Industrial Relations Legislation
The Howard government, before being elected in 1996, had promised significant industrial relations reform. In January 1997 it substantially amended the Industrial Relations Act, and renamed it the Workplace Relations Act 1996. The stated aim of this legislation was to foster individual choice in workplace bargaining by reducing the powers of external organisations, particularly trade unions, to intervene. In addition, the legislation reduced powers of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to arbitrate disputes. The Act also introduced individual statutory employment contracts. These were known as Australian Workplace Agreements or AWAs. The watering down of collective bargaining provisions was a source of objection from many workers and unions.
Read more about this topic: 1998 Australian Waterfront Dispute
Famous quotes containing the words industrial, relations and/or legislation:
“Nearly all the Escapists in the long past have managed their own budget and their social relations so unsuccessfully that I wouldn’t want them for my landlords, or my bankers, or my neighbors. They were valuable, like powerful stimulants, only when they were left out of the social and industrial routine.”
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“She has problems with separation; he has trouble with unity—problems that make themselves felt in our relationships with our children just as they do in our relations with each other. She pulls for connection; he pushes for separateness. She tends to feel shut out; he tends to feel overwhelmed and intruded upon. It’s one of the reasons why she turns so eagerly to children—especially when they’re very young.”
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