Are We Headed For A Showdown?
There are two showdowns occupying the minds of Australian employer’s and employee’s this week. Firstly, and of major importance to our community, is the showdown this weekend between the Crows and Power. Of greater significance to the business community however, is the showdown between the Howard Government’s support for WorkChoices and Labor’s opposition to individual contracts and workplace agreements.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently surveyed over 1300 companies, which collectively employ more than 290,000 staff. Interestingly, 76.5% of companies surveyed believe that WorkChoices has been a significant catalyst in the creation of 265,000 jobs in the past year - the fastest rate of jobs growth in the past decade. Add to this, predictions from recruiter Hudson that a third of all employers Nationally, and 44% in South Australia, will increase their staff numbers in the second quarter of 2007, and we have indications that employer confidence is strong, underpinned by a booming economy and the "flexibility" WorkChoices promises.
So where does the showdown exist? On three fronts. Firstly, at the ballot box later this year, where the hearts and minds of ordinary Australians will ultimately determine the future of industrial relations in Australia. Interestingly, a recent News poll indicated that 51% of Australians did not believe WorkChoices was good for the economy.
It is of no surprise that the ALP is polling best in all States with the exception of WA, where an unprecedented mining boom has fuelled expectations of rising wages and asset values. Rightly or wrongly, the community of WA sees the Coalition as more "mining" friendly and WorkChoices as a vehicle whereby workers can share in the enormous wealth being created by the resources boom. With the expansion of Olympic Dam, and a growing list of tenements being prospected in SA, could we follow suit?
Secondly, there is the internal workings of each of the major political parties, where electioneering strategy will often win out over belief, in determining policy. We are already feeling the first winds of change with Kevin Andrews denying at the weekend that the Government is considering restoring workers public holidays and penalty rates for weekend work as well as strengthening redundancy and maternity leave provisions. Conversely, it would appear that Labor’s opposition to personal contracts and AWA’s is also affecting its chances in Western Australia and, the prospect of returning to a centralised wage fixing system, the restoration of unfair dismissal laws and the return of the Industrial Relations Commission to the IR process is not garnering support from business. It is a near certainty that there will be compromise from both parties in the lead up to the election.
So where does all this leave employers? Perhaps the most critical issue that will affect employment arrangements in the future will be the number of people past retirement age, which is set to double in the next 20 years. Flexible working conditions will be needed to attract and retain employees including, from those groups who have been marginalised in the past, particularly women, indigenous and older people. The demands on workers in the future, who will have a dual carer role in looking after the needs of the elderly and children, will need to be understood and managed effectively by employers, as will the complex demands of the "Y" or "Net generation" who expect to be paid on results rather than on a time served basis. A third showdown therefore, is what will ultimately determine the future business success of employers and, this won’t be fought on the current political battleground of industrial relations policy but on the landscape of Australian Businesses ability to respond to the rapid demographic change unfolding in the marketplace.
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