Place, Scale and Employment Relations in Australia: Enterprise Agreements and Individual Contracts in the Coal and Finance Industries. This study will explore the spatial (geographical) content of workplace agreements. It will probe underlying processes of how unions and management in the coal and finance industries use inherent geographical dimensions to influence and shape industrial relations. Overcoming the spatial-blindness that has pervaded industrial relations research to enhance underst ....Place, Scale and Employment Relations in Australia: Enterprise Agreements and Individual Contracts in the Coal and Finance Industries. This study will explore the spatial (geographical) content of workplace agreements. It will probe underlying processes of how unions and management in the coal and finance industries use inherent geographical dimensions to influence and shape industrial relations. Overcoming the spatial-blindness that has pervaded industrial relations research to enhance understanding of new employment mechanisms and their implications for the future is imperative. Significant conceptual advance will be achieved by integrating core concepts from labour geography with notions of industrial relations decentralisation and practices that preference individualism over collectivism.Read moreRead less
Implications of Emerging Forms of Labour Management in Transitional Economies for Households Livelihood Strategies: China and Vietnam. This project aims to (1) investigate institutional changes to labour management during the economic transitions of China and Vietnam and (2) analyse their impact on the livelihood strategies of households. The research will be based on a large interview study of officials, managers and workers in the TCF and electronics industries in four cities. The project wi ....Implications of Emerging Forms of Labour Management in Transitional Economies for Households Livelihood Strategies: China and Vietnam. This project aims to (1) investigate institutional changes to labour management during the economic transitions of China and Vietnam and (2) analyse their impact on the livelihood strategies of households. The research will be based on a large interview study of officials, managers and workers in the TCF and electronics industries in four cities. The project will contribute details about China and Vietnam to the theoretical literature about the management of labour and the relations between restructuring / transition and gender at work. The project will inform policy makers, businesses, nongovernment groups and academics about the social implications of transition.Read moreRead less
The reality of China's socialist market economy: the emergence of labour segmentation and inequality. Australia's current regional and economic security is predicated on China's stability and prosperity. This project provides a unique opportunity for Australian organisations and institutions to gain a better understanding of the complex economic, regulatory and social issues that surround the problem of labour segmentation and inequality in China.
How migration reshapes labour markets: a study of professional service firms. Australia needs skilled migration to maintain its economic growth and replenish its skill base as the population ages. It needs the skills of migrant accountants. This project will identify the barriers migrants face when seeking work in the financial services industry and discover how migration is changing the financial services labour market.
Casual Employees and Trade Union Representation in Australia: An analysis of channels and barriers to effective trade union representation. This study aims to describe and explain the barriers and channels to effective representation of casual workers in Australian unions, using analysis of ABS data, a survey of casual workers, semi-structured interviews with union officials, and case-studies of union campaigns. The study offers an innovative multi-disciplinary framework for analysis of two of t ....Casual Employees and Trade Union Representation in Australia: An analysis of channels and barriers to effective trade union representation. This study aims to describe and explain the barriers and channels to effective representation of casual workers in Australian unions, using analysis of ABS data, a survey of casual workers, semi-structured interviews with union officials, and case-studies of union campaigns. The study offers an innovative multi-disciplinary framework for analysis of two of the most significant and interlocking trends affecting Australian workplaces: the growth of casual work and the decline of union influence. Outcomes will include published contributions to the international academic literature on labour restructuring and union renewal and a policy-oriented discussion paper for an Australian audience.Read moreRead less
Employment Relations in Indonesia’s Commercial Fishing Industry. This project aims to investigate the role of the state, supply chain actors and activists in protecting commercial fishers' labour rights in Indonesia, the world’s third-largest source of marine catches and its largest archipelagic state. This multi-scalar study will generate new knowledge about employment relations at sea. Expected outcomes include a conceptualisation of employment relations that better accommodates fishers and wo ....Employment Relations in Indonesia’s Commercial Fishing Industry. This project aims to investigate the role of the state, supply chain actors and activists in protecting commercial fishers' labour rights in Indonesia, the world’s third-largest source of marine catches and its largest archipelagic state. This multi-scalar study will generate new knowledge about employment relations at sea. Expected outcomes include a conceptualisation of employment relations that better accommodates fishers and workers in other non-standard occupations. The project’s findings will benefit governments, global supply chain actors and labour activists by helping them to identify and overcome impediments to more effective regulation of employment relations and work to reduce labour exploitation in commercial fishing globally.Read moreRead less
Working the gig economy: The organisation of digital platform work. This project aims to reveal the characteristics, motivations and relationships between the three central entities which comprise digital platform work: companies which organise work of different skill and scale in the gig economy; end-user individuals and enterprises; and digital platform workers themselves. This project investigates the organisation of platform work from the perspective of both workers and the intermediaries th ....Working the gig economy: The organisation of digital platform work. This project aims to reveal the characteristics, motivations and relationships between the three central entities which comprise digital platform work: companies which organise work of different skill and scale in the gig economy; end-user individuals and enterprises; and digital platform workers themselves. This project investigates the organisation of platform work from the perspective of both workers and the intermediaries they use to find work. Expected outcomes will contribute g to knowledge of workforce transitions and shifting work/home boundaries This has the potential to informeffective policy responses to platform work with respect to labour law, superannuation regulation, organisational policy and social welfare regimes.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170101060
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$323,000.00
Summary
Employer strategies for developing a skilled workforce. This project aims to discover why employers use particular strategies when sourcing skills and whether these strategies benefit their workers.Addressing employer skills needs expediently is imperative for productivity and national prosperity. Employers’ strategies have profound implications for the workforce and the Australian labour market, particularly at a time of rising unemployment. This project will study why employers increasingly ‘b ....Employer strategies for developing a skilled workforce. This project aims to discover why employers use particular strategies when sourcing skills and whether these strategies benefit their workers.Addressing employer skills needs expediently is imperative for productivity and national prosperity. Employers’ strategies have profound implications for the workforce and the Australian labour market, particularly at a time of rising unemployment. This project will study why employers increasingly ‘buy’ skills externally, through recruitment and sponsored immigration, rather than ‘build’ skills internally through employee development strategies. Understanding how immigration and domestic policy mechanisms addressing employer and labour market needs is expected to inform policy development on this vital issue.Read moreRead less
Employment Relations Practices and Business Outcomes in a Chain of Hotels. We will investigate links between organisational behaviour and business outcomes by using employment-relations key performance indicators (KPIs). This is significant as we will develop such KPIs (building on the balanced score card approach) and evaluate the practices of Accor, a chain of hotels in Australia. Later, we will conduct international collaboration to draw international comparisons too. This research is valuabl ....Employment Relations Practices and Business Outcomes in a Chain of Hotels. We will investigate links between organisational behaviour and business outcomes by using employment-relations key performance indicators (KPIs). This is significant as we will develop such KPIs (building on the balanced score card approach) and evaluate the practices of Accor, a chain of hotels in Australia. Later, we will conduct international collaboration to draw international comparisons too. This research is valuable because hotels are important employers, especially in regional areas. The results should contribute to debates about high-performance work systems. We should be able to help to improve the quality of working lives, organisational performance, business outcomes, competitiveness and job opportunities.Read moreRead less
Human resource information systems (HRIS) and the strategic significance of the human resource function. A large number of Australian organisations have invested in computer based HRIS. Used effectively, HRIS can allow HR to realise its strategic potential and to contribute to improved organisational performance. This project will contribute to the national research priority on frontier technologies, by enhancing understanding of the conditions that allow for smart information use, thereby contr ....Human resource information systems (HRIS) and the strategic significance of the human resource function. A large number of Australian organisations have invested in computer based HRIS. Used effectively, HRIS can allow HR to realise its strategic potential and to contribute to improved organisational performance. This project will contribute to the national research priority on frontier technologies, by enhancing understanding of the conditions that allow for smart information use, thereby contributing to the nation's economic competitiveness.Read moreRead less