Journal of Industrial Relations

This article introduces the Journal of Industrial Relations' Annual Review of Industrial Relations in 2018. Providing an overview of the other articles contained in the Annual Review issue, this article discusses industrial relations policy stagnation, and manoeuvring for change from both employer and employee representatives. With leadership uncertainty and change within the federal government, it has been a quiet year for industrial relations reform, although some key decisions from courts and tribunals are examined and some states’ return to private sector regulation noted. A number of questions are raised regarding potential for reform in 2019 and for how to conceptualise industrial relations change.

In 2018, the Australian labour market continued to see only very moderate wages growth despite strong employment growth and low unemployment. This remains an international phenomenon with underlying economic and legal structural causes. Employment growth was concentrated in part-time jobs for both males and females, and in both manufacturing and white-collar industries. The Fair Work Commission increased the National Minimum Wage by 3.5%, a higher percentage increase than previous years but one that reflected higher growth in average earnings and inflation. The climate surrounding agreement making was less febrile than in recent years, with fewer high-profile attempts to terminate existing enterprise agreements. However, collective bargaining coverage in the private sector continues to decline to historic lows. Changes to skilled migration were the most significant shift in labour market policy in 2018, with a significant reduction in the number of permanent skilled migrants and a new temporary skilled migrant visa category with much stricter eligibility requirements. If sustained, this reduction may contribute to increasing pressure on wages in the years to come.

This year's annual review of women, work and industrial relations marks an important milestone. Nearly 10 years have elapsed since the introduction of the Fair Work Act 2009, which enshrined important new rights for the progression of gender equality. It is also 10 years since the Journal of Industrial Relations commenced this annual review. In addition to focusing on developments affecting women and work in 2018, this review provides a broad summary of key events over the past decade. We explore trends in women's workforce participation, union membership, economic security and pay equity, as well as major changes pertaining to work–family policy settings, workplace sexual harassment, and family and domestic violence leave. We conclude that although policy and employment frameworks have created a foundation on which to build gender equality, policy development has been sporadic and the context for women in Australian workplaces remains far from equal.

There is a storm brewing over the roles of unions and collective bargaining in Australian employment relations. Unions, frustrated with what they see as practical and legislative restrictions on protection of workers’ rights, seek to ‘change the rules’. Employers, on the other hand, have been successful in restricting or rolling back bargaining rights, supported by their associations, the Coalition government and an assertive interpretation of the Fair Work Act. Add to this the impending federal election and the scene is set for a tempest that could bring industrial relations back to the centre of Australian politics in 2019. The review explores the various elements contributing to the coming storm, including trends in union membership, structure and strategy. It also surveys trends in the number and coverage of collective agreements, wage outcomes and industrial disputes. Two idiosyncractically Australian versions of collective agreement making are also discussed: cooperative bargaining facilitated by the Fair Work Commission and non-union collective agreement making.

For employers and employer associations, 2018 was in part a year of submissions to government inquiries, the 4-yearly modern wage review and the minimum wage review. Issues of numerical flexibility, including casual work, the gig economy and labour hire, also consumed much attention. It was also a year in which public discontent with the business world, particularly with big business, in relation to industrial relations and broader socio-political issues, and the questioning of its social licence to operate have escalated. In examining the major issues that concerned employers and their associations during the year, this article also discusses the pressures building for them in expressing and promoting their industrial relations agendas in response to a looming federal election, dynamic trade union campaigning and growing public discontent with the industrial relations system in its current form.

It has been a quiet year like last year for the passing of federal industrial legislation (due to a number of factors, including the political turmoil of the federal coalition government and their lack of an overall labour law reform agenda). This article examines key federal industrial legislative developments including the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth). The article identifies that the federal Act contains much weaker compliance measures than the counterpart New South Wales legislation also passed in 2018 – the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (NSW). Also, although the Coalition government has attempted to continue to prosecute its case for further union governance measures, this agenda has been less successful than in previous years, with key government Bills not yet passed by the Parliament. The stagnation in the federal Parliament continues to motivate certain State Parliaments to address worker exploitation, and the article goes on to examine key State industrial legislation passed in 2018 including the Victorian labour hire licensing statute. In light of the continuing dominant position of the federal Labor opposition in opinion polls and an impending federal election in 2019, the article concludes by briefly considering the federal Labor opposition's agenda for industrial legislation.

The year 2018 saw significant tribunal and court decisions concerning the definition of ‘casual’ for the purposes of the National Employment Standards, the obligations of labour hire employers, and the employment status of food delivery drivers in the gig economy. This review also covers a number of significant changes to awards made by the Fair Work Commission as part of its 4-yearly award review; a Full Federal Court decision about the extent to which a small group of employees genuinely agreed to approve an enterprise agreement. An unusual tribunal decision about an employee who was assumed to have a disability is noted. Finally, the review considers several significant judicial decisions on accessorial liability and penalites under the Fair Work Act.

Concern about the economic, social and political cost of growing income inequality is propelling a debate about the loss of employee bargaining power – both in Australia and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. The evidence of a pronounced decline in the bargaining power of employees in the Australian labour market is overwhelming. The decline is consistent with a collapse in workplace bargaining as a result of a bargaining framework that has not kept up with major structural change in the labour market. In the absence of decisive legislative intervention, the decline of employee bargaining power is likely to continue.

The liberalization of industrial relations has become a generalized phenomenon in advanced capitalist societies. This raises at least three issues that are the subject of this review. First, what is the balance between continuity and change in industrial relations? Second, what is driving change, and in particular, what role is played by shifts in capitalist growth models that have taken place over the last three decades? Third, what does this tell us about the role of political regulation in industrial relations change? This review suggests that scholars need to rethink the role of industrial relations institutions, specifically their ability to shape and mitigate the impact of broad transformations in types of economic growth and the balance of class power. It argues that liberalization of industrial relations and the instability of emerging capitalist growth models highlight the centrality of political regulation and the role of the state in market-making and institution-building.