Myths and realities: a critical expose of older workers and industrial relations reforms in Australia
Paper
Paper/Presentation Title | Myths and realities: a critical expose of older workers and industrial relations reforms in Australia |
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Presentation Type | Paper |
Authors | Kossen, Chris (Author) and Pedersen, Cec (Author) |
Editors | Kennedy, Jessica and Di Milia, Lee |
Journal or Proceedings Title | Proceedings of the 20th Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference (ANZAM 2006) |
Number of Pages | 18 |
Year | 2006 |
Place of Publication | Australia |
ISBN | 1921047348 |
Web Address (URL) of Paper | http://www.anzam.uts.edu.au/events.htm |
Conference/Event | 20rd Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference (ANZAM 2006) |
Event Details | 20rd Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference (ANZAM 2006) Parent Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management Conference Delivery In person Event Date 06 to end of 09 Dec 2006 Event Location Yeppoon, Australia |
Abstract | A decisive 2004 fourth term win for the Howard Government and control over the Senate provided the Australian government with a strong mandate to further deregulate the labour market in the name of ‘flexibility’. This conceptual paper uses a critical perspective to challenge the wisdom of neo-liberal market economics as the driving force behind the rapid expansion of non-traditional ‘flexible’ forms of work and argues that this kind of divestment strategy can produce negative long term consequences including under utilisation of labour and skill shortages stemming from a lack of investment in human capital. In the context of an ageing workforce and predictions that labour shortages are set to intensify long into the future, the Howard Government have adopted modest measures designed to counter age based discrimination and encourage workforce participation by older workers. However, it is also argued that the Government’s labour market deregulation policies are reducing the availability of jobs that provide sufficient working conditions and remuneration to make workforce participation attractive to many of those not working. The erosion of employment conditions associated with a reformed ‘flexible’ workforce leads to underemployment and other employment outcomes that often fail to meet the needs of disadvantaged groups in the labour market. Recent research has shown that workforce participation rates among mature age workers in Australia have remained one of the lowest among OECD countries. However, the Government has recently begun embarking on reforms that appear to provide genuine incentives aimed specifically at attracting workforce participation among older workers. |
Keywords | older workers; ageism/agist stereotypes; labour market deregulation; industrial relations reform; workforce flexibility; human capital investment |
Related Output | |
Is identical to | Older workers in Australia: the myths, the realities and the battle over workforce 'flexibility' |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 350504. Industrial and employee relations |
440709. Public policy | |
440305. Population trends and policies | |
Public Notes | File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author. |
Byline Affiliations | School of Humanities and Communication |
Department of Management and Organisational Behaviour |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/9xz68/myths-and-realities-a-critical-expose-of-older-workers-and-industrial-relations-reforms-in-australia
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