TY - JOUR
T1 - Reinforcing managerial prerogative in the Australian Public Service during the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Roles, Cameron
AU - Ananth, Sukanya
AU - O’Donnell, Michael
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2022/3
Y1 - 2022/3
N2 - Over several decades Liberal-National Governments have encouraged Australian Public Service (APS) employers to uphold managerial prerogative by offering individual employment arrangements to employees. During the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Morrison Liberal-National Government’s Workplace Bargaining Policy reinforced this agenda. In place of collective bargaining, APS agency heads were encouraged to determine pay rises and new employment conditions for employees using Section 24 of the Public Service Act (PS Act) 1999. Workplace determinations did not need to be negotiated with public sector unions and some 85,500 employees across 57 APS agencies, or approximately 63% of the APS workforce, had accepted pay increases via workplace determinations by 31 December 2020. The widespread adoption of workplace determinations in the APS poses significant challenges for public sector unions and for the future of APS collective bargaining. JEL Codes: J21, J45, J53, K31.
AB - Over several decades Liberal-National Governments have encouraged Australian Public Service (APS) employers to uphold managerial prerogative by offering individual employment arrangements to employees. During the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Morrison Liberal-National Government’s Workplace Bargaining Policy reinforced this agenda. In place of collective bargaining, APS agency heads were encouraged to determine pay rises and new employment conditions for employees using Section 24 of the Public Service Act (PS Act) 1999. Workplace determinations did not need to be negotiated with public sector unions and some 85,500 employees across 57 APS agencies, or approximately 63% of the APS workforce, had accepted pay increases via workplace determinations by 31 December 2020. The widespread adoption of workplace determinations in the APS poses significant challenges for public sector unions and for the future of APS collective bargaining. JEL Codes: J21, J45, J53, K31.
KW - Individualisation
KW - collective bargaining
KW - managerial prerogative
KW - public sector unions
KW - workplace determinations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85124907165&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/10353046221077715
DO - 10.1177/10353046221077715
M3 - Article
SN - 1035-3046
VL - 33
SP - 18
EP - 36
JO - Economic and Labour Relations Review
JF - Economic and Labour Relations Review
IS - 1
ER -