9001893
Description
Flashcards by Dilek Senturk, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Dilek Senturk
almost 7 years ago
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| Question | Answer |
| Industrial relations system: | An industrial relations (IR) system refers to the rules, regulations and institutions that govern the employment relationship and that set the terms and conditions of work and employment |
| Industrial relations and SHRM | • The relationship between industrial relations and HRM is often uneasy and contested. • Differing perspectives. • Responsiveness to a dynamic environment. • Understanding of the regulatory environment. |
| The workplace relations framework in Australia | • Describes ‘the arrangements by which the terms and conditions of work and the employment relationship are determined’ (from p. 98 of the textbook). |
| The legislation – a brief history | • Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration established in 1904. • Industrial tribunals established for each of the states. • In 1996, the Workplace Relations Act 1996 was introduced. • Between 1996 and 2006, the conservative federal government worked towards a unified, national IR system. • In 2009, the Fair Work Act 2009 was introduced. |
| Key aspects of The Fair Work Act 2009 | |
| The national employment standards (NES) | • Maximum hours of work • Requests for flexible working arrangements • Parental leave • Annual leave • Personal/carer’s leave • Community service leave • Long service leave • Public holiday work • Notice of termination and redundancy pay • A Fair Work Information Statement |
| Union | ‘A union is an organisation, consisting predominantly of employees, the principal activities of which include the negotiation of rates of pay and conditions of employment for its members.’ |
| Union density contains the following patterns: | – a higher proportion in the public sector than in the private sector – higher rates of unionisation among full-time than among part-time workers – an equalising of unionisation levels for men and women. |
| Industrial association | • The term ‘industrial association’ describes the organisations that may represent either employees or employers. |
| Freedom of association | refers to the rights of employees to: –belong or not to belong to a union –be represented or not be represented by a union –participate or not participate in lawful industrial activities. |
| Employers and employer associations | • In the past, employer associations represented employers in multi-employer bargaining and before industrial tribunals. • The emphasis of enterprise bargaining is on single employer bargaining. • Different approaches illustrate the variety of industrial relations and HRM models that currently exist within Australia. |
| collective bargaining | involves the ‘agreement by employers and unions on the general terms under which employees would consent to work’ (see p. 109 of the textbook). |
| Enterprise bargaining | is a particular Australian variant of collective bargaining, and was formally introduced in 1991. |
| Enterprise bargaining | refers to bargaining that occurs at the workplace level, and with the concerns of the enterprise in mind |
| Good faith bargaining | – does not require parties to make concessions or to conclude or reach agreement – does require the parties to enter and participate in the bargaining process in a meaningful way – that is, in a way that suggests they are genuinely trying to reach agreement. |
| The low-paid bargaining stream | • For employees in industries who have had little access to collective bargaining, and whose weak bargaining position precluded them from sharing in the benefits of increased productivity. |
| Industrial action | • Overall trends show that industrial conflict in the form of overt industrial action is declining and that lost time due to industrial conflict, including strikes, is reducing globally. • During the year ended March 2015, there were 199 disputes, five fewer than the year ended March 2014. Over the same period, there were 82 200 working days lost, 7% fewer than in the year ended March 2014 (88 600) (see p. 112 of the textbook). |
| Modern awards | • Modern awards reduced and simplified previous awards. • The modern award conditions with the 10 NES form the safety net of working conditions for all employees in the national system. • Enterprise agreements operate in addition to the above, but must not undercut the minimum conditions. • Enterprise agreements must meet the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT). |
| Enterprise agreements | • Enterprise agreements must have a nominal expiry date, and their maximum term is four years. • Agreements cover matters relevant to the particular enterprise, such as: –rates of pay –employment conditions –consultative mechanisms –dispute resolution procedures –deductions from wages for any purpose authorised by an employee. |
| Unfair dismissal | • The fair dismissal system sets out the steps that an employer should go through before dismissing an employee. • An unfair dismissal occurs ‘if the person has been dismissed; the dismissal is deemed to be harsh, unjust or unreasonable; the dismissal was not consistent with the small business code; the dismissal was not a case of genuine redundancy’ (s 385, Fair Work Act 2009). |
| The Fair Work Act 2009: Implications | • Macro-regulatory context: –10 minimum standards of employment –Fair Work Commission is the main institution –most private sector employees come under the one national system. • Micro-environment: –the rights of employees as individuals –shifting the balance of power in the employment relationship. |
| Relations with unions | • Where unions are already representing employees, or where there is a request for representation from employees, unions have rights of access • ‘most Australian workplaces either involve well established management-union relationships, or (more commonly) a complete absence of any union presence. The new bargaining rules, while important, are unlikely to have a dramatic impact in those workplaces’ (Professor Andrew Stuart, quoted on p. 121 of the textbook). |
| Relations with employees | • The Fair Work Act 2009 recognises employees as individuals and as members of collectives, or unions. • Employees have the right to request changes. • Reasons for refusal must be in writing and provided to the employee within 21 days of the request. |
| Bullying in the workplace | • Bullying occurs where one or more people engage in repeated and unreasonable behaviour towards a worker (or a group of workers of which the worker is a member) which also creates a risk to health and safety. • Someone who reasonably believes they have been bullied at work can apply to the FWC for an order to stop the bullying. • The FWC can make a wide range of orders (except money orders) to stop the bullying continuing or reoccurring. |
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