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Employment Relations
BRAY WARING COOPER MACNEIL
Employment
This fourth edition of the market-leading Employment
Relations: Theory and Practice provides readers with a
Relations
THEORY & PRACTICE
4e
comprehensive and engaging introduction to employment
relations in Australia. Each chapter is underpinned by a strong
theoretical framework and brought to life with contemporary
case studies, examples and discussion questions.
Connect is proven to deliver better results.
Content integrates seamlessly with enhanced
Thoroughly revised and updated, this edition features a wide digital tools to create a personalised learning
variety of new and updated cases and problem-based learning experience that provides precisely what
BRAY
activities, which encourage readers to apply theory to practice you need, when you need it. With Connect,
and to develop a critical perspective. It pays close attention the educational possibilities are limitless.
to current themes, trends and developments in employment To learn more about McGraw-Hill Connect® visit
relations, and canvasses the political and regulatory landscape. www.mheducation.com.au/student-connect
WARING
This edition also features new web-based and interactive
activities, as well as substantial instructor resources.
Written in clear, accessible language, Employment Relations
Copyright © 2017. McGraw-Hill Australia. All rights reserved.

is the essential resource for students and teachers alike.
COOPER
MACNEIL
4th Edition
www.mhhe.com/au/bray_employment4e Bray, Mark, et al. Employment Relations : Theory and Practice, McGraw-Hill Australia, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/murdoch/detail.action?docID=5471287.
Created from murdoch on 2022-02-28 05:57:21.
spine: 18.86mm
EMPLOYMENT
RELATIONS
Theory and Practice
4E
MARK BRAY
PETER WARING
RAE COOPER
JOHANNA MACNEIL
Bray, Mark, et al. Employment Relations : Theory and Practice, McGraw-Hill Australia, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/murdoch/detail.action?docID=5471287.
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd i 08/16/17 12:38 PM

Copyright © 2018 McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd
Additional owners of copyright are acknowledged in on-page credits.
Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge copyrighted material. The authors and publishers tender their apologies should any infringement
have occurred.
Reproduction and communication for educational purposes
The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10% of the pages of this work, whichever is the greater, to be
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publisher via www.mcgraw-hill.com.au or marked for the attention of the permissions editor at the address below.
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Author: Bray, Mark.
Title: Employment relations: theory and practice / Mark Bray, Peter Waring, Rae Cooper, Johanna Macneil.
Edition: 4th edition.
ISBN: 9781743765586 (paperback)
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subjects: Industrial relations—Australian Labor laws and legislation—Australia.
Other Authors/Contributors: Waring, Peter Arnold, author.
Cooper, Rae, author.
Macneil, Johanna, author.
Published in Australia by
McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd
Level 33, 680 George St, Sydney NSW 2000
Product manager: Jillian Gibbs
Content developer: Isabella Mead
Senior production editor: Daisy Patiag
Permissions editors: Natalie Crouch and Haidi Bernhardt
Copyeditor: Martina Edwards
Indexer: SPi-Global
Cover design: Simon Rattray

Typeset in 12/15pt STIX MathJax Main Regular
Printed in China by CTPS on 70 gsm matt art
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd ii 08/16/17 12:38 PM

DEDICATION
This new edition is dedicated to:
Kath and Ross Bray
Helen and Trevor Waring
Clare O’Hara Cooper and Peter Cooper
Joan and John Macneil
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd iii 08/16/17 12:38 PM

Contents in brief
Part 1 Theory and context 2
1 What is employment relations? 4
2 The study of employment relations: analytical tools 28
3 The study of employment relations: values 51
Part 2 The parties 80

4 The state 82
5 Management and employer representatives 133
6 Employee representation: unions 180
7 Employee representation: non-union 236
Part 3 Processes 274

8 State regulation: minimum standards and awards 276
9 State regulation: EEO, unfair dismissal and safety at work 319
10 Managerial unilateralism and individual contracting 347
11 Collective agreement-making and collective bargaining: structures and processes 379
Part 4 Outcomes 416

12 Industrial conflict 418
13 Employment relations and performance 448
Glossary 489
Index 493
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd iv 08/16/17 12:38 PM

Contents in full
About the authors x Highlights of this edition xiv
About the previous authors xi Text at a glance xvi
Acknowledgments xi Using the stories, reports, cases and questions xix
Preface xii
PART ONE: Theory and context 2
Chapter 1 What is employment relations? 4

Learning objectives 4 RMIT academics and happiness at work 18
Introduction 5 Work Story
Commonsense, industrial relations and employment Individual contracts and change at PastaCo 10
relations 6 Absenteeism at Happy Valley Local Council 12
Examples of employment relations situations 10 Uneasy times at Seaside Restaurant 13
The nature of the employment relationship 14 Case Study
The distinctiveness of employment relations 16 Working life at MailCo 21
Concluding observations 20 Summary 20
ER News Discussion questions 21
Tensions on the picket line 7 Bibliography 26
Chapter 2 The study of employment relations:

analytical tools 28
Learning objectives 28 ER News
Introduction 29 Saving the Portland smelter: workers offer
What is theory? 29 wage freeze 42
Describing patterns of employment relations 33 Case Study
Explaining patterns of employment relations 39 Challenges and twists: Australian car

Concluding observations 45 manufacturing 47
Work Story Summary 46
Just tell it as it is! 31 Discussion questions 47
How could it be so different? 44 Bibliography 49
Chapter 3 The study of employment relations: values 51

Learning objectives 51 The limits: values are not everything! 71
Introduction 52 Concluding observations 72
Understanding values: a taxonomy 52 ER News
Unitarism 54 Growing influence of the Institute of
Pluralism 60 Public Affairs 56
Radicalism 66 Model employment relations 62
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd v 08/16/17 12:38 PM

vi Contents in full
Work Story Summary 72

Conflicting values among managers 70 Discussion questions 73
Case Study Bibliography 76
Values and the 2011 Qantas dispute 73
PART TWO: The parties 80
Chapter 4 The state 82

Learning objectives 82 WA election: business lobby push for privatisation
Introduction 83 despite Western Power pledge 116
The structure of the state 84 Work Story
The legislature 85 The ‘new’ public sector management
The executive 87 at Happy Valley Local Council 119
The judiciary 94 Case Study
The functions of the state 97 The Fair Work Commission’s termination
Patterns of state intervention in Australia 100 of the Australian Border Force strike 123
The state as employer 111 The Fair Work Commission intervenes
Concluding observations 120 in a bargaining dispute 125
ER News PBL Case
ABCC: Turnbull hails passing of key industrial How do we design an internship program? 126
relations bill 86 Summary 121
7-Eleven clamped by Fair Work Ombudsman Discussion questions 122
in new landmark deed 91 Bibliography 128
Chapter 5 Management and employer representatives 133

What is management? 134 Resources giant sets ‘aspirational’
Management goals and structures in 2025 gender balance target 143
employment relations 136 Work Story
The role of employer associations 142 Managing under stress 152
The management and control of labour 143 A new approach for PastaCo 157
Business strategies and employment relations 148 Case Study

Production strategies and employment relations 153 Cost minimisation at Qantas 166
High-performance work systems and PBL Case
employment relations 155 How to evaluate cost and benefits of
Challenges to effective employment work–life balance practices 171
relations practice 158 Summary 165
Managerial style and attitudes 161 Discussion questions 165
Concluding observations 164 Bibliography 173
Chapter 6 Employee representation: unions 180

Learning objectives 180 Union structures 188
Introduction 181 The origins and evolution of Australian unions 194
What do unions do? 183 Explaining declining union density 204
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd vi 08/16/17 12:38 PM

Contents in full vii
Strategies for union renewal 209 Case Study

Concluding observations 217 The Shoppies 220
ER News PBL Case
A woman to head the ACTU from 2017 186 How do we design a social media policy? 225
Childcare workers fighting for equal pay 214 Summary 218
Work Story Discussion questions 219
The experiences of an activist 192 Bibliography 228
Chapter 7 Employee representation: non-union 236

Learning objectives 236 Non-union voice at Seaside Restaurant 251
Introduction 237 ER News
Forms of non-union representation 237 Fair Work Ombudsman investigates regional
State-sanctioned non-union representation 239 businesses over exploitation of young workers 247
The Australian experience of state-sanctioned Case Study
non-union representation 242 ‘Tell Dell’: employee representation in
Management-initiated non-union representation 250 a non-union multinational organisation 260
Management-initiated employee representation PBL Case
in Australia 253 How do we ensure a safe, respectful workplace? 263
The OHS committee at Top Trucking Company 241 Bibliography 267
PART THREE: Processes 274
Chapter 8 State regulation: minimum standards and awards 276

Learning objectives 276 Case Study
Introduction 277 Work–life innovations at Westpac 298
Some initial concepts 277 PBL Case
Statutory regulation of minimum How do we make sure our workers are
employment standards 278 paid and rostered properly? 303
Delegated regulation through awards 284 Summary 297

Enforcement 295 Discussion questions 298
ER News Appendices 308
Bunnings manager allegedly bullied after refusing
to terminate team members 283
Chapter 9 State regulation: EEO, unfair dismissal

and safety at work319
Learning objectives 319 Unfair dismissal and unlawful termination 328
Introduction 320 Workplace health and safety 334
Equal employment opportunity 320 Concluding observations 336
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd vii 08/16/17 12:38 PM

viii Contents in full
ER News Case Study

Tribunal allows mining company to recruit EEO at OneSteel 339
for women-only jobs 323 PBL Case
Maritime Union believes ‘only a matter of How do we avoid unfair dismissal claims? 342
time’ before serious Brisbane ferry crash 334 Summary 338
Unfair dismissal proceedings at Bibliography 344
Happy Valley Local Council 329
Chapter 10 Managerial unilateralism and individual contracting 347

Learning objectives 347 One in seven employers making IFAs 363
Introduction 348 Case Study
Managerial unilateralism 348 Management unilateralism at the Metropolitan
Individual contracting 357 Fire Board 369
Concluding observations 367 PBL Case
Work Story How do we create a drug and alcohol policy? 372
Who makes change happen? 350 Summary 368
FWC upholds sacking for refusing urine test 353 Bibliography 374
Chapter 11 Collective agreement-making and collective

bargaining: structures and processes 379
Learning objectives 379 Case Study
Introduction 380 Facilitation of mixed bargaining at
Definitions: collective agreement-making Tomago Aluminium Company 406
versus collective bargaining 380 PBL Case
The structure of collective agreement-making 381 How do we approach our forthcoming
The processes of collective agreement-making 396 negotiations? 409
Big reduction in current agreements Bibliography 412
in retail: reports 395
PART FOUR: Outcomes 416
Chapter 12 Industrial conflict 418

Learning objectives 418 Work Story
Introduction 419 Labour turnover and industrial conflict 424
Analysing industrial conflict 419 ER News
Forms of industrial conflict 421 Parmalat dispute shows it’s unfair bargaining,
Industrial disputes: strikes and lockouts 425 not penalty rates, that is the real danger to
Absenteeism 431 Aussie workers 429
Labour turnover 434
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd viii 08/16/17 12:38 PM

Contents in full ix
Case Study Summary 438

Industrial conflict, workplace bullying and Discussion questions 439
unfair dismissal: Carroll v Karingal Inc 439 Bibliography 445
Conflict during enterprise bargaining
at PWCS 441
PBL Case
How do we make sure our policy on
bullying is working? 443
Chapter 13 Employment relations and performance 448

Introduction 449 Management–union cooperation at Sydney Water 458
The challenges of establishing the employment Work Story
relations–performance link 449 Constructive relations at Top Trucking Company 464
Trade unions and organisational performance 451 Case Study
Empirical evidence on unions and organisational How to manage a closedown: the Hydro
performance 454 Kurri Kurri smelter experience 478
Climate, partnership, HRM and organisational PBL Case
performance 459 How do we address our staffing problems? 482
Employment relations and national economic Summary 477
performance 467 Discussion questions 477
Glossary 489
Index 493
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd ix 08/16/17 12:38 PM

About the authors
Mark Bray BEc (Hons) (Sydney), MA (Warwick), PhD (UNSW)
Mark has been Professor of Employment Studies at the University of Newcastle since 1997. Before taking up this
position he worked at the universities of New South Wales, Wollongong and Sydney. He has taught Australian and
comparative employment relations, research methods and human resource management. His research has ranged from
‘micro’ studies of employment relations and human resource management, in industries like manufacturing and road
and air transport, to more ‘macro’ studies of national public policy, and international comparisons of public policy and
employment relations practices. His latest projects focus on collective bargaining and the role of industrial tribunals in
promoting workplace cooperation.
Peter Waring BCom (Hons), LLB (Hons) (Macquarie), Grad Dip Leg Prac (ColLaw), PhD (Newcastle)
Peter is an Associate Professor and Murdoch University’s Singapore Dean. He has previously held academic positions
at the University of Newcastle and the University of New South Wales and is an admitted solicitor of the Supreme
Court of New South Wales. Peter is the co-author of three books on employment relations and has published more than
60 book chapters and articles in leading international journals such as the Journal of Business Ethics, the International
Journal of Human Resource Management, Employee Relations, Corporate Governance: An International Review, the
Journal of Industrial Relations and Personnel Review. His research and teaching interests span the business and law
fields of employment relations, human resource management, corporate governance, strategy and labour law. He has
lived in Malaysia and Singapore for the past 12 years.
Rae Cooper BA (Hons) (UNSW), PhD (Sydney)

Rae (Rachel) is Associate Professor in Work and Organisational Studies at the University of Sydney Business School.
She is Associate Dean (Undergraduate) and Co-Director of the Women, Work and Leadership Research Group. She is
a research specialist in women’s employment, employment relations policy, union strategy and collective bargaining.
Rae’s work in these areas has been published in prestigious international and Australian journals, including the British
Journal of Industrial Relations, Economic and Industrial Democracy, the Journal of Industrial Relations and Labor
History (US). In recognition of her expertise, she has been appointed to a number of boards and advisory panels by
government and plays a leadership role in a number of NGOs. She has appeared as an expert witness in key cases before
tribunals. Rae teaches employment relations, organisational change, negotiation and bargaining at undergraduate and
postgraduate levels.
Johanna Macneil BA (Melbourne), Grad Dip Ed Psych (Monash), MBA (Melbourne Business School), PhD
(Melbourne)
Johanna is Professor and Assistant Dean, Teaching and Learning, of the Faculty of Business and Law at the University of
Newcastle. Prior to this, she was Associate Professor in the Employment Relations and Human Resource Management
group. In 2007, Johanna worked for several years as an employment relations consultant, advising large and primarily
unionised client organisations in the energy, communications, distribution, defence and education sectors. Johanna’s
research and practical expertise is in understanding and fostering collaborative, collective employment relations. She
has published two books on best practice and benchmarking, as well as articles in journals including the International
Journal of Human Resource Management, the Journal of Industrial Relations, and Labour and Industry. Johanna has
integrated problem-based learning (PBL) into her teaching, receiving faculty, university and national awards for these
efforts, including a National Teaching Excellence Award.
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd x 08/17/17 11:54 AM

About the authors xi
About the previous authors

Stephen Deery is Professor of Human Resource Management at King’s College, London and was Professor of
Industrial Relations and Foundation Head of the Department of Management and Industrial Relations, University of
Melbourne. Stephen has published widely in human resource management, call centres, dual commitment, trade unions
and organisational performance.
Janet Walsh is Professor of Human Resource Management and Employment Relations at King’s College, London and
has previously held appointments at many universities including the University of Melbourne. Her principal areas of
research include human resource management and employment systems, working-time, gender and the work–family
interface, and workforce diversity.
David Plowman passed away in December 2013. He was previously a Winthrop Professor at the Graduate School
of Management, University of Western Australia and was Foundation Director of this school from 1993 to 1999. In
February 2013 he won the Vic Taylor Award for a distinguished long-term contribution at the Association of Industrial
Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand.
Michelle Brown is Professor of Management (Human Resource Management) at the University of Melbourne. Her
research interests include industrial relations.
Acknowledgments
The authors and McGraw-Hill Education would like to thank the reviewers of the previous editions, whose input has
helped shape this book:
∙∙ Robert Tierney, Charles Sturt University—Bathurst ∙∙ Narendra Prasad, University of the South Pacific
∙∙ Gordon Stewart, Central Queensland University ∙∙ Gordon Stewart, Central Queensland University
∙∙ Matthew Bambach, Edith Cowan University ∙∙ Janis Bailey, Griffith University
∙∙ Patricia Todd, University of Western Australia ∙∙ Christina Howe, Curtin University
∙∙ Donella Caspersz, University of Western Australia ∙∙ Susan Johnston, Victoria University

∙∙ Patrick O’Leary, University of Ballarat ∙∙ Greg Patmore, University of Sydney
∙∙ Luke Faulkner, University of South Australia ∙∙ David Plowman, University of Western Australia
∙∙ Doug Davies, University of Canberra ∙∙ Natalie van der Waarden, Murdoch University.
∙∙ John King, La Trobe University
Finally, the patience and professionalism of the team at McGraw-Hill Education has been greatly appreciated by
the authors, who especially wish to thank Jillian Gibbs, Gurdish Gill, Isabella Mead and Daisy Patiag for their ongoing
dedication.
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd xi 08/16/17 12:38 PM

Preface
This is the fourth edition of Employment Relations: Theory and Practice. It began back in 1980 as a textbook founded
by Stephen Deery and David Plowman, but it has evolved under the present author team into a very different book
since 2005.
This fourth edition has not changed as dramatically as many of the earlier editions, largely reflecting the relatively
stable nature of Australian employment relations. Unlike its predecessors under Prime Minister Howard, the federal
Liberal/National Party Coalition governments since 2013 have adopted modest employment relations policies. This
is not the result of satisfaction with existing laws and institutions, but rather a lack of internal consensus within the
government on the employment relations issues, their failure to command a majority in the Senate or convince the
cross benchers in that chamber of the need for radical change, and fear among government members that more robust
agendas would reignite the spectre of WorkChoices in the minds of voters. The political emphasis, then, has been on
attacking trade unions and supporting employers without major legislative reform. The federal Fair Work Act 2009 has
consequently continued to dominate Australian employment relations and the parties have had to define their objectives
and develop their strategies within the existing framework.
In this context of relative stability, we have been able to focus our energies as authors on informing readers about
the latest developments in practice and building the pedagogic features of the book. A suite of new case studies, PBL
exercises and News Stories will, we hope, provide new insights that build understanding. Our enthusiasm for the field
remains unambiguous and our goal is to share it with our readers.
Mark Bray, Peter Waring, Rae Cooper and Johanna Macneil
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd xii 08/16/17 12:38 PM

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bra65586_fm_i-1.indd xiii 08/17/17 01:50 PM

Highlights of this edition
Employment Relations improves the student-focused approach adopted in previous editions through expanded
pedagogical features. The Work Stories continue to provide personal vignettes of real-life experiences, now including
both images of the subjects and useful discussion questions. ER News items provide interesting and up-to-date examples
of employment relations events drawn from the media, again related to the text through discussion questions. The
end-of-chapter case studies are either new or substantially updated, providing further opportunity to apply theoretical
concepts and deepen understanding. There are additional problem-based cases at the end of most chapters, delivering
new avenues for students to explore the practical implications of key concepts. Finally, there are definitions of key
concepts, noted in the margins and consolidated into a glossary at the end the book.
PART ONE: Theory and context

Employment Relations begins with three strong and well-paced chapters providing a theoretical
introduction for students.
Chapter 1 identifies the central content of the subject of employment relations and distinguishes it
from competing disciplinary approaches, drawing throughout on students’ own personal experiences
in the workplace.
Chapter 2 develops further the theoretical framework used within the book, demonstrating how it
assists in describing and explaining patterns of employment relations.
A new Chapter 3 explores the important influence of different values on both the scholarship and
practice of employment relations.
PART TWO: The parties

The four chapters examine in turn the state, management, and union and non-union forms of employee
representation. Each topic has been thoroughly revisited to take into account organisational and
institutional changes flowing from amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009.
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd xiv 08/16/17 12:38 PM

Highlights of this edition xv
PART THREE: Processes

As in previous editions, the chapters aim to introduce relevant concepts as clearly as possible and then
demonstrate their application to the practice of employment relations in Australia. Chapter 8 brings
together the statutory regulation of minimum standards with the delegated regulation of modern awards
to provide an account of what has become known in Australia as the ‘safety net’. Chapter 9 focuses on
three additional examples of statutory regulation: equal employment opportunity, unfair dismissal, and
occupational health and safety. The chapter aims to identify the underlying regulatory model to locate
its operation in contemporary employment relations. Chapter 10 combines two topics rarely analysed
in other employment relations texts: managerial unilateralism and individual contracting. Both provide
compelling historical stories as well as continuing contested arenas of practice under the Fair Work Act.
Chapter 11 recognises the peculiarities of Australia’s modern employment relations laws. It analyses
the traditional concept of collective bargaining in the broader context of collective agreement making,
revealing the reality of both union and non-union processes.
PART FOUR: Outcomes

As in previous editions, the final two chapters analyse outcomes. Chapter 12 focuses on the traditional
concept of industrial conflict, while Chapter 13 explores how employment relations affects the
performance of both enterprises and nations in terms of efficiency and equity. Both of these chapters
have been updated in terms of empirical data and accommodate recent research and public policy
developments.
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd xv 08/16/17 12:38 PM

Text at a glance
Employment Relations is a pedagogically rich learning resource. The features of the book are especially designed to
encourage and enhance your acquisition of the principal tenets of employment relations.
CHAPTER TWO
IN THE TEXT The study of employment relations:

analytical tools
Learning objectives LEARNING OBJECTIVES (LOs)
The first page of each chapter presents 2.1 Define theory and discuss its value to students of employment relations.
2.2 Understand the distinction between description and explanation in
a list of learning objectives that set out social science analysis.
2.3 Provide examples of taxonomies in the study of employment relations.
what you should be able to achieve after 2.4 Distinguish between commonsense description and theoretically
informed description.
completing the chapter. Revisit them 2.5 Understand the necessity of both agency and context in the
explanation of employment relations.
to assess your competency. Learning 2.6 Provide examples of agency and context in employment relations
objectives are also tagged to the main content in the chapter to aid understanding and revision.
explanations.
Chapter Two The study of employment relations: analytical tools 37
Margin definitions Who are the parties to the employment relationship?

An essential element in any analysis of employment relations is the identification and
description of the parties; that is, the social actors who create and enforce the rules that parties the social
Margin definitions highlight key concepts regulate the employment relationship. Given the definition of the employment relationship actors who create
adopted above, employees and employers must be party to the rule-making and rule- rules that regulate
and enforce the
that students need to know in relation to enforcement process, whether acting singularly or through collective representatives. It also the employment
takes little imagination to realise that the rules of the employment relationship are inevitably
relationship
each chapter. affected by governments or, more broadly, the state. These simple observations, however,
belie a wealth of complexity.
First, employees often do not participate directly in the rule-making process, but engage
a range of other agents to act on their behalf and to represent their interests. The extent to
which employees act alone or join with others to form collective organisations is a central
42 inPart
issue One Theory
employment and context
relations. When employees act individually, we can anticipate highly
individualised rule-making processes. When employees form collective organisations to
ER News represent their interests, collective forms of regulation will likely follow. The collective
organisations created by employees can be trade unions (see Chapter 6) but there are also
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bra65586_ch02_028-050.indd 28
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directly involved
In a letter to Alcoa, Davis said that the union was aware that it was a ‘difficult year’ for the smelter
These stories provide valuable contextual separation between ownership and management and between managers with different
and offered the wage freeze ‘in recognition of the uncertainty that exists about the future of the Portland
specialised roles (see Chapter 5). In addition, while it is often neglected in the modern era
smelter and our desire to see the smelter continue into the future’. In these circumstances, he said, ‘we
background to how employment relations of employment relations—which has become preoccupied with the individual enterprise—
believe that … bargaining would be clouded for both sides in light of the other issues that confront us’.
employers often joinbywiththe each
unionother
was to form collective organisations,
Portlandusually
smelterreferred to as
The proposal well received by Alcoa’s manager, Peter Chellis, who

laws and policies have played out in practice. Each ER News story is accompanied by discussion
employer
praisedassociations
1999).He Assaid
withthat
employees,
(see Chapter approach’
the union’s ‘responsible 5 but moreahead
the description
it ‘demonstrates that all of
generally,
of thesee
the characteristics
parties remain focused
also Sheldon
negotiations
of employer
for & theThornthwaite
next enterprise agreement.
representation,
on the smelter’s viability in tough market
both the employing organisation and any theemployer associations, is an essential ingredient in
questions that guide critical thinking on the issues presented in the article. Many of these stories are
conditions
anysmelter’.
in order to help protect
account of employment relations.
approximately 2000 direct and indirect jobs associated with the
Third, beyond the

Sharemarket employees
analysts estimate andthatemployers,
theChapter
Portland Two Theagencies
state are major
studyelectricity
smelter’s of employment parties
costsrelations: toby $50 tools
will riseanalytical million in31
drawn from an online resource called Workplace Express, which is a great source of current information
employment
November,relations.when a The definitionsubsidy
government of the stateendsand anditsa structure
new power is, of course,starts
contract a precursor
with AGL. It has been
estimated
to analysis ofthat
the this
greatchange
varietycould lead
in the the Portland
form, objectives, smelter to lose
strategies and more than $100ofmillion
instruments state a year.
for ER and HRM practitioners. Your university or organisation may already subscribe, so you can gain
TheoryAcan
agencies. Alcoa has help to reduce
worked
conventional on some ofdistinguishes
offsetting
categorisation that the problems
rise in costs created
and
between is theby
pressing description
the
legislature, the based
state and on politicians for
federal
executive
andassistance.
commonsense
the judiciary, or vested
each interests
of whichorplays undisclosed
a different viewpoints. It does this by
role in employment providing
relations botha set
in
access that way or, for the purposes of professional development, you may consider subscribing yourself.
of
Australia A shut-down
words—terms
exodus
and elsewhere
of
of concepts
and the(see
manufacturing
smelter thatwould
Chapter
jobs after the
be an
are4).well additional
defined
departure
strain for Victoria,
and consistently
of the large car
used—to
producers.
which is already
describe the dealing with an
events
Finally,or phenomena
there are many under investigation.
other social agentsItthat ensures we arebecome
sometimes all ‘speaking
involved theinsame language’
the making and
so that, forofexample,
enforcing
Source: Adapted rulesfrom when
regulatein Chapters
thatSchneiders, the 8–11 we
B. &employment
Toscano, N. 2016,
analyse
relationship. statutory
‘Workers offerThiswage
regulation
might include:
freeze
orcommunity-
individual
to save Portland smelter’, The Age, 18 May,
contracting
based or collective
organisations bargaining
representing as different
particular cultural processes
interests;forconsultancies
the making offering
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/workers-offer-wage-freeze-to-save-portland-smelter-20160518-goy5w3.html, of rules advice
of the accessed 4 May
employment
2017. relationship, we are engaging in theoretically informed description.
Work Story Just

Questions
1. tell
What it
areas
theit is!contextual factors influencing employment relations events at the Portland smelter
key
Work Story
in May 2016?
The Work Stories will enhance your bra65586_ch02_028-050.indd 37
2. What choice did the workers have other than to offer the wage freeze?
George Psaros was under instructions, but he wanted to do things his way.
08/01/17 11:31 AM
understanding of chapter themes by 3. Would you have made the had

There same choice
been as the
a nasty workersthe
accident did?
previous year in the Wollongong yard of
the Top Trucking Company. Ted had ended up in hospital for two weeks and
presenting five fictional characters and the then had months off work after a truck had crushed his foot when it reversed
into the dock to load. George saw the whole thing—or he thought it was the
hypothetical issues affecting them in their

whole thing.
Talcott Parsons. He wasrelied
This theory scheduled
on thetoexplanatory
give evidence at aofhearing
power before
external theand
context Fairthe
Work Commission.
‘self-correcting’ tendency of The union’s
a social barrister,
system, whothan
rather was acknowledging
representing Ted, had for
a role toldthe
George that he must stick to the facts—just describe what happened and tell
particular workplaces. independent and sometimes unpredictable actions of the parties (see, for example, Hyman
the judge exactly what he saw, no more and no less.
1975; Roche 1986; Kochan, Katz & McKersie 1986). The critics argued that this type of
George was a union delegate and a member of the yard’s occupational
health and safety committee. He was a man with opinions. He had also given
evidence in two previous cases. He was worried that Ted would not get his
due compensation. The trouble was that the story was complicated. Sure,
Bray, Mark, et al. Employment Relations : Theory and Practice, McGraw-Hill Australia, 2017. ProQuest Ebookthere Central,
were ruleshttp://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/murdoch/detail.action?docID=5471287.
about the workers in the stores area lingering around the dock. George himself had
Created from murdoch on 2022-02-28 05:57:42. played a part in training Ted on these rules. But Ted was preoccupied, with his wife about to give
birth, and they’d
bra65586_ch02_028-050.indd 42 been short-staffed on that busy day so Ted thought he was doing the right thing in AM
08/09/17 06:34
temporarily ‘forgetting’ the rules. Certainly, the yard manager had been at them to move fast because
they were way behind. And the driver of the truck was one of those crazy owner-drivers who was
always in a hurry—always thinking about the next job and the finance repayments on his truck.
On top of all this, George knew, he just knew, that the manager and the owner-driver would give
evidence that contradicted his—he reckoned they were out to protect their butts. Could the judge see
through the competing descriptions of the events that he would inevitably be given and get to the truth?
George doubted it. But George also didn’t want to lie—apart from the obvious risk that lying before a judge
bra65586_fm_i-1.indd xvi was perjury, George considered himself an honest and principled man and he did not lie. But perhaps 08/16/17
he 12:38 PM
could select the ‘facts’ that he reported in a way that anticipated the evidence of the others? But would
46 Part One Theory and context
employment relations, but it does this in different ways. Description is a valuable form of
analysis in its own right: we need to be able to describe social events and social processes in
a theoretically informed way if we are to simplify the complex world we live in and develop
a better understanding of how that world works. The lens of ‘the rules that regulate the
employment relationship’ ensures that description and taxonomy are informed by theory in
order to maximise these analytical benefits. The broad scope of the subject matter covered in
Text at a glance xvii
this book and its status as an introduction to employment relations means that much of the
analysis provided in this book is descriptive in nature.
Deeper explanation of why different patterns of employment relations emerge in different
circumstances is also part of the study of employment relations, even if it is not the dominant
focus of this book. The general models of employment relations, which were only briefly
END OF CHAPTER exposed in this chapter, provide a guide to how explanation can be developed, although they
do not—and perhaps never could—deliver complete causal explanations. The key lesson
that emerges is that the explanation must involve a combination of contextual and agency
factors.
Summary SUMMARY
∙ Theory is about explanation: it is ‘an attempt to account for a given phenomenon—that is, to show
what, how or why it is’.
Each summary is a synopsis that iterates ∙ There are, however, many different types of theory and different levels of explanation.
∙ Description—provided it is informed by theory—is the first step towards explanation.
the key points made in the chapter, ∙ Description in employment relationship uses taxonomies that help create understanding of the parties
to the employment relationship, the rules they make and enforce, and the processes by which those
while covering the chapter’s learning rules are made and enforced.
∙ Explanation in employment relations mostly comes in the form of models.
objectives. Use these summaries as a ∙ Explanations of employment relations must combine context and agency.
∙ Contexts are the external circumstances in which the parties find themselves—circumstances that are
reliable pre-exam revision tool. largely beyond their control.
∙ Agency emphasises the choices that the Chapter
parties to
Twoemployment
The study ofrelations make
employment on theanalytical
relations: basis of their
tools 47
ambitions, their values, their perceptions of the situation they are in, the options they have available
to them and the course of action that is most likely
Chapter to achieve
Two The studytheir goals.
of employment relations: analytical tools 47
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Discussion questions 1. What is theory, really?
DISCUSSION
KEY TERMS QUESTIONS
2. Why do students of any subject need to understand theory?
1.
3. What
agencyHow is. .theory,
. . .do we . . really?
. . . .select
. . . the
. . . .facts
. . . . that
. . . . we
. . . want 43includeparties
. . . . . to . . . . . . . . . . . .we
in the descriptions . . .make?
. . . . . . For
. . . .example,
. . . . . . . . how
. 37
These short-answer discussion questions 2. Why
contexts . do
do our
election?
students
. . . . . . . . of
. . .positions . .any
.and . subject
. .values . . need
. . . . . to
. . . . . mediate . .understand
. our 40 theory?
procedural
explanation of therules outcome . . . . . of
. . .the
. . . most
. . . . . recent
. . . . . . .federal
. . . 36
3. How
description do . .What
. . we . . . .facts
. select . . do
. . the . . you
. facts . leave
. . . that . . in
. . . we . .and
. want what
. . .to
30 do rule
include you exclude?
in the
. . .descriptions
. . . . . . . . . . . we
. . . .make?
. . . . . .For
. . . example,
. . . . . . . . .how
. 34
give you an opportunity to think about and 4. do
Whatourispositions
explanation
election?
. the . . . . . and
. . . difference. . . . values
What factsNominate
. . . . . .mediate
. between
do you leave
. . . . . .our
. . commonsense
in
. . 33explanation
and what do
of the
description
substantive and outcome . . . .of. . the
theoretically
rules . .most
. . . . .recent
. . informed
you exclude?relations and discuss how they help
. . . . federal
. .description?
. . . . 35
5.
formalWhat
rules is . taxonomy?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .two
. . . taxonomies
. . . . . . 35 in employment
taxonomies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
discuss different situations directly related
126 Part Two The parties
4. What
us to is the difference
better between commonsense description and theoretically informed description?
informal rules . . .understand
. . . . . . . . . . the
. . . .real
. . . .world
. . . . . of employment
. . 35 theoryrelations.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.
6. What
Why isis explanation
taxonomy? Nominate important in two the taxonomies
analysis ofinsocialemployment
relations?relations and discuss how they help
to the chapter you’ve just read. 7. us
6.
to better
What understandbetween
is the difference the real a world
list ofofexplanatory
employment relations.
factors and a model?
8. Why it aismany
IsAfter explanation
problem months
when important
ofpeople
stalled try in the analysis
negotiations
to explain of social
preceding
things by therelations?
conciliation,
reference only to initial
agencyprogress
or onlywastolimited.
context?
7.The What
Why? is the difference
Commissioner adopted between a list ofblock’
a ‘building explanatory approach,factors firstand a model?
working with the parties to reach
9.agreement
8. Is it a problem
Provide on less
two when
examplescomplex people issues
of agency and
try to then to
explain
helping moving
things
explain on
bytheto more
reference
actions difficult
only
of issues.
to
parties agency or only to relations.
to employment context?
While there was some agreement in the initial stages, more challenging matters that were unable
10. Why? Is it 46really possible to develop causal explanations (as defined by Lewins) in employment08/01/17 relations?
Case Studies
bra65586_ch02_028-050.indd 11:31 AM
9.toProvide
be resolved were set aside
two examples of agencyfor later, allowing
helping officials
to explain theand the delegates
actions of parties to to seek feedback
employment from
relations.
their members and to report back at the next conference.
10. Is it really possible to develop causal explanations (as defined by Lewins) in employment relations?
Conferences were held during July and August 2012 on site in Gladstone, in addition to a large
number of telephone conferences.
Challenges and twists: Australian of bothcar manufacturing
Each chapter concludes with at least one CaseThe Study combination of early success, the preparedness
working through issues, and the independent assistance of the Commissioner resulted in a
the unions and SMIT to keep
CasegradualStudy building Challenges

of trust. This enabled and twists:
the parties Australian
to deal with, andcar reach manufacturing
agreement on, the more
Case Study illustrating key theoretical Donella Caspersz, University of Western Australia Leigh Smith, Curtin University
challenging issues including pay, conditions and work practices.
CarUltimately, the three unions and SMIT reachedafteragreement on matters to be put by to employees by
concepts. The Case Studies are Donella
ballot.
when the
manufacturing
All three
Holden ballots
in Australia
Caspersz, University
factory returned
ofwill fall silent
Western
a positive
in Elizabeth ceases
Australia over
voteoperation
Leigh a century
and an agreement
Smith, of
in October.was
operation
Curtin University
Thereached
the
without
first petrol
end of 2017
recourse
car was built
to industrial
in 1901 action.
by Tarrant in in Australia
Melbourne,
Car manufacturing will with Ford after
fall silent Motorsoverbeinga centurythe first major company
of operation by the end to set up a
of 2017
accompanied by discussion questions manufacturing
when
Source:the FairHolden
plant in Geelong,
factory
Work Commission, inAnnual Victoria,
ElizabethReportceases
in 1925.
Chapter
2012–2013,
It was
Two
operation TheHolden
instudy of(later
October. to become
The
employment General
first relations:
petrol
p. 31, www.fwc.gov.au/documents/annual_reports/ar2013/
Motors)
caranalytical
was built
tools 49
that
in 1901manufactured
by Tarrant the
in first Australian-designed
Melbourne, with Ford mass-produced
Motors being the car
first
fwc-ar-2013-web.pdf, accessed 1 December 2013. Permission to use this material has been granted in accordance with in 1948.
major Mitsubishi
company and
to setToyota
up a
encouraging students to apply those alsoCreative
the
the others
that
established
manufacturing
manufactured
Commons automotive
plant
mostly remained
in Geelong,
Attribution manufacturing
3.0 Victoria,
Australia
the first Australian-designed
Licence,
in Victoria. By the 1970s,
plants,
in 1925. with Holden
It was Mitsubishi (laterestablishing
to becomeinGeneral
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en
Australian car
mass-produced car inmanufacturing
1948. Mitsubishi
Adelaide
wasand
while
Motors)
10thToyota
in the
concepts in practice, and explain what is worldestablished
also
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Industry,
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bra65586_fm_i-1.indd xvii 08/16/17 12:38 PM

Using the stories, reports, cases
and questions
Introduction to pedagogic features
This textbook includes pedagogic features designed to support students and teachers as they navigate their way through
the study of employment relations. We think that employment relations is a fascinating and lively discipline and we
would like our readers to think so too! We know that everybody learns in different ways, but effective learning requires
students to do more than learn concepts—they must have an opportunity to think about those concepts, to generalise
them to a range of situations and to practise applying them. We have sought, for these reasons, to engage learners using
this book in a variety of ways.
Along with the chapter content, the other features you will observe in each chapter are:
∙ Case Studies ∙ ER News reports ∙ Work Stories
∙ Discussion questions ∙ PBL Cases.
Each of these features is designed to develop learning in a different way.
Case Studies
At the end of each chapter is one case study detailing various real-life organisations and the specific situations and
people within them. These Case Studies illustrate the key theoretical concepts covered in the associated chapter. Each
study concludes with ‘Issues for debate’—a set of questions that ask students to apply the concepts in practice, and
explain what is happening in the case and why. These questions also ask students to consider how these concepts apply
at a more abstract or general level; for example, how could the principles demonstrated in a particular case apply to
other cases, organisations or contexts?
Several cases also provide sources of more detailed information. For that reason, teachers may decide that one or more
of the organisations or cases about which there is a great deal of publicly available information (e.g. Qantas, OneSteel,
Westpac or Australia Post) would make a good case study assignment, perhaps with additional questions or topics to
evaluate summative knowledge across a number of weeks. Or teachers may invite guest speakers from management or
unions at the Case Study organisations (or others like them) to come and talk to the class. As with the other pedagogic
features in this book, we encourage students and teachers to actively anchor the theories, concepts and perspectives they
are learning to practical examples and further applications—we think this is the most effective way to learn.
ER News
ER News items can be found in every chapter. These items provide illustrations of various employment-related issues
from Australian media sources on current affairs. They report data, anecdotes, analysis and opinion. Some focus on
companies, some on unions, some on individuals, some on industries, some on government policy and legislation, and
some on academic research. They provide a window to how employment relations news is conveyed to the public and
they should help students understand how concepts play out in the real world. Discussion questions accompany each
article and guide critical thinking on the issues presented.
Students are encouraged to actively read news sources, listen to the radio, browse the internet, watch television
and movies, and talk to their peers, family and colleagues, looking for employment relations ‘angles’ on work and
organisations. For example, each week students could conduct an analysis of a relevant media story, either one in the
book or another they have found themselves, asking questions such as: What is the issue? Who is involved? What views
are reported? How can it be interpreted? This type of analysis will help students understand and more confidently
communicate the nature and importance of employment relations.
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Using the stories, reports, cases and questions xix
Work Stories
Work Stories feature in all but one chapter and several chapters contain numerous stories. The Work Stories are about
five different characters.
Name: Terry
Company: PastaCo
Profile: Terry is a sales supervisor for a leading national pasta company. He has worked for 13
years with the company and has progressed beyond his basic salesman job of promoting
pasta products to supermarkets and shops to overseeing the work of seven part-time and
full-time sales staff.
Name: Susie
Company: Happy Valley Local Council
Profile: Susie is one of three human resources (HR) officers at Happy Valley Local Council
reporting to the HR manager. She helps to manage employment relations and HR issues
for council staff employed in very different occupations, such as childcare, parks and
grounds, libraries, roads maintenance, town planning and recreation services.
Name: Li Wen
Company: Seaside Restaurant
Profile: Li Wen works part time as a server at Seaside Restaurant. Li Wen comes from a well-
off family that immigrated to Australia from Hong Kong when she was young. This
job is a way for her to earn some money and gain some work experience before she
graduates from university.
Name: George
Company: Top Trucking Company
Profile: George works in the yard of this trucking company. He is a union delegate and a
member of the occupational health and safety (OHS) committee.
Name: Pam
Company: Royal Southern Hospital
Profile: Pam has worked for over 20 years in a large public teaching hospital, Royal Southern
Hospital. More recently, she has taken on a supervisory role as a Nurse Unit Manager
(NUM).
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xx Using the stories, reports, cases and questions
Their stories can be found in the following chapters:
Character Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Terry ✓ ✓ ✓
Susie ✓ ✓ ✓
Li Wen ✓ ✓ ✓
Pam ✓ ✓ ✓
George ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Each Work Story is designed to illustrate the employment relations challenges faced by these individuals in their various
roles—as workers, worker representatives, supervisors or advisors to management. The various storylines of the Work
Stories run through successive chapters, allowing students to see how the five individuals face a range of work- and
employment relations-related challenges over a course of time. So, for example, Susie’s Work Stories describe the sort
of situations in which a human resource officer might find herself: trying to find a workable approach to managing
absenteeism; analysing the cost of human resources in preparation for competitive tendering; or advising managers on
proper (and legal) human resource procedures.
The Work Stories are designed to encourage a broad, problem-based approach to analysis. This means that there
may be any number of hypotheses that might reasonably explain what is going on in the story, what might happen next,
what might be a more effective course of action to take and how to go about it. These stories are designed to resemble
real life—a lot of views and options, and no easy solution.
We encourage instructors to use the stories in small group discussions. Each story has associated questions,
prompting students to consider how the characters might analyse and act in the situations in which they find themselves.
The questions can be used to help students prepare before class as well as to guide class discussion. Alternatively, class
discussion about the Work Stories could simply be organised around the following opening question: what is going
on here, and if you were the main character, what would you do? The stories are designed to develop two critical
employment relations skills—first, the ability to identify legitimate plural perspectives on a situation; and second, the
ability to make a plausible, defendable argument in favour of an approach to tackling an issue.
Discussion questions
At the end of each chapter there are discussion questions. There are two types of questions. Some questions are written
to help students revise the chapter material and test their comprehension of the concepts in the chapter. Students may
use these questions or they may be used as lecture or tutorial exercises by instructors. There are also more general
discussion questions that ask: What do you think? How would this work? How have things changed? These require a
broader analysis of the topic and application of the concepts, and may inform longer discussions, or even be used as
essay questions.
PBL Cases
Problem-based cases have been developed on the principles of problem-based learning (PBL). The PBL methodology
organises learning around a real-world problem. The task of defining and working out how to solve the ‘problem’ is best
done in a group, so everyone gets the benefit of different perspectives and ideas. Students work together to understand
and define the exact nature of the problem, conduct both practical and academic research to learn more about the nature
of the problem, and consider the advantages and risks of different possible solutions. This mirrors what happens in real
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Using the stories, reports, cases and questions xxi
organisations—in reality, there is seldom one ‘right’ answer to a problem or challenge, only solutions that are well-
researched and backed up by good evidence and effective argument.
The PBL Cases in this book reflect challenges that practitioners of employment relations face every day: How do
we make sure everyone feels safe and respected at work? How do we make sure our workers are paid and rostered
properly? How do we avoid unfair dismissal claims? Having any prospect of coming up with a good solution to these
challenges requires a good understanding of the rules that apply, familiarity with how other people or organisations have
tackled the same or a similar problem, gathering of evidence (including empirical research) to inform your thinking, and
application of theory to help you explain and predict what is happening, or should happen.
Moreover, the PBL cases pose these questions from the point of view of a range of employment relations practitioner
roles—workplace relations managers, but also union officials, line managers, bureaucrats and consultants—because,
after all, many people have a professional stake in getting employment relations right; and learning to see problems
from different points of view gives us a much richer understanding of the issues. Practitioners of employment relations
must be able to offer a strong and reasoned argument for a particular way forward, based on a deep theoretical, as well
as a practical, understanding of different views. Mastery of the PBL approach helps develop this capability.
We hope that students and teachers find these features useful and interesting, and that they contribute to your
enjoyment of the study of employment relations.
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bra65586_fm_i-1.indd xxii 08/16/17 12:38 PM

EMPLOYMENT
RELATIONS
Theory and Practice
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PART ONE
Theory and
context
Chapter One What is employment relations?
Chapter Two he study of employment relations:
T
analytical tools
Chapter Three The study of employment relations: values
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The aim of Employment relations, as suggested in the subtitle, is to bring together
theory and practice. This begins in Part 1, with chapters 1—3 providing a theoretical
introduction to the subject.
Chapter 1 explores a number of real-world examples of employment relations within
a theoretical context, enabling students to develop a general understanding of the
topic. This chapter provides a general definition of employment relations and argues
that the approach to the study of this subject is distinctive in a number of ways.
Chapter 2 offers a more in-depth account of the key concepts—the analytical tools—
used throughout the book. It begins with an overview of the meaning of theory and
then outlines the key descriptive tools of employment relations theory. The concept
of explanation in employment relations is discussed, emphasising the importance
of combining contextual and agency factors. These relatively abstract concepts are
illustrated by real-world examples throughout.
Chapter 3 focuses on values. By drawing on Fox’s taxonomy, the chapter explores
the impact of values on both the theory and the practice of employment relations.
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CHAPTER ONE
What is employment relations?
Chapter 1 Start
LEARNING OBJECTIVES (LOs)

1.1 Discuss why the study of employment relations is important.
1.2 Distinguish between the ‘commonsense’ definition of industrial
relations and the ‘theoretically informed’ definition of employment
relations.
1.3 Explain the open-ended and indeterminate nature of the employment
relationship.
1.4 Define rules and their role in the employment relationship.
1.5 Provide examples of employment relations situations and events.
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Chapter One What is employment relations? 5
INTRODUCTION LO 1.1
Everyone who derives an income through work or who becomes involved in the organisation
and management of employees at work is immersed in the practice of employment relations.
The overall quality of the employment relationship and changes in employment relations can
have an important effect on the overall performance of an organisation. At the same time, the
terms and conditions of employment directly affect the quality of employees’ working lives and
their wellbeing outside of work. These issues of ‘efficiency’ and ‘equity’—the contributions of
employment relations to the effectiveness of workplaces and even the national economy on the one
hand, and the consequences of changing employment relations for employees on the other—are
central themes in recent national policy debates, in strategic deliberations in company boardrooms,
and in everyday discussions in workplace lunchrooms, around kitchen tables and at barbecues.
The public-policy relevance of employment relations in Australia is long-running and
undeniable. It has, at times, been a major issue in national elections, such as the huge impact
of the 2005 WorkChoices legislation on the federal election in November 2007. The urgency
of the issue has since eased, but this is likely to be a temporary lull in a conflict where
employment relations is a defining issue that can mean the rise and fall of governments.
The efficiency–equity theme at the company level regularly arises as owners and managers
confront the pressures of competitive product markets by reducing labour costs. On a more
mundane but equally important level, many of the decisions of courts and tribunals—
involving situations such as employees being kept at work with nothing to do in order to
avoid making redundancy payments, or businesses paying compensation to employees who
are subject to discrimination—are publicised by popular television programs and become
hot topics of discussion in forums far beyond the workplaces involved.
At the core of employment relations are different views about the most effective way
to manage the relationship between an organisation and its representatives (the managers),
and employees and their representatives. In addition, there are parallel arguments about
how governments should frame laws and policies to best encourage efficient and equitable
employment relations within organisations. At least at the rhetorical level, many managers
say that employees are their organisations’ greatest assets and—given the right environment
and market forces, and applying rational calculation—managers will invest in and properly
maintain these precious assets to the mutual benefit of all. Similarly, governments may argue
that their main responsibility is withdrawing their direct interference in the employment
relationship and providing a flexible and decentralised environment that most effectively
allows managers and employees to reach mutually advantageous agreements. Both managers
and governments of this ilk are opposed to institutions like trade unions and arbitration
tribunals, which reduce both the operation of free market forces and the capacities of
managers and employees to choose arrangements that suit their needs.
At the other extreme, many employees see their colleagues being made redundant and find
themselves working harder and longer without an effective avenue to voice their concerns at work,
let alone to change the situation. Critics like trade union leaders condemn the trend in government
policy towards flexibility and market forces, seeing them as a prescription for managers to exploit
their new-found freedoms and thereby create growing inequality at work. They consider trade
unions and state regulation essential for maintaining effective labour markets and a fair society.
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These contrary views show how employment relations is inevitably a site of competing
ideas. It represents an area of social relations that affects everyone who works, and about
which almost everyone has an opinion—often opposing ones. The many controversies about
employment relations demonstrate its great strengths as an academic subject. It is lively and
passionate. It is relevant and compelling. It is everyday, but it is also concerned with great
social movements, and it seems to require commonsense at the same time that it requires
deep analysis and a grasp of complex concepts.
Properly harnessing the potential of employment relations as an academic subject,
however, requires clear thinking and a set of concepts that allows students of the subject
to see past the confusion of competing ideas and to understand the complexities of both
its practice and its rhetoric. The aim of this chapter is to begin this task. The first step is to
define the area of study by going beyond the commonsense and the often narrow conceptions
of industrial relations to the broader and more considered theoretical approach associated
with employment relations. This allows us to introduce some key concepts, such as the
employment relationship, and to discuss some examples of employment relations situations.
It also distinguishes employment relations from other intellectual traditions that sometimes
analyse the employment relationship.
LO 1.2 COMMONSENSE, INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

AND EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
In exploring the meaning of ‘employment relations’ we will start with the closely related
industrial relations term industrial relations, which was often used to describe both an area of social relations
original term (i.e. practice) and a particular approach to the study of those relations (i.e. theory). Industrial
used to describe
both the practice relations has, however, become associated with too many unhelpful connotations, both real-
of employment world and theoretical, and ‘employment relations’ is now considered a less tainted and more
relations and a
particular approach theoretically consistent term.
to the study of Most people have some conception of what industrial relations means long before they
those relations
enter the workforce. This ‘commonsense’ meaning comes partly from everyday usage of
the term by friends and family and partly from the mass media, most of whom tend to
associate the term with sensational events involving trade unions and dramatic incidents of
workplace conflict. The following ER News report provides a good example of the popular
characterisation of industrial relations. The subject of this report is a strike and picket by a
manufacturing union. While the report presents both sides of the story and is therefore far
from biased, it leaves little doubt that industrial relations is:
∙ sensational—in that the event is dramatic and newsworthy, with elements of secrecy and
extreme behaviour, and marked by economic and political consequences
∙ collectivist—in that the event involves group behaviour by employees and the activities of
a trade union
∙ conflictual—in that the event involves disagreement and protest, even violence, with the
members of the union refusing to engage in their usual work duties in protest against their
employer’s actions, and an employer responding by resorting to police protection and
court action.
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ER News
Tensions on the picket line
A union official—Electrical Trades Union organiser, Steve Diston—has been charged with assault following
an alleged altercation at a picket line outside Carlton & United Breweries.
Police allege that Diston pushed a man to the pavement after a ‘verbal altercation’.
Mr Diston, 29, has been summonsed to appear at Melbourne Magistrates Court on 16 April 2017.
State secretary of the ETU, Troy Gray, said they had 14 witness statements and video footage to
demonstrate that the organiser was ‘not the aggressor’ of the incident.
‘We are not concerned about the case and I would think that when the police hear the witnesses and
see the video footage, they will throw this out’, Mr Gray said.
‘If not, we look forward to our day in court.’
Gray accused Carlton & United Breweries of provoking the picket line.
The police investigation into the alleged assault has also been heavily criticised by City of Yarra councillor,
Stephen Jolly, who was outraged that ‘fourteen witnesses have not yet been interviewed by police’.
He also condemned police actions. ‘This is a benign picket line with a permit from the council … they
are not trying to blockade or stop production. But the police have been used by CUB to harass picketers
over the most minute matters.’
The alleged assault is the latest incident in a bitter conflict between unions and CUB, arising after CUB
terminated a long-standing maintenance labour contract at the factory.
The termination of the labour contract left 55 skilled fitters and electricians unemployed after they
refused to reapply to the new contractor. Union officials said that the new contract offered inferior conditions
even though wages in the new positions ranged from $72,000 to $120,000.
To protest the job losses, the Electrical Trades Union and Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union have
been picketing outside the brewery’s gates for the past 21 weeks.
The protest is also supported by wider union movements, which have called on Australians to boycott
products of the company. CUB is the nation’s largest brewer and produces many popular beers including
VB, Carlton Draught, Melbourne Bitter, Pure Blonde and Fat Yak.
The alleged assault is not the first time the protest turned ugly. In August, the Fair Work Commission
granted orders banning union officials from insulting the labour-hire workers with slurs like ‘scabs’, ‘dogs’,
‘rats’, ‘f---wits’ and ‘c---s’. The union was also prohibited from using offensive signs, filming them and
harassing or accosting them.
The ongoing picketing forced labour-hire operator, Programmed Maintenance, to withdraw from its
multi-million-dollar contract with CUB in August due to concerns about staff wellbeing and their ability to
get ‘normal, safe and secure access to the site’.
Unions say the loss of the experienced maintenance workers has resulted in increased costly machine
stoppages and a decline in beer production. This claim is supported by leaked documents from the
brewery, which show that management is concerned about the downturn in machine and factory efficiency
and that the brewery is struggling to keep up with customer demand. The company has to bring in staff on
weekends and rostered days off, which incurs heavy penalties, to meet demand.
‘To ensure that we can meet the requirements of our customers, we are having to work longer hours to
achieve the planned volume.’
The brewery has reassured its customers it has ‘adequate supplies of beer for the upcoming peak
season’.
(continued)
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‘We are proud of our brands and of our employees’, the brewer said. ‘Our people continue to produce
high-quality and much-loved beers.’
Source: Adapted from Toscano, N. 2016, ‘Union official charged with assault at brewery picket line’, The Sydney Morning Herald,
8 August, http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/union-official-charged-with-assault-at-brewery-picket-line-
20161107-gsk8fg.html, accessed 29 January 2017.
Questions
1. Does this story demonstrate the traditional picture of industrial relations as sensational, collectivist
and conflictual? Provide specific examples from the report.
2. Does it imply who is to blame for the strike and picket?
3. How could this story have been written in a way that avoided being sensationalist?
This relatively narrow and largely negative conception of industrial relations has been
reinforced over the years by some special interest groups that have denigrated the term
‘industrial relations’ and used it negatively to criticise institutions and practices of which
they disapprove. In 1989, for example, the Business Council of Australia (BCA 1989, p. 5),
the leading organisation representing major Australian corporations, argued:
… industrial relations assumes employers and employees are inherently at loggerheads,
and that, in the public interest, the outcome of their relationship in the workplace must
be regulated in detail, both to protect employees and to control wages and otherwise
avoid disrupting the economy. As a result, the main concerns of industrial relations are
with pay and conditions and the resolution of disputes.
Similarly, when championing the WorkChoices reforms in 2006, the then Minister for
Workplace Relations, Kevin Andrews (2006), stated:
Continued workplace reform is essential to improve productivity and support high levels
of employment. The Howard government wants to continue the shift away from an ‘old
industrial relations’ system where the rights of employers and employees were controlled
and could only be changed by industrial tribunals together with lawyers, unions and
employer associations.
The problem with the sensational, collectivist and conflictual interpretation of industrial
relations is that it creates a false impression of the practice of industrial relations activities
in which employees, managers and (sometimes) union officials are engaged. The reality is
that the vast bulk of industrial relations consists of routine, everyday actions and practices
within workplaces rather than the drama of strikes and confrontations taking place in
courtrooms or as portrayed in the media. The latter are, in fact, rare events. While collective
action by groups of employees seeking to promote and protect their wages and working
conditions is an important part of industrial relations, it is by no means the whole story. The
absence of a trade union or collective action by employees does not mean that industrial
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relations will suddenly disappear. Individual employees are constantly negotiating with their
fellow workers and their supervisors over new patterns of behaviour within the workplace
or over compliance with existing rules—the relations between individual employees and
managers and within non-union workplaces have long been important topics in the study
of industrial relations. Finally, the everyday world of industrial relations is dominated by
routine cooperation rather than conflict. Employees on the shop floor or in the office are
inevitably focused on ‘getting the job done’, and even the working time of union officials is
mostly devoted to working with managers to resolve problems rather than calling strikes or
directing picket lines.
The contest over the meaning of industrial relations in real-world practice is reflected in
scholarly debates over the definition and scope of industrial relations. A number of scholars
from both the United States (e.g. Kaufman 1993) and the United Kingdom (e.g. Kelly 1994;
Ackers & Wilkinson 2008) have argued that the vitality and relevance of industrial relations
has been undermined by its traditional preoccupation with the study of trade unions and
collective bargaining, coupled with the decline in union membership and power.
There also appears to be considerable agreement over the most appropriate solution
among those sympathetic to industrial relations. The main organisation bringing together
academics and practitioners in the field changed its name in 2010 from the International
Industrial Relations Association (IIRA) to the International Labour and Employment
Relations Association (ILERA). Most scholars accept that the field of industrial relations
should take account of the wider aspects of the employment relationship or, as Kaufman
(1993, p. 194) stated, the nexus of ‘institutions, practices and outcomes associated with the
world of work’. In Britain, Blyton and Turnbull (1994, p. 28) noted and supported a focus
on all employment relationships and not merely the ones involving unionised male manual
workers in manufacturing. In the Australian context, Lansbury (1995) argued that the subject
has been defined too narrowly, partly because of a preoccupation with the distinctiveness of
the arbitration system, and recommended that scholars locate their analysis of workplace
relations within a wider international context.
It is important, then, to go beyond the commonsense approach associated with industrial
relations to a more considered and systematic definition of the area that captures the breadth
of real-world practice, rather than the narrow perceptions of the subject held by many
people. This does not suggest a complete rejection of industrial relations—it has a long and
distinguished tradition of research and practice—but it does mean it is important to build a
broader theoretical approach.
A preference for the term ‘employment relations’ over ‘industrial relations’ has gained
widespread scholarly support in recent years:
… there is a developing consensus around the proposition that IR [industrial relations]
as traditionally conceived is too closely associated with a narrow concern with unions
and collective bargaining and that a more modern and wider appellation is needed. The
leading candidate appears to be ‘employment relations’. (Giles 2000, p. 55)
If ‘employment relations’ is accepted as the most appropriate term to describe this broader
theoretical approach, what does it mean? Defining employment relations is important not
only because it determines the boundaries of the subject, and thereby the scope of this
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book; the term can be defined very generally as ‘the study of the employment relationship’,
but this definition is too broad because there are many very different academic disciplines
using diverse theoretical concepts that fall under it. A narrower definition is required if we
are to effectively understand the distinctiveness of employment relations as a subject, and
some explanation is needed of the differences between the various theoretical approaches
to studying the employment relationship.
LO 1.2 EXAMPLES OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS SITUATIONS

Before exploring some of the competing theoretical approaches to the definition of employment
relations, it is useful to provide real-life examples of employment relations situations. The
following three examples demonstrate the diversity of workplace experiences in the modern
economy.
In the following Work Story, Terry’s situation clearly falls into the study of employment
relations. His relationship with his employer was, until recently, harmonious. The underlying
rules that regulated that relationship were a combination of formal and legally binding
minimum conditions originally set out in a state award, which has recently become a federal
‘modern award’ (see Chapters 9 and 10 for more details), complemented by more informal
rules determined by management or negotiated individually between Terry and his boss.
The disruption at PastaCo resulted from management’s attempt to introduce a new form of
regulation—individual common-law contracts—and from some of the substantive conditions
outlined in the proposed contract. The resolution of the resulting dispute did not involve
unions or the intervention of any external agency such an industrial tribunal, but it did involve
forms of collective behaviour by the employees in that they talked among themselves and
acted as a group by refusing to sign the new contracts, and also a degree of conflict between
the employees and management.
Work Story
Individual contracts and change at PastaCo
Terry is wondering if he really wants to keep working at PastaCo.

Terry is a sales supervisor for a leading national pasta company. During
the past 13 years that he has worked for the company, he progressed beyond
his basic salesperson job of promoting pasta products to supermarkets and
shops to overseeing the work of seven part-time and full-time sales staff. Like
the other sales staff and supervisors in the company, Terry had never been a
member of a union, although his wages, working hours and working conditions
had in recent years been regulated by the federal Commercial Sales Award
2010.
Unions and awards, however, had never been an important part of his
working life because the company had treated him well and relations with
management were cordial.
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This pattern was suddenly disrupted in August last year. Under the direction of a new national
human resource (HR) manager, the state sales manager announced that all sales staff would be offered
individual contracts—these were to be common-law contracts. The wages specified in the contracts
were well above the minimums set out in the award, which was good, but there were several other
clauses that were less clear-cut. The company’s expectations about working hours were one issue,
while its denial of any overtime and penalty rate payments was another. A peculiar provision in the
contract stated that all employees would, on signing the document, become probationary employees
subject to confirmation of continuing employment.
Staff like Terry, who had worked for the company for many years, considered these provisions of
the contract to be not only insulting but also highly suspicious. What was the company up to?
Terry’s natural reaction to these events was to talk with the other sales staff and supervisors, both whenever
they met at work and through evening phone calls at home. After a lot of discussion and argument, many
of the staff felt that the company was not abiding by the award and refused to sign their contracts. They
organised a meeting with the state sales manager, who was sympathetic and prepared to raise their concerns
with senior management. By Christmas, it was obvious that management was not sure what to do next; no
one from management was prepared to admit that they had been poorly advised in this initiative. However,
early this year the company issued a revised plan, with a longer timeframe and a mechanism for consulting
existing staff before changes were made. Things are now back to normal, but Terry and his colleagues still
feel bad about the episode—several have now accepted jobs with rival companies and moved on, while
Terry is not quite as committed to the company or as motivated about his work as he used to be.
Questions
1. What’s the issue here? What do you think is the basic cause of the upset? Why does Terry feel less
motivated than before?
2. What else could Terry and his colleagues have done in response to the original announcement?
3. If you were Terry, what would you like to know or do before you make a decision about leaving?
In Susie’s Work Story, employment relations lies at the core of her work duties. Recruitment
and selection is the process by which the employment relationship is established, and forms
the key link between the external labour market and the workplace. Similarly, absenteeism,
the focus of Susie’s troublesome project, is a key indicator of the state of relations between
employees and employers (see Chapter 12). In many instances, it is a sign that something is
wrong when employees regularly choose not to come to work; it suggests that employees are
feeling unhappy in their job, which is often due to poor management practices as much as it
is to lazy or uncommitted workers. In Susie’s story, employees have been following informal
rules within the parks and grounds department, meaning that systematic absenteeism is
accepted (even if just implicitly) by managers. More senior managers have started to realise
the inefficiencies created by these local rules, but the problem needs to be treated delicately.
Apart from Susie’s difficult personal position, where she might be alienating her immediate
boss, the recommendations she makes to management need to strike a balance between
improved efficiency and maintaining employee commitment and union cooperation.
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Work Story
Absenteeism at Happy Valley Local Council
Susie is worried that she’s about to cause a strike!

Susie is one of three HR officers at Happy Valley Local Council reporting to
the HR manager. Most of her work time is taken up with the recruitment and
selection of new employees, but she has been given a project on absenteeism
to undertake. The council’s chief executive officer is concerned about the
costs resulting from its absenteeism rate of 10 per cent on average across
its workforce—costs produced by the need to cover absent staff either with
agency workers or with excessively high internal staffing levels. In addition,
absenteeism often produces poor service and customer dissatisfaction, and
it delays major building projects. Susie’s task is to gather detailed information
about the extent of the problem, analyse its causes and suggest alternative
remedial strategies. Her plan was to explore the academic literature on
absenteeism, contact other councils to canvass their approaches, examine the
internal statistics from payroll and talk to managers.
This research task has become a nightmare! The internal statistics are terrible—inconsistently maintained
and confused by different definitions of absenteeism between departments and changes to the definitions
over time—while the literature and the experiences of other councils do not seem to offer any consistent
approach or obvious lessons.
Despite all the problems, Susie has discovered a couple of undeniable facts. First, absenteeism rates
differ enormously between departments at the council, with the parks and grounds department and the
transport department being the worst by far. Second, these same departments are staffed by long-term
employees and managers who have been with the council for decades! They seem to have developed
what Susie remembers from her university studies as ‘indulgency patterns’, whereby managers and staff
have come to expect that everyone has a right to use their full sick leave entitlements each year and
that it is perfectly legitimate for staff to arrange a week in advance to be ‘sick’. The result is 20 per cent
absenteeism in these departments, with a strong pattern of absences on Mondays and Fridays. Susie
knows that her report and its recommendations are going to get messy—the manager of parks and grounds
is a mate of her HR manager. She is going to be delivering bad news. To make matters worse, the parks
and grounds department is strongly unionised and this important group of employees may go on strike if
they see any management action as unfair.
Questions
1. Susie has collected data on levels of absenteeism. What other information or support should Susie
gather before she reports to the manager of parks and grounds?
2. How can Susie help to avert a strike? List four recommendations that you would make in such a
situation.
3. As a member of the HR staff, are there other actions that Susie and her team can take to make it
less likely in future that poor behaviour will be ‘indulged’?
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Li Wen’s Work Story at the seafood restaurant is a sign of the times. Employment in
the services sector has grown in recent years (see Chapter 4), and restaurants and cafés
are an essential part of this growth. Lots of small employers in highly competitive markets
employ thousands of workers, mostly young people, who shift jobs regularly, often work
on a part-time and casual basis, and rarely see their jobs as having long-term prospects.
Formal rules in such an industry are usually uncommon—union membership is low
and collective agreements are rare; awards are used to provide minimum standards but
individual contracts are increasing in number. Informality is more common. The formal
rules and industry-wide standards are often breached, with the demands of the product
market and the limited finances of employers dominating. In this context, Li Wen is lucky
to work for a good employer, but the situation has its complications.
Work Story
Uneasy times at Seaside Restaurant
Li Wen wondered about the right thing to do.

She quite liked working as a server at Seaside Restaurant. It suited her while
she was studying and Jim was generally a pretty good boss; ‘hard but fair’, as
they say! He pushed his employees and was never over-staffed—slackers did
not survive long—but he paid a good rate for all the hours that they worked. It
probably helped that he produced great food and always had plenty of advance
bookings. In addition, many of the people who worked there were students and
he was happy to pay them in cash.
Li Wen came from a well-off family that had immigrated to Australia from
Hong Kong when she was young. Her parents had worked hard and become
well established in Sydney’s business community. Despite their success, they
believed their children should learn for themselves how to work hard and
value money. So, they insisted that Li Wen and her three brothers all work part-
time while they were studying at school and at university. It restricted their social lives—indeed, Li Wen
was convinced that this was part of her parents’ strategy—but Li Wen was prepared to put up with it.
The work at Seaside was almost fun, as work goes. There was always a sense of camaraderie. Not that
this was a career for Li Wen—she was out of there once she graduated. She just wanted a good reference
when she went because that was really important when applying for entry-level graduate jobs.
Friday and Saturday nights in particular were busy. The pace was frenetic, the customers demanding
and the noise intimidating. Still, the time went quickly and the kitchen staff and the servers helped each
other out. But last weekend a member of the kitchen staff, Dong, someone she didn’t know very well,
broke his arm quite badly when he slipped on the floor. Dong wasn’t a part-timer like her; he worked
full-time but he had begged Jim to be paid cash-in-hand. However, since Dong wasn’t on the books, he
wasn’t covered by WorkCover. Jim had sent Dong to hospital and someone had told Li Wen that he was
going to cover Dong’s expenses and give him some money to ‘tide him over’.
Li Wen didn’t want to get Jim into trouble, and she certainly didn’t want to lose her job, but what if Dong
wasn’t okay? Who was going to look out for him? And what would happen if someone else was hurt?
(continued)
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Questions
1. What are Li Wen’s options?
2. What information or support could Li Wen gather before she decides whether to do anything?
3. What do you think Li Wen should do? What could be the result?
LO 1.3, 1.5 THE NATURE OF THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP

employment An employment relationship is created whenever one person sells his or her labour to another
relationship person or organisation and thereby works on behalf of that other person or organisation. At
created whenever
one person sells least at this simple abstract level, the realisation of the employment relationship involves two
his or her labour analytically separate steps (Edwards 1995) (see Figure 1.1).
to another person
or organisation First, there is a market transaction whereby the employee agrees to work for the employer
and thereby works and the employer agrees to pay the employee a wage in return for his or her work. This is
on behalf of that
other person or
partly about the price of labour (which includes the agreed wage rates, leave entitlements and
organisation additional payments), but also the conditions that both sides set (about issues such as hours
of work, work tasks and promotion opportunities). For example, Terry (see Work Story
market transaction
an exchange in under “Examples of employment relations situations”) first came to work at PastaCo a long
which the employee time ago by applying for a position that he had seen advertised in the local newspaper. After
agrees to work
for the employer an interview, he was offered a job as a sales representative at what now seems a paltry wage
and the employer of $350 per week. He accepted and started the following week, in no small part because he
agrees to pay the
employee a wage
was persuaded by management’s promises of rapid promotion for good workers. In this way,
in return for his or Terry and PastaCo completed a market transaction.
her work However, the market transaction is only part of the story because employees essentially
sell their promise to work in the future—their ability to work—rather than actual completed
labour. Even in the most short-term employment relationships, there is an expectation that the
Market transaction
An agreement is struck between the
supplier of labour (employee) and the
purchaser of labour (employer) about
the price and conditions of employment.
The employment relationship
Production relation
An ongoing and ever-changing
relationship between employee and
employer regarding how, when and
under what circumstances work is done.
Figure 1.1 The employment relationship
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relationship is ongoing. It is also usually impossible at the time of the market transaction to
anticipate all the terms and conditions of employment that will apply during the forthcoming
period of employment; the relationship is just too complex and is ever-changing. Consequently,
there is a production relation within the workplace, whereby employers must ensure that production relation
employees deliver on their agreements by working as hard as promised or with the promised the ongoing
interaction between
skills when they enter the workplace. This is the second step in the employment relationship. managers and
At its most simple, employers not only pay wages but must also manage employees in such a employees in
which managers
way to ensure they ‘get their money’s worth’ and the employees ‘get things done’! seek to ensure that
In Terry’s case, he worked during the early weeks of his employment with PastaCo under employees deliver
effort and skills in
the direct supervision of a more senior sales representative who showed him the ropes, the workplace
helped him to learn about the company’s products and looked over his shoulder whenever
Terry dealt with customers. After this period, direct supervision was no longer possible
because Terry was ‘on the road’ by himself for the bulk of his working week. His work effort
was monitored in different ways: he had to submit a detailed work diary each week showing
where he had been and for how long; the amounts of pasta purchased by his customers was
routinely calculated and he received a bonus if he exceeded his target sales; and any adverse
comments from customers were quickly followed up by his supervisor. Terry understood
the situation—even though he was the most reliable of employees, PastaCo had to ensure
that he was doing his job properly.
The problem of absenteeism that Susie faced in the parks and grounds department at
Happy Valley Council (see the Work Story ‘Absenteeism at Happy Valley Local Council’),
also illustrates the production relation. Over the years, the managers in the department
had been too close to ‘the blokes’ and had allowed loose work practices to develop—the
systematic absenteeism was just one of them. Almost everyone at the council knew that parks
and grounds was not very efficient. The council was certainly not getting its money’s worth
from those employees. Rapidly rising insurance costs and higher expectations about service
from ratepayers, however, were putting a lot of pressure on senior council managers, not to
mention the political posturing of the new mayor. Susie reckoned that her report was the first
step in a campaign to clamp down on the indulgence of employees in parks and grounds.
To conceive of the employment relationship in this way—that is, to focus on the open-
ended and indeterminate nature of the employment relationship—has important implications
for the way that we study employment relations in this book. First, we are interested in
both the labour market and the workplace. With respect to the labour market, we study
the ways that employees, employers and their representatives determine wages, working
hours and other terms and conditions of employment. With respect to the workplace, we are
interested in the strategies that employers use to manage employees at work, the responses
of employees to these strategies and the ways that employee representatives (union and non-
union) become involved in workplace issues. Second, the indeterminacy of the employment
relationship establishes, at a general and abstract level, a potential source of conflict between
employees and employers within the structure of the employment relationship itself. Not
only must the parties to the relationship come to agreement over the price to be paid or the
promises to be made at the time of the market transaction, but they must also agree on the
effort to be expended or the skills that are subsequently applied within the workplace. Third,
it demonstrates the importance of power in the employment relationship. If the parties are
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to advance their interests and secure wages and working conditions that achieve their goals
in the employment relationship, then they must mobilise whatever resources are at their
disposal. Fourth, the open-ended and indeterminate nature of the employment relationship
requires a theoretical framework that focuses on how both the parties deal with the two steps
in the employment relationship.
LO 1.4, 1.5 THE DISTINCTIVENESS OF EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS

Defining employment relations as ‘the study of the employment relationship’ sets some of
the basic boundaries of study—it shows, for example, that we are focusing on people at work
rather than at home or on the sporting field, or on the clinical aspects of being treated for an
illness. There is, however, more definitional work to do because many academic disciplines
can be used to study the employment relationship—including economics, human resource
management, Marxism, psychology, sociology, organisational behaviour and the law, to name
just a few. How can we understand the differences between employment relations and these
other theoretical traditions? What is distinctive about employment relations?
There are two main ways to separate the different theoretical approaches to the study of
the employment relationship. Each approach has its particular:
1. analytical tools
2. values.
A discussion of analytical tools focuses attention on the various sets of concepts used
to analyse the employment relationship. In other words, different intellectual traditions
look through different theoretical lenses, emphasising different aspects of the employment
relationship. Budd and Bhave (2008, p. 93) call them ‘coherent models of how the employment
relationship works’. With respect to values, different people perceive the employment
relationship from different and competing positions about what is valuable, and those
different positions usually reflect deeper assumptions about the nature of organisations and
society as a whole. Even when scholars (and practitioners) do not think they are exercising
value judgments, the assumptions they make, the way they select the issues to be analysed
and the prescriptions they produce are invariably value-laden. As Table 1.1 shows, these two
dimensions allow us to compare four different approaches to the employment relationship.

In terms of analytical tools, neo-classical economics embodies an approach in which:
… the focus is on exchange relationships; on the role of markets as mechanisms for
reconciling the objectives of buyers and sellers, setting prices which act as the signals for all
economic agents and ensuring more or less efficient allocation of resources … Embodied in
neo-classical neo-classical economic analysis are particular assumptions about ‘economic man’ … or
economics an homo economicus. (Argyrous & Stilwell 1996, p. 73)
approach to the
study of economics In this way, neo-classical economics prioritises the ‘market transaction’ aspects of
that focuses on
the role of prices the employment relationship, traditionally neglecting what happens within the firm—the
determined by ‘production relation’ remains something of a black box. It also tends to take a very short-term
rational economic
actors in market
view of employment, with labour being bought and sold like any other market commodity,
exchanges rather than being thought of as an ongoing, uniquely human, relationship. This also brings
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Table 1.1 Alternative approaches to the employment relationship
Approach Key points of analysis Ideological perspective

Neo-classical economics Rational economic decisions by individuals Egoist
based on market prices
Human resource The organisational leadership and policies Unitarist
management required to satisfy the psychological needs
of employees
Marxism Class struggle and control within the labour Radical
process
Employment relations The rules that regulate the employment Pluralist
relationship
a preoccupation with outcomes (like employment levels, wage rates, labour costs and
productivity) rather than the processes by which the outcomes are determined.
On the surface, the market focus of neo-classical economics—or what Budd and Bhave
(2008, pp. 102–3) call the ‘egoist’ theory of the employment relationship—might appear to
be value-free because it leaves employees free to negotiate with their employers individual
contracts of employment, which represent mutually agreeable terms and conditions.
However, this appearance is actually deeply value-laden because it relies on an assumption
that ‘workers and employers are equal in terms of economic power, legal expertise and
protections, and political influence’ (Budd & Bhave 2008, p. 103)—an assumption that
rarely occurs in reality. Furthermore, it assumes that maximum value will flow from
employees acting as individuals, rendering collective organisations like trade unions both
unnecessary and undesirable. Consequently, the values underlying neo-classical economics
are widely considered to favour employers because they generally enjoy greater market,
political and legal power than employees.
Human resource management (HRM) offers a second approach to the employment human resource
relationship. Since capturing the imagination of many management scholars and practitioners management (HRM)
an approach to the
during the late 1980s and 1990s (Boxall & Dowling 1990; Strauss 2001; Bray, Waring & practice and study
Cooper 2011, p. 627), the dominant approach within HRM has employed analytical tools of the employment
relationship that
associated with psychology and organisational behaviour, combined with an emphasis on focuses on the role
strategy and the strategic fit between an organisation’s human resource strategy and its broader of management
in eliciting effort
business strategies. In other words, the dual focus of this ‘unitarist’ theory of the employment and value from
relationship (Budd & Bhave 2008, p. 103) is the universal psychological needs of individual employees
employees for happiness, social interaction and intellectual stimulation at work, which
management needs to satisfy if an organisation’s workforce is to contribute effectively to
achieving the organisation’s goals; and the management initiatives and organisational policies
that enhance employees’ job satisfaction, motivation, work performance and organisational
commitment.
HRM is based on conservative, pro-management values. Employees and employers
are assumed to have deep common interests—employees and managers will both benefit
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from the achievement of organisational goals—provided managers adopt the appropriate

leadership styles and organisational policies. There is no expectation that employees will
have interests that differ to those of managers. Consequently, trade unions are unnecessary,
or worse, amount to unwanted third parties that prevent managers and employees from
working together to achieve their mutual interests.
Marxism ‘critical’ A third approach is Marxism, especially the Marxist analysis of the labour process
theory of the (Bray, Waring & Cooper 2011, pp. 67–72). Consistent with what Budd and Bhave (2008,
employment
relationship where pp. 104–5) call the ‘critical’ theory of the employment relationship, these scholars focus on
scholars focus on class struggle and control as key analytical tools. They assume two defining features of the
class struggle and
control in the labour employment relationship under capitalism: first, that the machinery and technology and
process the raw materials necessary for production of goods and services are owned by one class
(i.e. the capitalists); second, that production also requires labour, which capitalists must buy
from the other class (i.e. the workers) in the form of labour power. This model of the
employment relationship produces inevitable conflicts of interest between these two classes
that are central to analysis. In particular, because labour power is only the capacity of
workers to work, the central task of management is to devise and implement a range of
control strategies to convert a worker’s labour power into actual work effort (labour) in order
to contribute to profitable production.
The values are radical and anti-management. Employees and employers are assumed to
have few common interests because the inherent structure of capitalist organisations is so
unequal: anything that benefits the employers will involve controlling the workers while
achieving profits and capital accumulation for the employers. Independent, collective
representation of workers is seen as vital, although trade unions are considered by many
Marxists to be insufficient because they are limited to negotiating minor improvements in
terms and conditions of employment for their members. Revolutionary change led by political
parties—creating a more equal society—is required, rather than trade unions in the workplace.
ER News
RMIT academics and happiness at work
In March 2012, Fair Work Australia ruled that Melbourne’s RMIT University was entitled to introduce a
behavioural code for its employees, the ‘behavioural capability framework’, which sets expectations
depending on an employee’s level of employment. It said that the university was not in breach of its
workplace agreement with staff in introducing the framework.
Steve Somogyi, RMIT’s chief operating officer, said that RMIT introduced the framework in order to
implement improved career development options for staff, following a staff survey in 2010. Under the
framework, some of the academic staff and professional staff would need to achieve ‘external benchmarks
of performance excellence’ and ‘promote the positive rather than the negative’. Mr Somogyi said the
framework would assist academics in their work rather than hinder them, and would not curtail their
intellectual freedom in any way.
Linda Gale, senior industrial officer of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU), described the
behavioural framework as ‘nonsensical … some of it is impossible’ because RMIT’s expectations were
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vague and unreasonable. She asserted that university communities are meant to be questioning and
sceptical. The hearing date for the NTEU’s appeal against the Fair Work Australia decision has not yet
been set.
In the meantime, RMIT staff are campaigning against the framework which they say forces them to
display a positive attitude and show passion.
RMIT staff members must sign the framework by 13 April and the NTEU has advised staff to add a note
to say they are signing under duress. In July staff will have to begin negotiations for a new collective
agreement with the university.
Professor Andrew Stewart, an academic from the University of Adelaide and expert on employment and
industrial relations law, said that although he understood RMIT’s frustration with complaining academics,
compulsion to exhibit positivity in a university environment was likely to unleash an ‘immediate backlash’
as staff would consider it an attack on their critical thinking.
Source: Adapted from Priess, B. 2012, ‘RMIT academics really not happy about having to be happy at work’, The Age, 27 March,
www.theage.com.au/national/education/rmit-academics-really-not-happy-about-having-to-be-happy-at-work-20120326-1vuob.
html, accessed 2 May 2017.
Questions
1. If you asked a neo-classical economist what he or she thought of RMIT management’s proposal,
what would he or she say? If you asked a Marxist? An HR manager?
2. What about you? What do you think?
Employment relations, the fourth approach, adopts a different set of analytical tools employment
that flow from an ‘institutionalist’ theoretical tradition (for more detail, see Chapter 2). This relations an
approach to the
assumes that the attitudes and behaviours of employees and employers can best be understood practice and study
by focusing on the ‘rules’ that regulate the employment relationship. In other words, rather of the employment
relationship that
than assuming that individual employees and employers are driven by rational economic focuses on the
decisions based on market forces (neo-classical economics) or by organisational policies creation and
enforcement of
that align the psychological motivations with organisational goals (HRM), employment rules that regulate
relations assumes that the attitudes and behaviours of both parties are heavily influenced by that relationship
social norms and expectations, especially those within the workplace. These are rules of the
employment relationship. The definition of employment relations therefore becomes:
the study of the formal and informal rules which regulate the employment relationship
and the social processes which create and enforce these rules.
Employment relations is also recognised as displaying a ‘pluralist’ values or ideology
(Budd & Bhave 2008, p. 104). Rather than the assumption of common interests inherent
in the neo-classical economic or HRM approaches, or the unsolvable conflicts of interest
evident in the Marxist approach, employment relations sees employees and employers as
having both common and conflicting interests in the employment relationship. Conflict is
therefore understandable and even inevitable, but it can be managed and accommodated
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in ways that meet the interests of both sides of the relationship. The management of
conflict, however, requires the recognition and representation of each side’s interest as
well as appropriate institutional arrangements (like collective bargaining) to facilitate the
negotiation of compromise.
This demonstrates the distinctive approach of employment relations to the study of the
employment relationship: an institutionalist set of analytical tools focusing on the rules and
how they are created and enforced; and a pluralist ideology (see Kochan 1998; Bray 2000).
These two features will be explored in more depth in Chapters 2 and 3 respectively.
CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS
Employment relations is a diverse and challenging field of study, if for no other reason
than its relevance to so many people; it is frequently a subject of controversy and debate.
The aim of this chapter was to begin the presentation of a theoretical approach to the
study of employment relations by defining the boundaries of study, providing examples of
employment relations systems and using brief comparisons with other theoretical traditions
to identify the two distinguishing features of employment relations: first, rules regulating the
employment relationship as analytical tools; and second, pluralist values. These two features
will be explored in more depth in Chapter 2 (analytical tools) and Chapter 3 (values).
SUMMARY
∙ It is important to study employment relations because it has powerful impacts on the economic
efficiency of enterprises, industries and nations and it is central to equity and the welfare of employees.
∙ The ‘commonsense’ perception of industrial relations is that it focuses on sensational conflict
situations between trade unions and employers.
∙ There is a need to go beyond this commonsense perception to a ‘theoretically informed’ definition of
employment relations that sees it as the study of the employment relationship.
∙ An employment relationship is created whenever one person sells his or her labour to another person
or organisation and thereby works on behalf of that other person or organisation. It comprises two
steps: the market transaction and the production relation.
∙ There are different and competing approaches to the study of the employment relationship, which
can be distinguished by their analytical tools and ideological perspectives.
∙ The theoretical approach to the study of the employment relationship adopted in this book is distinctive
in its analytical focus on the creation and enforcement of the rules that regulate the employment
relationship and the underlying pluralist values.
KEY TERMS
employment relations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 market transaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
employment relationship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Marxism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
human resource management (HRM). . . . . . . . 17 neo-classical economists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
industrial relations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 production relation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How important are employment relations for the efficiency and equity of nations and companies?
2. Where do we get our ideas about employment relations: from our own experiences, from the media,
from our families and friends, or from somewhere else?
3. What is the point of theory? How is it supposed to help us understand the world we live in?
4. When looking at the different theoretical traditions that study the employment relationship, what
does it mean that they have different ‘analytical tools’?
5. Are all theoretical approaches to the study of the employment relationship really value-laden?
6. Consider the three work situations of Terry, Susie and Li Wen. How do they differ in terms of:
a. the work tasks that they must perform in their jobs?
b. the skills they need to perform those tasks?
c. the employment relations arrangements in their places of work?
d. their likely wages and working conditions?
Case Study Working life at MailCo
Johanna Macneil, University of Newcastle
Part I: 2005—technology, internal efficiency and workplace change

Bill* thinks you can’t make change work unless you understand the ‘big picture’ and what has
happened in the past.
Bill is a frontline supervisor at MailCo. MailCo is a mail-processing facility that employs about
450 people, of whom about 370 are mail officers and about 35 are process leaders, or PLs (which
is what supervisors like Bill are called). The rest of the staff include the technicians who maintain
the machines, administrative staff and managers. The boss is the facility manager.
Bill has worked at MailCo for 23 years and was promoted from mail officer to senior mail officer
and, seven years ago, to PL. The boss has just arranged an all-day Saturday meeting for all PLs and
managers to talk about how to transform the mail facility into a ‘high-performance organisation’
(HPO). Bill’s not sure what an HPO is but he thinks it relates to introducing work teams. He has
some concerns about what this might mean for his job. He’s also worried about how receptive the
mail officers will be to the change. One thing is for sure—Bill has no doubt that the union will have
an opinion!
MailCo is part of Australia Post’s Mail and Network Division. In 1999, as part of the FuturePost
strategy, an overall commitment was made to introduce new technology, develop the skills of the
workforce and transform the corporation into an HPO. More than a decade on, many changes have
happened but there is still much to be done.
Australia Post is one of Australia’s ‘oldest continuously running commercial organisations’
(Australia Post 2003, p. 12). In 1989 Australia Post became a government business enterprise and
(continued)
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subsequently achieved remarkable success despite a range of major challenges, including the
development of email and the internet and the opening up of the parcel market to competition.
From its yearly profits, Australia Post usually pays a handsome dividend to the federal government.
Australia Post has continually been rated one of the most trusted commercial organisations in
Australia; in 2002 it was rated second after the Salvation Army (Skotnicki 2004).
Between 1999 and 2004, Australia Post, through the FuturePost strategy, invested more than
half a billion dollars in restructuring and introducing new equipment within the Mail and Network
Division (Australia Post 2003, p. 7). One of the key objectives of FuturePost was to reduce mail-
processing costs through the introduction of coding equipment to reduce manual mail sorting, and
the commissioning of automated equipment for sorting large letters.
Australia Post’s corporate policy is to work with its unions, to invest in staff skills, to empower staff
in the context of the organisation’s values and to be a leader in progressive employment policies
(Skotnicki 2004). The FuturePost strategy was introduced in the context of Australia Post’s stated
objective, specified in the corporation’s fourth and fifth Enterprise Bargaining Agreements (EBAs)
with its unions (EBAs 4 and 5), to become an HPO.
Pay and financial recognition for award staff is negotiated Australia-wide through the EBA
process. Equitable treatment at work is largely dictated through corporate policies which govern
the work conditions of all Australia Post employees. These include policies covering employee
health and safety as well as harassment and diversity, and the Australia Post Code of Ethics.
While corporate staff set the overall direction for the states, state managers have a great deal
of control over how policies are implemented. Industrial relations on site at MailCo are primarily
conducted with the Communication, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing
and Allied Services Union of Australia (CEPU), which covers a majority of mail officers. Negotiations
for the EBA are conducted at national level, with state involvement. EBA 5 provided for a ‘team
skills loading’, a $650 one-off payment for mail officers who had successfully moved into a team-
based structure. EBA 6, which covered the period 2004–06, acknowledged that ‘the roll-out of
team-based work in mail and parcel processing has been a long and complex exercise’ (as it has
been in many organisations which have gone down similar paths) (Australia Post et al. 2004, p. 8). It
was agreed in EBA 6 to give the move to team-based work new emphasis. The team-skills loading
hasn’t been paid at MailCo yet, although it has at some other facilities.
The major pieces of equipment on the MailCo floor are the machine that processes standard
letters (the MLOCR, or multiline optical character reader) and the machine that processes large letters
(the FMOCR, or flat mail optical character reader). Both machines are supported by barcoding and
video coding of addresses. Mail that is not successfully sorted through this equipment is manually
sorted, a more costly method of mail processing. Key overall measures of performance for MailCo
and other mail processing facilities are cost per article, percentage of on-time delivery and lost
time injury frequency rate. The first two measures are significantly influenced by the performance,
on any one shift or day, of the MLOCR and the FMOCR.
Bill was involved in the team responsible for getting the FMOCR up and running when it first
arrived. He thinks the way the team introduced it might be what the managers are talking about
when they refer to an ‘HPO’.
In 2003 the senior managers called for 70 volunteers to work on the new FMOCR machine.
Because the introduction of the FMOCR on the floor was such an important initiative, dedicated
managers and technical staff worked with mail officers to train people how to operate the machine.
bra65586_ch01_002-027.indd 22 08/14/17 06:39 PM

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Gott dienten. Nicht brausend bricht der Strom aus der Seite des
Berges hervor, wird er doch in einem tiefen, stillen Weiher geboren,
der, in ein Gewand aus Mädchenhaar-Farn gehüllt, zwischen
Dickichten verborgen liegt, »die alles Leben zu süßem Traum mit
Grün umweben«. Aus dem Weiler geht ein durchsichtiger,
spiegelglatter, schmaler und tiefer Bach hervor; bald aber staut er
sich und bildet Wirbel und Wasserfälle, die ihren weißen Schaum in
das Gezweig von Maulbeerbaum und Platane hinaufschleudern.
Unter den Bäumen drehen sich elf Wassermühlen; die zerlumpten
Müller bilden die einzige Bewohnerschaft von Apollos Heiligtum. Sie
brachten uns Walnüsse, an den Ufern des Stromes zu essen, und
kleine, antike Steine, die aus den Schmuckstücken derer gefallen
waren, die an dem Gestade dieses Stromes wohl weniger harmlosen
Vergnügungen nachgingen als wir.
Daphne.
Man kann unmöglich in Nordsyrien reisen, ohne von einem

lebhaften Interesse für die Seleucidenkönige ergriffen zu werden,
das durch die Anerkennung ihrer hervorragenden Taten in Politik und
Kunst noch gefestigt wird; ich beschloß daher, ehe ich mich
nordwärts wenden würde, noch die Gegend von Seleucia Pieria, den
Hafen von Antiochien und die Begräbnisstätte von Seleucia Nicator
aufzusuchen. Binnenstadt und Hafen entstanden zu gleicher Zeit;
beide waren Teile desselben großen Planes, der aus der Gegend
des unteren Orontes eine reiche und bevölkerte Handelsstätte schuf.
In jenen Tagen konnten Könige mit einem Winke ihres Szepters
weltberühmte Städte ins Leben rufen, und die Seleuciden säumten
wahrlich nicht, dem Beispiele zu folgen, das Alexander ihnen
gegeben. Wie Apamea, so ist auch Seleucia zur Größe eines
Dörfchens zusammengeschrumpft, oder besser gesagt, es hat sich
in mehrere Dörfer zersplittert, die der Name Sweidijjeh deckt. (Da
jede Gruppe Farmhäuser oder Hütten ihren eignen Namen führt,
kann man sich in den Ortsbezeichnungen schwer zurechtfinden.)
Das weite Auseinanderwohnen der Leute in den Dörfern am Orontes
ist in ihrer Beschäftigung begründet. Ihre Tätigkeit als
Seidenwurmzüchter erfordert im Frühling einen Monat lang die
ununterbrochene Anwesenheit des Besitzers im Mittelpunkt seiner
Maulbeerbaumplantagen, so daß der Mann durch deren ganze
Ausdehnung von seinem Nachbar getrennt ist. Nach dreistündigem
Ritt durch eine prächtige Gegend voll Myrtengebüsch und
Maulbeerbaumhaine erreichten wir die Militärstation Sweidijjeh, das
wichtigste der verstreut liegenden Dörfer. Und hier geschah es zum
ersten und einzigen Mal auf meiner Reise, daß ich von einem
Beamten (er hatte offenbar der Arrakflasche zugesprochen) nach
meinem Paß befragt wurde. Nun besaß ich keinen Paß, ich hatte ihn
im Djebel Zawijjeh mit meinem Mantel zugleich eingebüßt, und daß
ich durch das halbe Ottomanenreich ohne papiernen Anhang an
meinen Namen reisen konnte, beweist, wie wenig sich der türkische
Beamte um seine Regierungsbefehle zu kümmern braucht. Da der
mich begleitende Zaptieh mit ziemlichem Eifer erörterte, daß es ihm
sicherlich nicht erlaubt gewesen sein würde, mich zu begleiten,
wenn ich nicht eine achtbare und gutbeleumdete Persönlichkeit
wäre, durften wir weiterreisen. Die Veranlassung zu solch
ungewöhnlichem Pflichteifer wurde uns bald klar: die Küstendörfer
beherbergen große Kolonien Armenier und sind von Militärstationen
umgeben, welche die Bewohner abhalten sollen, sowohl nach
anderen Orten im Binnenlande des Reiches, als zur See nach
Cypern zu entweichen. Die Ankunft und Abreise der Fremden wird
sorgsam überwacht. Der Reisende sollte stets als Hauptpunkt im
Auge haben, sich nicht in die armenische Frage verwickeln zu
lassen. Es war die stillschweigende Überzeugung der Gelehrten des
Mittelalters, daß eine unlösbare Frage überhaupt nicht existierte. Es
könnte ja Dinge mit ernstlichen Schwierigkeiten geben, aber wenn
man sie der richtigen Person unterbreitete — z. B. irgend einem
Araber in Spanien, der durch gründliches Studium in Einzelheiten
eingeweiht ist, in die man selber lieber nicht einzudringen versucht
— so würde man sicher die rechte Lösung erfahren. Der Kernpunkt
wäre, nur die passende Person zu finden. Heutzutage sind wir von
diesem Glauben abgekommen. Die Erfahrung hat gelehrt, daß es
leider viele für den Menschengeist unlösbare Probleme gibt, und ein
beträchtlicher Teil davon fällt dem Türkenreich zu. Ein solches
Problem ist die armenische Frage, und ein zweites die
mazedonische.
Mit dem Entschluß, nicht einem Grundsatz untreu zu werden,
der, wie ich überzeugt war, viel zu einer glücklichen und
erfolgreichen Reise beigetragen hat, ritt ich nach Chaulīk, dem
Hafen des alten Seleucia, hinab. Mein Entschluß war um so leichter
durchzuführen, als die Armenier fast nur Armenisch und Türkisch
sprachen; jedenfalls genügten die wenigen arabischen Worte, deren
einige mächtig waren, nicht, um eine eingehende Schilderung ihrer
Leiden zu geben, und der Mann, der mir diesen Nachmittag als
Führer diente, war mit so heiterer Gemütsstimmung begnadigt, daß
er sicher ein anderes Gesprächsthema vorgezogen hätte. Ibrahim
war der Name des helläugigen, klugen Mannes, und sein Frohsinn
verdiente in der Tat Lob, da sein jährliches Einkommen sich auf nicht
mehr als 400 Piaster (kaum 40 Mark deutsches Geld) belief. Davon
gedachte er noch genug zu erübrigen, um die türkischen Beamten
im Hafen zu bestechen, damit sie ein Auge zudrückten, wenn er in
einem offenen Boote nach Cypern entwich. »Denn,« sagte er, »hier
ist kein anderer Erwerb als die Seidenraupenzucht, die aber schafft
mir nur zwei Monate vom Jahre Arbeit, und in den anderen zehn
kann ich nichts tun und nichts verdienen.« Er erzählte mir auch, daß
die Nosairijjeh, welche die umliegenden Dörfer bewohnten,
unangenehme Leute wären.
»Ist Fehde zwischen euch?« fragte ich.
»Ey, wāllah!« sagte er mit Nachdruck und illustrierte seine
Behauptung durch den langen Bericht eines vor kurzem
ausgebrochenen Streites, der, soviel ich ausmachen konnte,
gänzlich den Übergriffen der Armenier zu verdanken war.
»Aber ihr hattet zuerst gestohlen,« wendete ich ein, als er zu
Ende war.
»Ja,« sagte er, »die Nosairijjeh sind Hunde.« Und lächelnd fügte
er noch hinzu: »Ich saß darauf zwei Jahre lang im Gefängnis zu
Aleppo.«
»Bei Gott! Ihr hattet es verdient,« bemerkte ich.
»Ja,« gestand er mit gleicher Heiterkeit ein.
Und das war, wie ich mich freue, konstatieren zu können, alles,
was Ibrahim zur Beleuchtung der armenischen Frage beitrug.
Die Bucht von Seleucia ist dem Golf von Neapel nicht unähnlich
und kaum weniger schön. Eine jähe Bergwand, mit Felsengräbern
und Höhlen durchsetzt, bildet den Hintergrund der
Maulbeerbaumanpflanzungen und schließt, einen Bogen bildend, die
Bucht auch nach Norden hin ab. Unterhalb der Felswand liegen die
Mauern und die Wassertore des Hafens, der durch eine Sandbank
vom offnen Meere getrennt ist. Durch Sand und Schlamm fließt der
Orontes weiter nach Süden, und eine steile Bergkette, die an ihrem
Südende zu dem lieblichen Berg Cassius ansteigt, schließt die
Aussicht ab. Der letztere Berg ist gleichsam der Vesuv der
Landschaft. Ich schlug mein Lager an der Nordgrenze in einer
kleinen Grotte auf. Sie war von der übrigen Bai durch einen niederen
Ausläufer getrennt, der in einem mit Ruinen bedeckten Vorgebirge
endete und den Ausblick über die gesamte Küste bot. Ich weidete
mich in dem Gedanken, daß gerade an dieser Stelle Tempel und
Grab von Seleucus Nicator gestanden hatten, obgleich ich nicht
weiß, ob die genaue Lage je festgestellt worden ist. Am Strande
befand sich ein isolierter Raum, in dem eine von Säulen getragene
Halle ausgegraben worden war. Eine frische, salzige Brise
durchwehte den nach dem Meere duftenden Raum: ein echter
Tempel für Nymphen und Tritonen. Auf schmalen Pfaden und einer
ehemaligen Fahrstraße führte mich Ibrahim über die steilen Klippen
hin nach der auf dem höchsten Punkt des Plateaus gelegenen
oberen Stadt. Wie er sagte, braucht man sechs Stunden zu einem
Gang um die Ringmauer der oberen Stadt; es war nur zu heiß, um
seine Behauptung auf die Probe zu stellen. Wir stiegen in eine große
Anzahl der künstlichen Höhlen hinein, wovon viele keine
Grabnischen aufwiesen; sie mögen wohl eher zu Wohnräumen und
Vorratskammern bestimmt gewesen sein. Um diese Zeit waren alle
Höhlen von Seidenwurmzüchtern bewohnt, die jetzt, wo die Larven
aus den Eiern schlüpften, ihre geschäftigste Zeit hatten. Am Eingang
jeder Höhle hing ein Büschel grüner Zweige, um die Sonne
auszuschließen, und angenehm schimmerte das Licht des
Nachmittags durch das knospende Gezweig. Am Südende der
Klippe lag ein großer Begräbnisplatz, der aus kleinen, ringsum mit
Grabnischen besetzten Höhlen und Steinsarkophagen bestand.
Diese letzteren trugen, wenn überhaupt Schmuck daran war, das
Girlandenmuster der Sarkophage zu Antiochien. Die bedeutendste
Gräbergruppe befand sich am Nordrande der Klippe. Man betrat sie
durch einen mit Säulen bestandenen Portikus, welches in ein
doppeltes Gewölbe führte. Das größere enthielt zwischen 30–40
Grabnischen und ein paar Gräber mit Baldachinen, die aus dem
Felsen selbst gehauen waren. Das kleinere barg etwa halb so viel
Grabnischen. Das Dach wurde von Säulen und viereckigen
Wandpfeilern getragen, ich bemerkte über den Gräbern auch grob
ausgehauenen Fries mit teils efeuartigen, teils ausgezähnten
Blättern.
Der Garīz.
Den Erbauern von Seleucia scheint die Verteilung des
Wasservorrats viel zu schaffen gemacht zu haben. Ibrahim zeigte
mir einen auf dem Felsen hinlaufenden Kanal von etwa zwei Fuß
Weite bei fünf Fuß Höhe, der drei bis vier Fuß unterhalb der
Oberfläche ausgehauen war und Wasser von einem Ende der Stadt
zum anderen leitete. Durch gelegentliche Luftlöcher oder Spalten in
der äußersten Felsenwand konnten wir seinen Lauf verfolgen. Ein
äußerst schwieriges Problem muß die Regulierung des Flusses
gewesen sein, der nördlich der Stadt eine Schlucht hinabstürzte.
Man hatte einen riesigen Tunnel durch den Ausläufer bis südlich von
meinem Lager gehauen, um das Wasser nach dem Meere zu leiten,
damit es die Häuser am Fuße der Klippe nicht überschwemmte. Der
Garīz, wie der Name dieses Tunnels ist, begann an der Mündung
eines engen Hohlwegs, erstreckte sich einige hundert Meter weit
durch Felsenmassen und setzte sich dann bis zum Ende des
Ausläufers als ein tiefer, oben offner Einschnitt fort. Am Eingang des
Tunnels befand sich in scharf ausgehauenen Buchstaben eine
Inschrift. »Divus Vespasianus« begann sie, aber der Rest verschwand
unter dem felsigen Boden. Es gab auch noch einige andere
Inschriften am Garīz entlang: alle waren lateinisch, ich denke mir,
das Werk ist nicht seleucischer, sondern römischer Herkunft.
Die Statue im Maulbeerbaumhain.
Noch zu einem anderen Besuch ließ ich mich durch Ibrahim

verleiten. Wenn ich ihm durch die Maulbeeranlagen am Fuße der
Klippe folgen wollte, erklärte er, würde er mir »eine Person, aus
Stein gemacht« zeigen. Nun war meine Neugierde zwar durch die
Hitze und den langen Marsch schon etwas gelähmt, aber ich
schleppte mich doch durch die Steine und andere Hindernisse
mühsam zurück und fand, unter einem Maulbeerbaum sitzend, einen
bärtigen, mit Gewändern angetanen Gott. Ein sehr majestätischer
Gott war er nicht. Seine Haltung war steif, das Gewand roh
ausgehauen, die obere Hälfte seines Kopfes dahin, aber die
tiefstehende Sonne vergoldete seine Marmorschulter, und die
Zweige der Bäume flüsterten von seiner einstigen Würde. Als wir
uns neben ihn gesetzt hatten, bemerkte Ibrahim:
»Auf diesem Felde ist auch noch jemand begraben, eine Frau,
aber sie ist tief unter der Erde.«
»Habt Ihr sie gesehen?« forschte ich.
»Ja, der Herr des Feldes hat sie begraben, weil er glaubte, sie
brächte ihm Unglück. Vielleicht gräbt er sie aus, wenn Sie ihm Geld
bieten.«
Ich ging auf den Vorschlag nicht ein; wahrscheinlich blieb die
Frau besser der Einbildung überlassen.
Dicht an der Statue sah ich einen langen modellierten Sims;
vermutlich hatte er eine Mauer gekrönt, die jetzt im Getreidefeld
vergraben lag. Es bietet sich hier viel Gelegenheit zu Entdeckungen,
aber die Ausgrabungen werden wegen der tiefen Schlammschicht
und der Ansprüche der Besitzer von Maulbeerbaumhainen und
Getreidefeldern hoch zu stehen kommen. Die Stadt bedeckt eine
ungeheure Fläche, und das Nachgraben kann jahrelang dauern,
wenn gründlich vorgegangen werden soll.
Bei meinen Zelten schlich ein träger Strom durch Büschel gelber
Iris und bildete einen Tümpel im Sande, der für unsre Tiere und die
Ziegenherden Wasser lieferte, welche von armenischen
Hirtenknaben früh und spät am Meeresufer gehütet wurden. So
reizvoll war der Ort, und das Wasser so herrlich, daß ich einen
ganzen müßigen Tag dort zubrachte, den ersten wirklich müßigen,
seit ich Jerusalem verlassen, und da ich nun einmal Seleucia nicht
gründlich erforschen konnte, wollte ich auch nicht mehr davon
sehen, als von meiner Zelttür aus möglich war. Diesem löblichen
Entschluß verdanke ich 24 Stunden, an die ich mit lebhaftester
Befriedigung zurückdenke, wenn ich auch weiter nichts davon zu
berichten weiß, als daß ich nicht ganz so leicht, wie ich gehofft hatte,
der armenischen Frage entgehen sollte. Am Morgen wurde mir ein
langer Besuch von einer Frau, die von Kabuseh herabgekommen
war, einem Dorfe auf der Höhe der über dem Garīz gelegenen
Schlucht. Sie sprach Englisch, hatte es in den Missionsschulen zu
'Aintāb, ihrer Heimat in den kurdischen Bergen, gelernt. Kymet
nannte sie sich. Sie hatte 'Aintāb bei ihrer Verheiratung verlassen
und diesen Schritt nie zu bereuen aufgehört, denn ihr Gatte war
zwar ein guter und ehrbarer Mann, aber doch so arm, daß sie nicht
wußte, wie sie ihre beiden Kinder aufziehen sollte. Außerdem waren,
wie sie sagte, die Leute in der Gegend von Kabuseh, Nosairijjeh
sowohl als Armenier, alle Räuber, und sie erbat sich meine Hilfe, um
nach Zypern entkommen zu können. Sie erzählte mir auch ein
seltsames Stück Familiengeschichte, welches, wenn man es nicht
als Beweis behördlicher Bedrückung zitieren will, doch dartut, wie
traurig die Lage der Sekten in einem mohammedanischen Lande
sein muß. Als Kymed selbst noch Kind gewesen, war ihr Vater zum
Islam übergetreten und zwar hauptsächlich deswegen, weil er eine
zweite Frau zu nehmen wünschte. Kymets Mutter hatte die ihr
angetane Schmach nicht ertragen können, sie hatte ihn verlassen
und ihre Kinder erhalten, so gut es gehen wollte. Der bittre Zwist
hatte, nach der jungen Frau Versicherung, ihre eigne Jugend
vergiftet. Am nächsten Morgen schickte sie ihren Gatten mit einem
Huhn und einem Gedicht, das sie selbst auf Englisch
niedergeschrieben hatte. Das Huhn bezahlte ich, aber die Verse
waren unbezahlbar. Sie lauteten:
»Willkommen, willkommen, Geliebteste, dein Kommen beglückt uns!
Für dein Kommen willkommen! Willkommen deine Ankunft!
Laßt uns singen mit Freuden, mit Freuden, mit Freuden, ihr Knaben, mit Freuden!
Die Sonne scheint nun mit dem Mond so klar, mit süßem hellen Schein, ihr Knaben:
Für dein Kommen willkommen, ihr Lächeln heißt dich willkommen!
Die Bäume senden uns, teure Knaben, die Vögel jubeln voll Glück;
Der süße Duft spricht dir willkommen! Willkommen dir ihr froher Sang!
Ich verbleibe
Ihr getreuer
G e o r g e A b r a h a m.«
Für den Fall, daß das Gedicht für vielversprechend erachtet

werden sollte, beeile ich mich noch hinzuzufügen, daß nicht etwa
George Abraham der Verfasser war — bei den Verhandlungen über
das Huhn fand ich heraus, daß er kein Wort Englisch konnte. Kymet
hatte ihres Mannes Namen lediglich benutzt, weil er eine
gewichtigere Unterschrift abgab, als der ihre. Überdies sind die in
den Versen erwähnten Knaben nur rhetorische Figuren. Auch kann
ich keine Vermutung darüber aussprechen, was die Bäume uns
senden; in diesem Punkte scheint der Text unklar. Vielleicht ist
»uns« als Akkusativ gedacht.
Ich verließ Seleucia mit wirklichem Bedauern. Noch vor
Tagesanbruch ging ich hinab in die See, um zu baden; zarte
Wolkenschleier lagen über den Berghängen, und als ich in das laue
Wasser hinausschwamm, vergoldeten die ersten Strahlen der
Morgensonne das schneeige Haupt des Berges Cassius, der einen
so bezaubernd schönen Abschluß für das Halbrund der Bai bildet.
Auf demselben Wege, den wir gekommen, kehrten wir nach
Antiochien zurück und schlugen unsre Zelte außerhalb der Stadt an
der Landstraße auf. Zwei Tage später brachen wir früh 6½ Uhr zu
einem langen Ritt nach Alexandretta auf. Während der ersten Meilen
war der Weg abscheulich; tiefe Schlammlöcher wechselten mit
kurzen gepflasterten Stellen ab, die jedoch kaum bequemeres
Vorwärtskommen ermöglichten als der Morast selbst. Nach drei
Stunden erreichten wir das Dorf Kāramurt; ¾ Stunden später
verließen wir die Straße und ritten bei einer verfallenen
Karawanserei, die Spuren schöner arabischer Arbeit aufwies, direkt
in das Gebirge hinein. Der Pfad führte steile, erdbedeckte Hänge
hinauf und hinab, durch blühende Dickichte aus Ginster,
Judasbäumen und den auf der Erde hinkriechenden Cistenrosen.
Zur Linken sahen wir das malerische Kastell Baghrās, das alte
Pagrae, einen Berggipfel krönen. Ich glaube nicht, daß die
Gebirgsgruppe nördlich von Antiochien jemals systematisch
erforscht worden ist, vielleicht kommen dort noch Teile
seleucidischer oder römischer Befestigungswerke zu Tage, die den
Eingang zu dieser Stadt bewachten. Bald lenkten wir in die alte,
gepflasterte Straße ein, die steiler dahinführt als der neuere
Fahrweg, und nachdem wir ¾ Stunden gerastet hatten, um an den
schattigen Ufern eines Flusses zu frühstücken, erreichten wir den
höchsten Punkt des Bailānpasses um 1 Uhr. Hier bogen wir in die
Hauptstraße von Aleppo nach Alexandretta ein. Ich konnte keinerlei
Spuren von Befestigungen an den Syrischen Toren bemerken, wo
Alexander umkehrte und nach der Ebene von Issus
zurückmarschierte, um Darius zu begegnen, aber der Paß ist sehr
eng und muß leicht gegen Eindringlinge von Norden her zu
verteidigen gewesen sein. Es ist das der einzige für eine Armee
gangbare Paß über den zerklüfteten Berg Amanus. Eine Stunde
davon befindet sich das Dorf Bailān; seine wundervolle Lage an der
Nordseite der Berge bietet den Überblick über die Bucht von
Alexandretta nach der wilden Cilicianischen Küste und der weißen
Tauruskette. Ein etwa vierstündiger Ritt brachte uns von Bailān nach
Alexandretta.
Als wir auf grünen, blumenbesäten Hängen, den letzten Syriens,
dem schimmernden Meere zutrabten, entspann sich zwischen mir
und Michaïl ein Gespräch. Wir blickten, wie Reisegefährten zu tun
pflegen, noch einmal auf unsre Reiseerlebnisse zurück, erinnerten
uns der Abenteuer, die uns zu Wasser und Land beschieden
gewesen, und endlich sagte ich:
»Oh Michaïl, diese Welt ist schön, wenn auch mancher ihr Übles
nachredet, und die Kinder Adams sind meist gut und nicht böse.«
»Es geht alles nach Gottes Willen!« sagte Michaïl.
»Ohne Zweifel,« entgegnete ich. »Aber denken wir an alle die
zurück, denen wir auf der Reise begegnet sind. Wie haben sie sich
gefreut, wenn sie uns helfen konnten, und wie gut haben sie uns
aufgenommen. Gleich zu Anfang hatten wir Habīb Fāris, der uns
geleitete, dann Namrūd und Gablān —«
»Mascha'llah!« fiel Michaïl ein, »Gablān war ein vortrefflicher
Mann. Habe ich doch noch keinen Araber gesehen, der so wenig
gierig war, kaum daß er die Speisen kosten wollte, die ich ihm
vorrichtete.«
»Und Scheich Mohammed en Nassār,« fuhr ich fort, »sein Neffe
Fāris und der Kāimakām von Kal'at el Husn, der alle von uns zwei
Nächte beherbergte und bewirtete. Auch der Kāimakām von
Drekisch — er veranstaltete uns zu Ehren ein Fest — und der
Zaptieh Mahmūd« — hier knurrte Michaïl, denn mit Mahmūd hatte er
auf gespanntem Fuße gestanden — »und Scheich Jūnis« fuhr ich
hastig fort, »aber Mūsa, der Kurde, war doch der Beste von allen.«
Unterer Teil des Garīz.
»Er war ein braver Mann und hat Ew. Exzellenz gut gedient,«
stimmte Michaïl bei.
»Ja sogar Reschīd Agha,« sprach ich weiter, »er war ja ein
Schelm, aber Gastfreundschaft hat er uns doch bewiesen.«
»Hören Sie mich an, Madame,« sprach Michaïl, »ich will Ihnen
die Sache erklären. Der Mensch hat einen beschränkten
Gesichtskreis, er sieht nur, was er sehen will. Mancher sucht nach
Bösem und findet es, ein anderer sucht Gutes, und Gutes findet er.
Einem dritten aber lächelt das Glück, und ihm wird immer, was er
begehrt. Zu diesen gehören Sie, gelobt sei Gott! Und gefalle es Gott,
daß Sie in Frieden weiter ziehen und wohlbehalten in Ihrer Heimat
anlangen, wo Sie Seine Exzellenz, Ihren Vater, Ihre Mutter, all Ihre
Brüder und Schwestern gesund und glücklich antreffen mögen. Und
auch all Ihre Verwandten und Freunde!« fügte er noch bedeutsam
hinzu. »Möchten Sie noch manchesmal Syrien in Frieden und
Sicherheit glücklich durchreisen, das gebe Gott!«
Sarkophag in der Serāya, Antiochien.

»Gott gebe es!« sagte ich.
Register.
A. bedeutet Abbildung.
Abādeh, Stamm 22.
Abana, Fluß 147.
Abbās, Beni 130.
Abbrechen des Lagers A. 73.
'Abd ul Aziz ibn er Raschid 141.
'Abd ul Hamed Pascha Druby 182, 187.
'Abd ul Hamid Beg Rāfi'a Zādeh 192-201.
'Abd ul Kadir, der große Algerier 138, 141, 144.
'Abd ul Kādir el 'Azam 216.
'Abd ul Medjid, kurdischer Zaptieh 203, 204.
'Abd ul Wahhāb Beg 178.
'Abdullah Pascha, der Amīr 138, 142, 144.
Abd ur Rahmān Pascha 231.
Abessinische Priester A. 19.
Abraham, George 323.

Abrasch, Fluß 202.
Abu Kbēsch 211.
Abu Zreik 96.
Abu'l Fīda, Marmorsarkophag zu Hamāh 222.
Adana 261.
Aden 256.
'Adwān, Stamm 16, 23.
'Adwānaraber als Feldhüter. A. 22.
Afrīn, Tal des 280.
'Agēl, Stamm 53;

Lager der, auf der Wanderschaft A. 63.
Agha Chān 189, 225.
Agha, Mohammed 'Ali 300, 301, 302.
Agha, Rifa't, Antiquitätensammlungen 310 bis 312;

Lampe in der Sammlung A. 313.
Agha, Rustum 300, 301, 302.
Ägypten, Herrschaft der Engländer in 54, 55, 56, 221.
Ahmed, Sohn des Gischgāsch 104, 126.
Ain esh Schems 7, 210.
'Aintāb, Missionsschulen 322.

'Ajārmeh, Stamm 14.
Ajlun, Höhen von 16.
'Akaba, Golf von 13.
Akropolis Athens 158.
'Ala, Djebel el 266, 293, 299, 300.
Alāni 303, 304, 307.
Aleppo 62, 162, 214 Anm., 235, 241, 246, 251, 252, 255, 257, 260,
283;
Burg 259, A. 253.
Alexander der Große 233, 324.
Alexandretta 255, 256, 260, 262, 323, 324.
Alexandria 232.
'Al Herdeh, Dorf 224, 225.
'Ali id Diāb ul 'Adwān, Sultan ibn 16.
Ali, Behamed, persischer Prophet 143.
'Ali, Mohammed, Pascha von Aleppo 143, 258.
'Ali Pascha, Amīr 138, 141.
Allāt 91.
Altsyrische Inschriften 282.

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Employment Relations Theory &

Practice 4th Ed. 4th Edition Mark Bray

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Copyright © 2017. McGraw-Hill Australia. All rights reserved.

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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Cover design: Simon Rattray

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Part 2 The parties 80

Part 3 Processes 274

Part 4 Outcomes 416

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PART ONE: Theory and context 2

Chapter 1 What is employment relations? 4

Chapter 2 The study of employment relations:

Explaining patterns of employment relations 39 Challenges and twists: Australian car

Chapter 3 The study of employment relations: values 51

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Work Story Summary 72

PART TWO: The parties 80

Chapter 4 The state 82

Chapter 5 Management and employer representatives 133

Business strategies and employment relations 148 Case Study

Chapter 6 Employee representation: unions 180

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Strategies for union renewal 209 Case Study

Chapter 7 Employee representation: non-union 236

PART THREE: Processes 274

Chapter 8 State regulation: minimum standards and awards 276

Delegated regulation through awards 284 Summary 297

Chapter 9 State regulation: EEO, unfair dismissal

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ER News Case Study

Chapter 10 Managerial unilateralism and individual contracting 347

Chapter 11 Collective agreement-making and collective

PART FOUR: Outcomes 416

Chapter 12 Industrial conflict 418

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Case Study Summary 438

Chapter 13 Employment relations and performance 448

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Rae Cooper BA (Hons) (UNSW), PhD (Sydney)

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About the previous authors

∙∙ Donella Caspersz, University of Western Australia ∙∙ Susan Johnston, Victoria University

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To learn more about McGraw-Hill Connect®, visit

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PART ONE: Theory and context

PART TWO: The parties

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PART THREE: Processes

PART FOUR: Outcomes

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PART ONE: Theory and context 2

Chapter 1 What is employment relations? 4

Chapter 3 The study of employment relations: values 51

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PART TWO: The parties 80

Chapter 4 The state 82

Chapter 5 Management and employer representatives 133

Chapter 6 Employee representation: unions 180

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Chapter 7 Employee representation: non-union 236

PART THREE: Processes 274

Chapter 8 State regulation: minimum standards and awards 276

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Chapter 10 Managerial unilateralism and individual contracting 347

PART FOUR: Outcomes 416

Chapter 12 Industrial conflict 418

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Chapter 13 Employment relations and performance 448

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Susie is worried that she’s about to cause a strike!

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