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Creating value and mitigating harm: Assessing institutional objectives in Australian industrial relations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Joel E Cutcher-Gershenfeld  and
Joe Isaac
Joel E Cutcher-Gershenfeld*
Affiliation:
Brandeis University, USA
Joe Isaac
Affiliation:
Monash University, Australia
*
Joel E Cutcher-Gershenfeld, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, 415 South Street, Auburndale, MA 02466-1709, USA. Email: joelcg@brandeis.edu
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Abstract

The degree to which legislation on labour relations and other societal institutions creates value and mitigates harm is explored in this article through a framework designed to guide both the authoring and the analysis of objects of such legislation. Creating value and mitigating harm are typically explicit in the objects of public policy and implicit in adjudication, administration and adherence under public policies. Although conceptually distinct, creating value and mitigating harm can be both complementary and detrimental to each other. This article reviews various combinations of legislative objects over more than a century of Australian labour and employment relations policy. The objects examined include the prevention of industrial disputes, the introduction of a social minimum wage, the expansion of enterprise bargaining, expansion or curtailment of tribunal powers by government and other developments. Questions of ‘for whom?’ value is created or harm is mitigated are key. As an inductive study, the article concludes with hypotheses to guide future research, including implications that reach beyond Australia and employment legislation.

Keywords

K31K38M14M52Arbitration and conciliationcreating valueenterprise bargainingincome policyindustry awardsinstitutional workinstitutionslabour policymitigating harm
Type
Industrial Relations Alternatives
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 29 , Issue 2: Symposium: Wage Theft and Minimum Labour Standards Enforcement Part 2 , June 2018 , pp. 143 - 168
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2018

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