Women continue to lag some distance behind men in the Australian labour market - in relation to pay differentials, recognition of their skills, award coverage and their concentration in part-time and casual work. This article examines the implications of Labor and Coalition industrial relations policies in relation to women with a focus on three issues; the level of decentralisaton of the system; the strength of the safety net underpinning enterprise industrial relations; and the role of unions. The article concludes that while women are further disadvantaged by some aspects of Labor's current enterprise bargaining processes, they would be much more damaged by the coalition's proposals.
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