Australian industrial relations in 2015

Abstract

For Australian industrial relations, no major legislation was passed and few significant judgements were handed down in 2015, but several inquiries held over the course of the year and the consequences arising from political leadership changes might ultimately be seen as 'critical junctures' from which important developments subsequently unfolded. In particular, the Productivity Commission's inquiry into the Workplace Relations Framework and the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption recommended several major changes that may eventually come to fruition. This article analyses the implications of these inquiries and emerging issues in the lowwage sector, and provides an overview of the articles in the 2016 Journal of Industrial Relations Annual Review issue.

Australian industrial relations in 2016

“…The Royal Commission claimed that misconduct with the union movement was 'widespread ' and 'deep seated' (Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption, 2015: 12). As discussed in last year's JIR Annual Review (Forsyth, 2016;Wright, 2016a), the union movement disputed these findings and claimed that the Royal Commission was a political exercise aimed at damaging the Coalition's political opponents.…”

“…These developments, while noteworthy, represent relatively minor changes to industrial relations policy. According to Forsyth (2017), the Turnbull government did not seek a mandate at the 2016 election to implement the recommendations of the Productivity Commission's (2015) extensive inquiry into the workplace relations framework, discussed in last year's Annual Review issue (Forsyth, 2016;Wright, 2016a). Despite agitation from employer associations (Barry and You, 2017), there is limited appetite for major industrial relations reform within the Coalition, which still appears haunted by the backlash from WorkChoices.…”