Assessing suspension of protected industrial action in Australian higher education workplaces

The 2012 review of the Fair Work Act 2009 concluded there was no need to amend the provisions that authorise the national industrial tribunal to suspend protected industrial action. By highlighting examples from the Australian higher education sector, it is argued that employers use the relevant provisions to achieve a self-interested advantage in collective bargaining negotiations. Orders to suspend industrial action allow an employer to complete essential aspects of the production process, skewing the bargaining process towards employer interests. Therefore legislative change is needed to more precisely strike a balance between the interests of employees engaged in collective bargaining, management interests, and the interests of the community.