Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Leading Australian Business

AIRC Industrial Dispute Resolution Conference

– International Perspectives

Melbourne – 3 October 2007Peter Anderson

ACCI Director – Workplace Policy

• Australian peak council of employer organisations

• Lead employer voice in national policy, conciliation and arbitration

• International representative of Australian employers on labour matters (e.g. IOE, ILO, CAPE) and trade matters (BIAC-OECD, ICC, CACCI)

ACCI

Content

• Australia’s dispute record

• Types of disputes

• Dispute subject matters

• Mechanisms for resolution

• Business objectives

• Disputes and arbitration

• Disputes and conciliation

• Disputes and mediation

• Disputes and bargaining

• Disputes and International Standards

Australia’s dispute record

• strikes historically low

• 0.8 days lost / ‘000 employees

• last 12 months – reduced 243,000 working days lost to 88,400

Types of disputes

• human resource disputes / conflicts (individual)

• rights disputes (usually individual)

• interest disputes (collective and individual)

Dispute Subject Matters

• higher wages / wages owed

• hours / rosters

• leave

• people /management

• workloads

• promotion / transfer

• discipline

• termination

• redundancy

• discrimination

• outsourcing

• health / safety

• unionism

• privacy

• insolvency

Mechanisms for Resolution• courts / judicial bodies• arbitrators• conciliators• mediators• industry dispute panels• corporate grievance processes / panels• informal internal processes• direct human relationships• negotiation / bargaining processes• strikes• government regulators / agencies• the labour market

Business Objectives

• efficiency, relevance, practicality, non intrusiveness, not self creating

• appropriate dispute resolution (contrast – alternative dispute resolution)

Disputes and arbitration

• compulsory arbitration abolished (except dismissals)

• not resulted in increased disputes

• voluntary / private arbitration provided for

• compulsory conciliation abolished (except

dismissals)

• not resulted in increased disputes

• voluntary / private conciliation provided for

• involves notion of mediation

Disputes and conciliation

Disputes and mediation

• government sponsored system of private mediation

• limited utility

Disputes and bargaining

• cultural shift – enterprise focus

• ongoing internal forums, committees

• driven in part by health and safety dialogue

• recognition of ‘independent facilitators’ for

collective bargaining

• recognition that a ‘negotiated agreement is

to be preferred to an imposed solution’

• recognition of representative organisations

Disputes and International Standards

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Leading Australian Business

AIRC Industrial Dispute Resolution Conference

– International Perspectives

Melbourne – 3 October 2007Peter Anderson

ACCI Director – Workplace Policy