Research and reports
2009
NSW Industrial Relations commissioned the University of Sydney's Workplace Research Centre to use existing data sources to determine which employees are bargaining in the Australian labour market. The findings are documented in the Who Bargains? research report (pdf - 274Kb).
Allied to this are the questions: to what level employers and their employees depend on awards, and to what degree those that are said to bargain depend on awards?
These questions have become very important in recent industrial relations policy debates. Particularly given that the centrepiece of the Rudd Governments vision for the Australian industrial relations system, expressed in the Fair Work Act 2009, is collective.
2008
In 2008, the NSW Office of Industrial Relations commissioned the University of Sydney’s Workplace Research Centre to conduct a research project to identify best practice industrial arrangements that support vocational education and training (VET) and facilitate skills development opportunities for apprenticeships and traineeships.
The report titled 'The link between industrial arrangements and skill reform' (pdf - 631Kb) also focuses on three industry based case studies in the Metal and Engineering, Child Care and Hospitality sectors, which included interviews with key unions, employer and training stakeholders.
The research finds that awards are more likely to contain training-related provisions than most other forms of industrial instruments such as collective or individual agreements. NSW awards include a range of provisions to encourage skill development including paid time off to attend training, paid course fees, adult apprentice wages and on-the-job training by qualified tradespeople.
The report concludes that improving the working conditions of apprentices and trainees, as well as other workers interested in undertaking work-related training, would contribute to improved skill formation outcomes in NSW and Australia.
2007
The University of Sydney's Workplace Research Centre completed an extensive study examining how enforceable rights have changed under Work Choices, entitled 'Lowering the standards: from awards to Work Choices in retail and hospitality collective agreements' (pdf - 328Kb).
Prepared for the Queensland, New South Wales and Victorian Governments, this study compares every federal collective agreement registered in the first nine months of Work Choices with the workplace agreements and awards that were in place immediately prior to its introduction, covering retail and hospitality enterprises in the eastern states.
The Workplace Research Centre prepared a survey report called ' Workplace Industrial Relations on the Eve of Work Choices' (pdf - 465Kb) for the Queensland Department of Industrial Relations, NSW Office of Industrial Relations and Industrial Relations Victoria. The primary objective of the surveys was to obtain benchmark statistics on the structures, practices and outcomes associated with industrial relations at the workplace level before major changes in federal labour law were implemented.
The New South Wales Government commissioned Dr Peter Gahan, Associate Professor, Work and Employment Rights Research Centre and Department of Management, Monash University, to analyse ' Employer Greenfield Agreements in New South Wales' (pdf - 988kb) made after the Work Choices legislation commenced on 27 March 2006.
The analysis includes all Employer Greenfield Agreements (EGAs) made by businesses located in New South Wales and lodged with the Workplace Authority in the first year following the commencement of Work Choices. This does not include all EGAs made by businesses located in New South Wales during this period as some are not made publicly available. In addition to the analysis of New South Wales EGAs, a comparison is made with all data collected from all publicly available EGAs across all states. This research has also been completed in Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.
2006
The New South Wales Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (NSW WIRS) (pdf - 478 Kb) provides the research findings of a telephone survey of 990 workplace managers in NSW conducted in March and April 2006 by the University of Sydney, Workplace Research Centre. The survey provides baseline information about New South Wales workplace industrial relations immediately preceding the introduction of the Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 (Work Choices). The survey will enable researchers to conduct follow-up surveys in the future to identify the impact of Work Choices on NSW workplaces.
Other
History of Industrial Relations in NSW is a timeline of employment relations in NSW and highlights significant events that have shaped industrial relations in this state. Students and teachers in the field of industrial or employment relations may find this useful.
