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Reforming The Australian Workplace Through Employee Participation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Russell D Lansbury ,
Edward M Davis  and
David Simmons
Russell D Lansbury
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Relations, University of Sydney; Graduate School of Management, Macquarie University; Australian Centre in Strategic Management, Queensland University of Technology
Edward M Davis
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Relations, University of Sydney; Graduate School of Management, Macquarie University; Australian Centre in Strategic Management, Queensland University of Technology
David Simmons
Affiliation:
Department of Industrial Relations, University of Sydney; Graduate School of Management, Macquarie University; Australian Centre in Strategic Management, Queensland University of Technology
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Abstract

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The past decade witnessed a wide range of industrial relations reforms in Australia. Employee participation and industrial democracy was espoused by the Labor government (1983–96) as a key element in its workplace reform program. It was also embraced by the trade union movement and, to a lesser extent, by leading employers and their associations. A case study of employee participation in the Ford Motor Company is used to illustrate the process of workplace reform in Australia during this period While Ford Australia provides a positive example of workplace change, it is argued that the promise of employee participation has not generally been fulfilled in Australian industry. Contributing factors identified in the paper include economic recession, the decline of trade union membership and a lack of ‘people’ skills in managerial ranks.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , June 1996 , pp. 29 - 45
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1996

Footnotes

*

The authors appreciate the invaluable advice and assistance of Greg Bamber, Mark Shadur, Tom Bramble and Christine Breakspear and the editorial assistance of Kellie Caught and Rene Kienzle. They also would like to thank the managers and employees of Ford and the union representatives that contributed to this study.

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