Andrew Stewart, Jim Stanford and Tess Hardy (eds) : The Wages Crisis in Australia: What it is and what to do about it

Book review: This edited collection draws on a diverse range of expert and stakeholder contributions, to provide potential answers to Australia's ongoing wages crisis. The collection is organised into five parts. The first establishes the evidence of wage growth slowdown, located within a global context and Australia's multiple systems of employment regulation. The second part examines the history and present composition of wage setting, highlighting such issues as entrenched gender inequities, declining unionism and public sector wage caps. In the third part, the contributors illustrate how predatory business models and the 'fissuring' of employment have generated worker insecurity and low wages. The book's fourth part presents several stakeholder perspectives on the origins of wage stagnation and possible solutions, demonstrating the need for integrated policies and planning. In the final section, the editors draw on the various contributions to delineate their own reform agenda, emphasising stronger regulation and a greater role for government, including public sector wage rises as a catalyst for general growth. Published by University of Adelaide Press: Adelaide, SA, Australia, 2018. ISBN (pbk) 978- 1-925261-82-0. ISBN (ebook) 978-1-925261-83-7, AUD$60 (available as free download from www.adelaide.edu.au/press), pp. 328+xiv.