Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Publication
    Building a `high road' economy? The Employment Relations Act in an International Comparative Perspective
    (Auckland University Press, 2010-07)
    New Zealand’s labour productivity growth has been below the OECD average for the last 30 years (Business New Zealand 2008a) and a consensus has developed between the social partners that this needs to be urgently addressed. Given that there have been two radical reforms of the employment relations framework since 1991, both of which have been presented as part of the solution to New Zealand’s poor productivity performance, this consensus is an admission that both frameworks have failed in delivering on a fundamental policy aim. The Employment Contracts Act 1991 (ECA) was predicted by its supporters to deliver significant productivity growth. Central to these predictions was the belief that trade unions were the primary cause of New Zealand’s poor productivity performance by resisting labour-saving technologies or work reorganisation, introducing demarcations between jobs and engaging in industrial action. Even some union-friendly economic commentators (e.g. Easton 1996) suggested that union-instigated restrictive practices were significant contributors to low productivity and they therefore expected to see productivity growth under the ECA.
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  • Publication
    A survey of employees experiences and attitudes in the New Zealand workplace
    (New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 2000-02) ; ;
    This article presents the results of an employee survey condicted Novermber 1998. The study set out to investigate bargaining trends, contract outcomes and employee opinions on a range of workplace issues. It provides a basis for comparison with similar studies, and highlights various employment issues for further research. Given the small number of random surveys since the introduction of the Employment Contracts Act (ECA), the results of this study make an important contribution to our overall understanding of worker experiences under the new legislation.
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  • Publication
    Equality Law and the Limits of the‘Business Case’ for Addressing Gender Inequalities
    (Edward Elgar, 2012-05-31) ;
    How best to align the interests of society with corporate behaviour has been a contentious issue in the context of gender inequality throughout the 1990s and 2000s. In the UK context, the traditional, rights-based rationale for anti-discrimination law has had to compete with an officially sanctioned ‘business case’ for equality. The business case rests on the premise that addressing gender inequality is good for an organisation’s competitiveness and performance. Gender equality policies and practices, it is argued, can help organisations attract and retain valued employees, understand diverse customer needs, reduce costs associated with staff turnover and low morale, and minimise the reputational and litigation risks of discriminatory behaviour. Organisations can present their progressive policies of this kind as part of a wider agenda to promote corporate social responsibility (CSR).
    Scopus© Citations 3  268
  • Publication
    "Mutually Beneficial Agreements" in the retail sector? The Employment Contracts Act and low-paid workers
    (New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 2000-02)
    This article reports on research on the impact of the Employment Contracts Act on retail workers. The results of the study portray a quite compelling but disturbing accont of employment conditions for retail workers in the lates 1990s. Questions are also raised about the lack of research in the secondary labour market. Despite the concerns of so many about equity in the labour market, why have so few researchers actually set out to test their concerns? The lack of available information about those workers who are most likely to have been adversely affected by the legislation is indicative of the value such workers are accorded in our current society.
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  • Publication
    The secondary labour market and employee protection: Employment relations in New Zealand and Denmark in the 1990s
    (International Employment Relations Association, 2001-03-01) ;
    One of the primary concerns of many academic and social commentators in the field of employment relations throughout the 1990s has been the impact of the Employment Contracts Act 1991 on the more vulnerable segments of the labour market. Prior to its introduction there were predictions that the removal of the Award system and the concomitant breakdown in collectivism would lead to increasing inequality (Brosnan & Rea, 1991; Walsh, 1992). Whether this has been the outcome remains somewhat contentious. While critics of the Act claim it has impacted disproportionately on the secondary labour market (Dannin, 1997; Gosche, 1992; Kelsey, 1995), supporters of the Act have maintained throughout that wages are rising, more people have jobs because of the Act, and many people are satisfied with their contracts (Kerr, 1996, 1997). Max Bradford (1999), the Minister of Labour, asserted in a recent address on industrial relations, that the Act had enabled employers and employees to negotiate mutually beneficial contracts, “while ensuring the outcomes were fair and acceptable to society”.
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