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Labour and megaprojects: Rethinking productivity and industrial relations policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Bradon Ellem Open the ORCID record for Bradon Ellem [Opens in a new window]
Bradon Ellem*
Affiliation:
The University of Sydney Business School, Australia
*
Bradon Ellem, Work and Organisational Studies, The University of Sydney Business School, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia. Email: bradon.ellem@sydney.edu.au
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Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic has brought industrial relations policy to the centre of attention in many countries. In 2020, the Australian government convened tripartite bodies to address policy in several areas, one being for agreement-making to cover labour on ‘megaprojects’. This initiative revisited criticisms of unions for driving costs up and productivity down on these worksites, the most expensive of which had been Chevron’s Gorgon site, a liquefied natural gas project off the north-west Australian coast. Drawing on four usually siloed literatures – on industrial relations policy, megaprojects, the economic geography of resources and labour process – this article explains concerns about costs, delays and productivity in terms of project work itself. This approach leads to a different understanding of the merits of changing policy to address megaproject’s problems and productivity more broadly.

Keywords

J52J58L71Agreement-makingeconomic geographyindustrial relations policylabourlabour processliquefied natural gasmegaprojectsproductivityunions
Type
Rethinking work organisation and labour relations
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , September 2021 , pp. 399 - 416
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2021

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References

Author’s focus groups and interviews

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Author’s focus group, FG2: Trades-workers, Henderson, 10 April 2014.Google Scholar
Author’s focus group, FG3: Seafarers, Henderson, 11 April 2014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Author’s interview, AMWU: Senior official, Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union, Western Australia, 10 April 2014.Google Scholar
Author’s interview, CFMEU: Senior officials, Construction, Forestry and Mining Union (Construction & General Division), Western Australia, 10 April 2014.Google Scholar
Author’s interview, MUA1: Senior official, Maritime Union of Australia, Western Australia, 9 April 2014.Google Scholar
Author’s interview, MUA2: Senior official, Maritime Union of Australia, Western Australia, 9 April 2014.Google Scholar

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