Abstract
In April 2005, the federal Coalition government released details of the Higher Education Workplace Relations Requirements (HEWRRs), promoting the principles of flexibility and individualisation for the workplace relations system of the Australian higher education sector. In line with their broader reform agenda, the rationale for the HEWRRs is the removal of the alleged 'one-size-fits-all' approach to agreement making within the universities. Through analysis of the substantive outcomes (pay, leave entitlements and working conditions) of 10 Australian university collective agreements, this paper challenges this assertion. While there are many similarities with the terms of employment detailed in the agreements, we found little evidence to support the contention that university management lacks flexibility in the determination of an individual's academic work, and thus the justification for the HEWRRs is questioned.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | 21st Century Work - High Road or Low Road? Proceedings of the 20th Conference of the Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand. Volume 1. Refereed papers |
| Publisher | University of South Australia |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISBN (Print) | 0868035459 |
| Publication status | Published - 2006 |
| Event | Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand. Conference - Duration: 1 Jan 2009 → … |
Conference
| Conference | Association of Industrial Relations Academics of Australia and New Zealand. Conference |
|---|---|
| Period | 1/01/09 → … |
Keywords
- universities and colleges
- Australia
- employees
- collective bargaining
- industrial relations
- academics