracting increasing at tention in the United States as a means of allowing both union ized and nonunionized employees to discuss their grievances in the presence of outside third parties. Public interest groups have looked for mechanisms to accomplish this objective. For some time, South Australia has used a dispute resolution system that provides both mediation and arbitration for individual workers. As good as this system is in overall intent, it falls short of putting people back on their jobs or providing adequate compensation in cases of unfair dismissal. This paper discusses the operation of the mediation step in the unfair-dismissal process of South Australia.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).2003. Report submitted to the Senate Employment, Workplace Relations and Education Legislation Committee. Canberra . (February).
2.
Bingham, Lisa B.2000. Employment arbitration before and after the due process protocol for mediation and arbitration of statutory disputes arising out of employment: Preliminary evidence that self-regulation makes a difference . Presented at 53rd Annual Conference on Labor: Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Employment Arena. 18-19 May, at New York University.
3.
Bingham, Lisa B., and Charles R. Wise .1996. The Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1990: How do we evaluate its success? Journal of Public Administration, Research and Theory6, no. 3: 383-414.
4.
Bingham, Lisa B., and Debra J. Mesch.2000. Decision making in employment and labor arbitration. Industrial Relations39, no. 4:671-694.
5.
Bingham, Lisa B., and Denise R. Chachere .1999. Dispute resolution in employment: The need for research. In Employment dispute resolution and worker rights in the changing workplace, edited by Adrienne E. Eaton and Jeffrey H. Keefe.University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana : Industrial Relations Research Association.
6.
Brett, Jeanne M., Zoe I. Barsness, and Stephen B. Goldberg .1996. The effectiveness of mediation: An independent analysis of cases handled by four major service providers. Negotiation Journal12, no. 3: 97-113.
7.
Council of Small Business Organizations of Australia (COSBOA).2003. Response to inquiry into provisions ofthe Workplace Relations Amendment (Termination of Employment) Bill 2002 . Canberra. (February).
8.
Dickens, Linda.1994. Comparative systems of unjust dismissal: The British case . Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science536 (November): 43-55.
9.
Dickens, Linda, Moira Hart, Michael Jones, and Brian Weekes.1981. Re-employment of unfairly dismissed workers: The lost remedy. Industrial Law Journal10:160-175.
10.
Dickens, Linda, Moira Jones, Brian Weekes, and Moira Hart.1985. Dismissed: A study of unfair dismissal and the industrial tribunal system. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
11.
Edelman, Lauren B.1990. Legal environments and organizational governance: The expansion of due process in the American workplace. American Journal of Sociology95, no. 6:1401-1440.
Fisher, Stanley M.1994. Legislative enactment process: The Model Employment Termination Act. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science536 (November): 79-92.
14.
Holley, William H. Jr., and Kenneth M. Jennings.1984. The labor relations process. 2d ed. Chicago: The Dryden Press.
15.
International Labor Office. [1973] 1988. Conciliation in industrial disputes. Geneva: ILO..
16.
Kolb, Deborah M.1983. The Mediators. Cambridge, Mass : MIT Press.
17.
Levine, Marvin J.1994. The erosion of the Employment-at-Will Doctrine: Recent developments. Labor Law Journal45, no. 2:79-89.
18.
Malinowski, Arthur A.1981. An empirical analysis of discharge cases and the work history of employees reinstated by labor arbitrators. The Arbitration Journal36, no. 1:31-46.
19.
Meredith, Frances2001. Alternative dispute resolution in an industrial tribunal: Conciliation of unfair dismissal disputes in South Australia. Australian Journal of Labour Law14, no. 1: 36-61.
20.
Montana Dept. of Industry and Labor. 1999. http://erd.dli.state.mt.us/ LaborStandards/LSmediation.htm (accessed February 2002).
21.
Ohio Civil Rights Commission.1997. Preliminary investigation, probable cause, conciliation, no probable cause . OhioAdministrative Code , Sec. 4112-3-0.
22.
Provis, Chris.1997. Mediation and conciliation in industrial relations: Reflections from Australia. Labor Studies Journal21, no. 4:81-101.
23.
South Australia Industrial Commission.1974 . Lloyd v. Uniroyal Pty. Ltd., Magistrates Reports 1974: 1-7.
24.
Sherman, Mark R.1989. Unfair dismissal and the remedy of re-employment . Journal of Industrial Relations31, no. 2:212-228.
25.
Simkin, William E.1971. Mediation and the dynamics ofcollective bargaining . Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
26.
Stewart, Andrew.1986. The new unfair dismissal jurisdiction in South Australia . Journal of Industrial Relations28, no. 3:367-409.
27.
Stewart, Andrew.1988. Unfair dismissal in South Australia. Adelaide: Corporate and Business Law Center.
28.
Walton, Richard E. and Robert B. McKersie . [1965] 1991. A behavioral theory of labor negotiations. 2d. ed. Ithaca, N.Y.: ILR Press.
29.
Workplace Relations Amendment (Fair Termination) Bill2002. 2003. See Department of the Parliamentary Library. Canberra ACT. April 28.
30.
Zalusky, John.2002. Circuit City is to workplace justice as voting in Florida is to democracy. Presented at Industrial Relations Research Association 54th Annual Meeting, 6 January in Atlanta, Georgia.
