This is resource tool that explains why today's industrial cultures operate as they do and fives a glimpse of the role industry and employer organisations play in shaping our economic and industrial history

This film is about the establishment and development of Australia's unique industrial relations system. It starts with the story of the Arbitration Court - the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration - why it was established, what it did and the influence it had on Australia's social, economic and political history.

In Re-Union, David Madland explores how labor unions are essential to all workers. Yet, union systems are badly flawed and in need of rapid changes for reform. Madland's multilayered analysis presents a solution—a model to replace the existing firm-based collective bargaining with a larger, industry-scale bargaining method coupled with powerful incentives for union membership. These changes would represent a remarkable shift from the norm, but would be based on lessons from other countries, US history and current policy in several cities and states. In outlining the shift, Madland details how these proposals might mend the broken economic and political systems in the United States. He also uses three examples from Britain, Canada, and Australia to explore what there is yet to learn about this new system in other developed nations. Madland's practical advice in Re-Union extends to a proposal for how to implement the changes necessary to shift the current paradigm. This powerful call to action speaks directly to the workers affected by these policies—the very people seeking to have their voices recognized in a system that attempts to silence them.

Is Australia fair enough? And why does inequality matter anyway? In Battlers and Billionaires, Andrew Leigh weaves together vivid anecdotes, interesting history and powerful statistics to tell the story of inequality in this country. This is economics writing at its best. From egalitarian beginnings, Australian inequality rose through the nineteenth century. Then we became more equal again, with inequality falling markedly from the 1920s to the 1970s. Now, inequality is returning to the heights of the 1920s. Leigh shows that while inequality can fuel growth, it also poses dangers to society. Too much inequality risks cleaving us into two Australias, occupying fundamentally separate worlds, with little contact between the haves and the have-nots. And the further apart the rungs on the ladder of opportunity, the harder it is for a kid born into poverty to enter the middle class. Battlers and Billionaires sheds fresh light on what makes Australia distinctive, and what it means to have – and keep – a fair go.

Overview This is the second edition of the well-regarded local text, Employment Relations. This new edition takes an even more practical approach to a complex area, considering both the industrial regulation and human resources dimensions of the employment relationship. As well as providing a comprehensive guide to employment relations in Australia, the text also offers a selective international comparative view on the management of the employment relationship. The text explains and emphasises the real-world connections between the important theories of industrial relations and human resources, which are key components of the employment relations discipline. The overarching aim is for students to gain a deeper understanding of the 'World of Work', through the discipline of Employment Relations.

Inclusive Growth in Australia overturns two decades of assumptions that social policy is wasteful and a source of dependency. It reflects a global resurgence of the understanding that an active and effective social policy regime is vital not only for a flourishing society, but also for a strong economy. It explains this new paradigm of inclusive growth and shows how it can be implemented in Australia. Inclusive growth dismantles the idea that social development will automatically trickle down from untrammelled market based growth. Rather, growth must be managed so that it is employment centred, broad based across sectors and with a social security system promoting sustainability and equality of opportunity. The editors argue that productivity is 'nearly everything' when it comes to raising living standards. So while social policies will be about goals other than the economy, they must demonstrate their compatibility with an economic growth strategy. With contributions from leading national and international experts in the field including Marian Baird, Grant Belchamber, Gerald Burke, Saul Eslake, Roy Green and Peter Whiteford, Inclusive Growth in Australia shows that 'welfare state' spending is as much an economic investment as a measure of social protection. Written for policy makers, industry and NGOs as well as students, Inclusive Growth in Australia locates Australian economic and social policy within the most important emergent themes shaping international debate.

This book is a series of vignettes about changes to Australian institutions, organisations and systems that have significantly improved economic and social well-being for Australians. Economic system innovations have had a profound impact on our lives, from the invention of banking in the middle ages to the organisations established by the United Nations post-WWII. However, their intangible nature means that few people identify these changes alongside physical inventions. Although invention is normally an incremental process, with copying and adaption being the norm, the authors focus on reforms that were principally new to the world at the time of implementation. The book is not about the reforms and how well they worked, per se, rather about the people and the political struggle to get them adopted. The authors have chosen to focus on the stories where Australia has either taken a global leadership role or made a considerable advance in a particular new institution. What these stories show is that leadership in institutional innovation can come from many quarters: academia, the community, politics and the bureaucracy. Often the most successful teams combine people from all quarters albeit with support from the fourth estate. The work shows how many reforms began with modest beginnings, often an ordinary person with a vision, and how it takes several attempts to get change accepted. This key volume can be used to teach students of economics, political economy and politics. It illustrates the type of networks, actions and advocacy that is needed to get reform started and implemented and is written in a style to engage policy and think-tank audiences.

As wealth inequality skyrockets and trade union power declines, the living wage movement has become ever more urgent for public policymakers, academics, and – most importantly – those workers whose wages hover close to the breadline. A real living wage in any part of the world is rarely its minimum wage: it is the minimum income needed to cover living costs and participate fully in society. Most governments’ minimum wages are still falling short, meaning millions of workers struggle to cover their living costs. This book brings new, vital insights to the conversation from a carefully selected group of contributors at the forefront of this field. By juxtaposing advances across sectors and countries, and encompassing many different approaches and indeed definitions of the living wage, Dobbins and Prowse offer a rich tapestry of approaches that may inform public policy. By including the experiences and voices of those workers earning at, or near, the living wage alongside the opinions of leading experts in this field, this book is a pioneering contribution for public policymakers as well as students and academics of work and employment relations, public policy, organizational studies, social economics, and politics.

Employment, Labour and Industrial Law in Australia provides a comprehensive, current and accessible resource for the undergraduate and Juris Doctor student. With a social and political background to the law, this text provides insightful legal analysis underscored by practical business experience, while exploring key principles through a close evaluation of laws and lively discussion of prominent cases. Recognising the multi-faceted nature of the subject, the authors have included content on employment, labour and industrial law in the one text, while also presenting critical topics not often dealt with, namely: • current and in-depth analysis of trade union regulation • public work including the public sector, the judiciary and academics • workplace health and safety including worker's compensation, bullying, anti-discrimination and taxation • emerging issues including topics such as transnational and international employment law, migration and employment, as well as volunteers and work experience. To maintain currency within this rapidly changing area of law, the text has a website which will include updates for any major developments in the field as well as responses to end-of-chapter questions. Written by respected academics and practicing lawyers in the field, this book is a relevant and contemporary guide to this fascinating area of law.