Case Study: Workplace Relations Reforms under Howard Government

This case study focuses on the Workplace Relations Reforms implemented by the Howard Government in Australia. The assignment begins with an introduction to the reforms, which aimed to restructure workplace relations through a two-tier system. It outlines the objectives of the reforms, including promoting compliance with employment law, simplifying dispute resolution, and ensuring efficient service. The case study then presents a detailed chronology of events, starting from the 2004 federal election and following the development of the Work Choices legislation. Key milestones include parliamentary debates, ministerial statements, and reactions from various stakeholders, such as academics, unions, and employer groups. The chronology highlights the government's efforts to garner support and address concerns, culminating in the passage of the Work Choices Act in December 2005 and its implementation in March 2006. The assignment concludes with a summary of the reforms and an annotated bibliography. This case study offers valuable insights into public management and industrial relations during the Howard government's tenure.

Running head: PUBLIC MANAGEMENT IN PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICES
Case Study: Workplace Relations Reforms
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Second Assignment
Case Study
Introduction:
The assignment focuses on a case study based on specific case of public management
reform under the Howard Government. The case study is based on Workplace Relations Reforms
put forward by Howard. The Workplace Relations Reforms represents a program that puts
forward a two-tier structure of workplace relations through merging the activities of National
Employment Rights Authority, the Equality Tribunal, the Labor Relations Commissions,
function of Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Labor Court into a Workplace Relations
Commission(WRC) (Hall, 2006). The case study also puts forward the matters in a chronological
order along with an annotated bibliography.
Discussion:
Workplace Relations Reforms
The general objectives of Workplace Relations Reform depends on delivering an
excellent workplace relations based on the framework of service and employment rights that
helps in serving the needs of not only the employers but also the employees thereby providing a
maximum value for the money(Poole, 2013).
However, the specific objectives include:
 Promotion of maximum compliance with the employment law
 Putting forward a single authoritative information source on law of employment
 Helping the employers and employees in understanding their respective obligations and
rights

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 Ensuring access to the services within reasonable timeframe
 Simplifying navigation and access to the dispute resolution process of employment
 Ensuring resolving of the disputes and grievances closer to the workplace
 Resolving of the workplace disputes and grievances in no time
 Ensuring an effective and credible enforcement inspection regime based on risk
 Ensuring an accessible, simple, independent, timely and fair adjudication
 Ensuring an accessible, independent, fair and timely appeal
The reforms were undertaken for improving the customer service in light of backlogs,
acknowledgement of complexity and delays in resolution of the disputes and grievances (Stewart
& Kringas, 2003). This helped in providing a greater value for the money of taxpayers in context
of the present fiscal constraints and rationalization of the institutions in light of the public service
reform agenda of the government.
The coalition government of Australia led by Howard introduced Workplace Relations
Amendment in the year 2005 (Mendes, 2009). There were around 337 government amendments
for the 685-page bill accepted by the senate. The House of Representatives passed the Bill in the
on 7 December 2005. Royal Assent given to the bill on December 2005 and it became effective
as the Workplace Relations Act with respect to all the schedules from the 27 March2006.
The table shows the chronology in the developments of the policy that led to work
choices legislation starting from Federal election of October2004 along with mentioning the
subsequent developments.
Chronology:

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Milestone
s
Details

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October 9,
2004
John Howard reelected for the fourth time in Federal election
November
16, 2004
In the opening speech of 41st parliament, the governor general made
a statement that the fourth term of the government will help in
accelerating reforms of the work place relations that would not only
raise the Australian living standards but also the productivity
(Hodgson-Johnston, 2015). Pursuit of a strategic package will take
place that would help in promoting the objective.
January
25, 2005
The House of the Representatives including the Standing Committee
on the Employment, Workforce Participation and Workplace
Relations were asked by the Minister Andrews for outlining the state
of the play through independent contracting along with the labor hire
role existing in the economy(McAdam, 2013)
March 30,
2005
Government released a paper of discussion that outlined the
provisions that it considers including labor and contractor hire
legislation.
April
11,2005
Prime Minister John Howard defended the plans of the government
in establishing a unitary industrial relations (IR) system, after labeled
as centralist by the critics.
May 26,
2005
The Prime Minister (PM) made a ministerial statement in House of
the Representatives thereby outlining the content and the shape of
the proposed reforms of the workplace relations.
June 16,
2005
President, Justice Giudice of American International Recruitment
Council (AIRC) said at an IR (International Relations) Conference

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that the reform proposals of workplace relations put forward by the
PM s holds enormous significance in the political perspective
because of the debates at the federal and level (Altbach & Reisberg,
2015). It also has a legal perspective, because of the involvement of
the questions related to the constitutional law. It also has an
economic perspective, because of the potential affect on the labor
costs, productivity levels and employment. He also points a social
perspective due to the potential of affecting the earned incomes
along with the non-wage benefits.
June 16,
2005
The Governor of the Reserve Bank Ian MacFarlane extended his
support to the Industrial Relations (IR) reform since it helped the
economy in running faster without generation of Inflation (Fenna A.
2013).
June 21,
2005
Close to around 17academics drew a report for the proposed IR
reforms supported by an argument that it would remove the rights of
the employees at work, delivery of the one way flexibility, no
influence on increasing productivity and disadvantageous to the
marginalized workers.
June 21,
2005
Minister Andrews said that he considered changing working week to
40 hours instead of the present 38 hours standard.
July 11,
2005
PM Howard addressed to the Sydney Institute by acknowledging the
fact that his government had the objective of ensuring a radical
revamping of the IR culture that will describe the cultural change as
the vital change made in the labor market (Johnson, 2007). He also
mentioned about the enterprise worker that arrived in the labor

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market of Australia.
July 15,
2005
The older government commences the campaign for countering the
campaign of the Federal Government.
July 15,
2005
The Prime Minister made the announcement for a newer taskforce
thereby communicating the details of the workplace reforms of the
government towards the community of Australia.
August 2,
2005
The Victorian Government said that it would enable protecting
award conditions for over 250,000 public sector workers of the state
based on the IR changes implemented by the Federal Government.
August 3,
2005
The National Farmers Federation (NFF) put forward a warning
mentioning that it does not support the changes as it has left some of
its members worse off (Botterill, 2005). There are family owned
farms excluded from the package unless they are forgoes the tax
benefits by becoming incorporated
August 4,
2005
Prime Minister John Howard said that there have been talks with
NFF for ensuring that the farmers faced with no disadvantages due
to the implementation of the changes.
August 7,
2005
Prime Minister John Howard said that his government would not be
eroding the minimum wages. In addition, the workers changing the
jobs will be allowed to take a contract as per his choice
August 8,
2005
The AIRC provided the workers with the right of requesting to the
variations of the conditions that included an added 12 months of

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additional parental leave, returning to the part time work until the
child reaches the school age, extension of the career leave up to 10
days along with a parental leave of 8 weeks minimum(Edge &
Hoffman 2013).
August 15,
2005
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) presented a
booklet in the parliament that detailed about the actual experiences
of worker under the industrial relations laws put forward by the
Howard Government (Butcher, 2015). The stories of the workers
represents the typical problems faced by the maximum number of
workers as their rights remained threatened by the proposed reforms
17 August
2005
The House of Representatives Employment Committee reported on
the labor contracting and hiring.
August 17,
2005
The termination of the government expressed support for the Senate
inquiry into proposed IR bill.
August 23,
2005
Announcement of new workplace rights advocate by the Victorian
Government for warning the employees against signing any inferior
agreements.
.
August
29, 2005
Research undertaken by Centre for Industrial Relations Research and
Training (ACIRRT) of the University of Sydney pose challenges to
the claim made by Prime Minister Howard that mentions that the
average workers enjoyed 14 percent rise in pay since the year 1998
(Rhodes, 2016)

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August 29,
2005
Prime Minister Howard said that the analysis of ACIRRT analysis
against his claim is essentially flawed.
September
15, 2005
The debate related to the workplace relations is the primary reasons
for the Australians to say that they will undertake changes in the
voting intention at the Federal elections as per the newfound survey
(Dowding, 2013). Moreover, the smaller businesses were keen on
undertaking reforms although the workers feared that it would not
any sort of good for them.
September
20, 2005
Prime Minister Howard said that the upcoming IR laws will remove
award provision which acted as a restriction against the range of the
apprenticeships and determining the trainee wages put forward by
the Australian Fair Pay Commission(AFPC)
September
21, 2005
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) criticized the
changes proposed and claimed that they remove protections that
enabled the apprentices in achieving the wage safety nets and quality
qualifications.
September
21, 2005
The ACTU lodged its national wage claim with AIRC thereby
seeking rise in 4 percent for the lowest paid workers. This will help
in lifting the minimum wage to around $500 in a week.
September
29, 2005
The Prime Minister John Howard proposed a financial assistance
close to $4000 for the workers dismissed unlawfully dismissed after
the passage of the reforms.

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October 9,
2005
Both Minister Andrews and Prime Minister John Howard jointly led
to the announcement of the details of the move of the Australian
Government towards a simpler workplace relations system at a
national level (Neumann & Tavan, 2013).
November
2, 2005
Minister Andrews introduced the Workplace Relations Amendment
Bill 2005 in the House of the Representatives. It included 687 pages
and was an explanatory memorandum consisting of 565 pages.
November
10, 2005
The Trade Union however side stepped the newer system for setting
the minimum increase in the wage by asking the state industrial
commission for awarding a 4 percent rise in the pay in the following
year.
November
22, 2005
The inquiry report of the Senate recommended that the workplace
relations legislations of the Government should convert into a law
and passed by the Parliament. The senators of the non-government
sector however opposed to the Work Choices Bill.
December
7, 2005
The House of the Representatives passed the Work Choices Bill.
Most of the provisions applied from the March 2006. With the
approval of the Royal Assent there would be setting of Fair Pay
Commission along with the obligation faced by smaller businesses
for paying the severance

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December
9, 2005
Prime Minister Howard helped in justifying the absence of the
bargaining rights of the union in the Work Choices that acted as
support for the rights of the minority
December
14 , 2005
Royal Assent is given to the key portions of the Work Choices Act.
This will lead to the establishment of the Fair Pay Commission;
exempt the businesses in employing 15 or fewer from the
redundancy pay; and creation of a national regime that regulated
employment of the school-based trainers and apprentices (Gollan &
Kalfa, 2013). Most of the provisions in the Bill did not come to force
until March 2006.
March 16,
2006
Proclamation of the Work Choices Act to come into effect from 27
March 2006
August
22, 2006
Legislations proposed by the Victorian Government for protecting
the workers of the public sector from the dismissal under the Work
Choices.
April 12,
2007
The Prime Minister Howard put forward a claim that established the
link between the abolition of the unfair dismissal laws and the lower
unemployment under the Work Choices
Conclusion:

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The case study ends by providing a chronological insight into Workplace Relation
Reforms under the Howard government. One can also find a brief description of Workplace
Relations Reforms along with a mention of its objectives.
Annotated Bibliography:
Hall, R. (2006). Australian industrial relations in 2005-The WorkChoices revolution. Journal of
Industrial Relations, 48(3), 291-303.
The Journal describes that during 2005, Industrial relations in the Australian continent
guided by the Work Choices reforms that represented the fundamental recasting of industrial
relations system in the next hundred years.
Poole, M. (2013). Industrial relations: origins and patterns of national diversity (Vol. 4).
Routledge.
The book represents a comparative study of the industrial relations and puts forward an
analysis of a wider range of the phenomena, with view of uncovering the origin of the national
diversity
Stewart, J., & Kringas, P. (2003). Change management—strategy and values in six agencies
from the Australian Public Service. Public Administration Review, 63(6), 675-688.
The review helps in investigating the patterns of the change management of the six
Australian Federal Agencies. The review also shows a number of factors that helps in
contributing to the success.
Mendes, P. (2009). Retrenching or renovating the Australian welfare state: the paradox of the
Howard government's neo‐liberalism. International Journal of Social Welfare, 18(1), 102-110.