Conflict In Australia Case Study

Controlling Conflict in Australia

“Conciliation and arbitration for the prevention and settlement of industrial disputes extending beyond the limits of any state” (Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900 (Imp) ). During the drafting of the constitution this quote was written in. I believe Australia has shaped continuously developing system to help arbitrate and control conflict between employers and employees. For the following essay I will provide a brief history on Australia’s employment relations, factors that lead to the development of the system, an overview of conflict and the factors I believe that have attempted to controlling the conflict within the industry but has no yet been successful.
Australia’s formal employment relations

Both the unions and employers applauded this new act, the Excise Tariff Act 1906. The next year Justice Higgins ruled on the Harvester Judgment (Ex Parte HV McKay, (1907) Commonwealth Arbitration Reports, vol. 2, p.1+)(Australian Industrial Relations Commission 2006, p.3). This case helped define fair and reasonable as a wage the employee and his family could live on, ‘a living wage’. In 1973 the Labor Government reduced the policies that provided the tariff protection of Australia’s earlier years. This was an attempt to open up the Australian economy internationally. This resulted in an emphasis on increases in productivity, improvements in work performance, and workplace restructuring (ABS,

The strike ended when the Shearers ' Union money ran out and they agree on a dispute settlement procedure (Australian Trade Union, 2010). This strike was an example of both collective conflict, actions taken by a number of people, and overt, conflict that is open and easy to perceive (Bray, Waring, Cooper, & Macneil 2014, p.366). Overt conflict can also involve lockouts, sit-ins, boycotts and picketing. Another famous overt case is the 1998 waterfront dispute. Patrick Corporation sacked and locked out employees that were members of the Maritime Union of Australia due to productivity issues. The lock out lasted fourteen days and the courts stepped in to assist in the matter (The Socialist Party, 2008). Conflict can also be covert, which is a type of conflict hidden or suppressed. An example of this is the case of sabotage in a Detroit automobile factory where the employees misassembled and omitted parts to produce a high number of reject engines (Watson 1971, p.79). Covert conflict can also include employee turnover, absenteeism, or poor performance. Australia’s employment relations system is a complex and ever changing system, which with each political leadership style changes and with it how it reacts to conflict. When the system was formally introduced the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration