Management Employee Relations Paper
The Assignment: The Decline of Formal industrial conflict (strikes etc.) – Why?
Word Length: 2000 – 2500 words
In 1917, when the population of Australia was barely 5 million, there were 4.2 million work days lost to strike action – an all-time record. Today, with a population 5 times bigger, the number of working days lost to strike action hovers between 20,000 and 40,000 per year. The last time more than 1 million days were lost to strikes was in 1974. In reflecting upon the history of industrial disputes in Queensland, and their historic failure to achieve their objectives, Blackwood and Hunt (2009, p. 198) observed:
‘Often, it seems, unions did not take full account of changed industrial and political circumstances. They underestimated the determination of management … More importantly, union leaders frequently misjudged government resolve to end conflict when disputes expanded into strikes which affected the wider economy and community.’
Given the fact that strike days have now sunk to historic lows, can the effective ending of formal industrial action in Australia be explained by management and employer opposition, or are there more fundamental economic and sociological factors at work?
The assignment involves answering the questions given in relation to the above information.
Referencing Style: You should use a recognised referencing system and stick to it. The preference is for either APA in-text referencing or Chicago footnote referencing.
Range of Reading to be Wide: The purpose of the assignment is to encourage students to engage in in depth research. This should involve both SECONDARY SOURCES (i.e. books, journal articles, etc) and PRIMARY SOURCES (i.e. Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey, ABS Characteristics of Employment survey, Australian Council of Trade Union reports, Work Bank Reports, Reserve Bank of Australia reports, Fair Work Commission decisions and research reports, https://www.fwc.gov.au/resources/research etc.). At a minimum, one would expect at least ONE PRIMARY SOURCE and SIX SECONDARY SOURCES will be used. It is expecting that students will explore this information IN DEPTH.
Critical analysis: There is a tendency for students to cite and summarise information uncritically, repeating what one source indicates without critical evaluation of the sources. This leads to people arguing one thing in one paragraph and something totally contrary in the next.
Have a Clear Argument: Essentially you are answering a question or a series of questions, so you need to have this in mind. You should be able to provide an answer to this / these question/s in one or two sentences. A summary of your argument should be found in both the introduction and conclusion.