1. QIBT
1001EHR Employment Relations
Essay title: The past two decades have seen a transformation, in most
countries, from a traditional Industrial Relations system to a
contemporary Employment Relations one.
With reference to one or two countries of your choice,
discuss whether this statement is correct. Then argue
whether the changes of the past 20 years have resulted in
one of the actors in the employment relationship becoming
more powerful than the others.
When discussing the ER actors (employers, workers, trade
unions, employer associations, the state) you may like to
touch on issues including wage levels, work hours, job
security and job autonomy. You must also include a
theoretical framework, in particular focusing on unitarism or
pluralism.
Class 50
Tutor: Dr Evelyn Anderson
Student name: Alexander Daniel Gonzalez
Student Number: GONAD1403
Due date: 11th
May 2015
Total words (excluding Reference List and Appendix): 1500

2. It is acknowledged that in countries such as Australia and Spain, labour
relations have been modernised. They are trying to be more competitive in this
globalised world, because if it is not achieved, the rivalry against competitors
could finish with the country obsolete. According to Cahuc, Carcillo and
Zylberberg (2014), if managers are properly informed about quality of price of
all the goods and services traded in a particular market, they will work in a
perfect competition (p.153). This paper argues the definition of the pluralism,
unitarism, which are the main actors and their role in each approach.
Additionally, contend the evolution of history in the last 3 decades in Australia
and make a comparison with Spain. Moreover, it will show how employers, in
order to be more competitive, have been gaining territory with unions, which
steadily have been losing steam, and consequently unitarism increased power.
Finally, it will see how this globalised world will not always be adequate,
especially for workers who have to deal with work intensification.
In Industrial Relations, a pluralist perspective is one of the main options. This
approach is closer to the side of the employees. According to Loudoun,
McPhail and Wilkinson (2009) a pluralist perspective is a collectivist approach,
trade unions are encouraged and the State acts as an umpire. This means, that
the employers and employees are the main actors, but unions are welcome as
well as the mediation of the State. They will reach agreements or conciliations.
Pluralism is seen as a representation of employees and an appropriate tool to
resolve problems (Cullinane & Dundon, 2012, p.2575). Conflict is inevitable and
positive, and the unions are the tool to reach agreements with management.
The weaknesses of the pluralist approach is that power is not equally
distributed, ignores class divisions and the cause of conflicts, although the
focus is to resolve it (Loudoun, McPhail & Wilkinson 2009). Workers and
unions can forget who manages the enterprise, and the main goal is to make a
profit because without this, there could not be employees or companies.
Summarizing, this approach could be reasonably good for workers, because
they feel supported, but it has weaknesses, such as forgetting why profits are
necessary for the wellbeing of the companies.
Unitarist is the other approach in employment relationships. This perspective is
the closest approach to the management and is known as Human Resource
Management (HRM). As stated by Fox, unitarism was considered “as an

3. employer ideology: a phenomenon he perceived as an ‘instrument of
legitimisation’ justifying employer rule by seeking to evoke loyalty and
commitment from other social classes” (as cited in Cullinane & Dundon, 2012,
p.2574). Employers use standards seeking the loyalty of employees, being the
only authority and it is based on mutual trust. According to Fox (as cited in
Cullinane & Dundon, 2012, p.2575), under unitarism, going against
management is considered avoidable and extraordinary. HRM approach is
based in mutual trust between employers and employees, avoiding conflict
with proper management. Unions are unwelcome and State unnecessary.
According with Loudoun, McPhail and Wilkinson (2009) the company is going
to correct complications, including conflict. This can be one weakness of this
perspective, because enterprises neglect conflicts and employees interests. In
summary, this approach can be more competitive because managers have the
power of managing the company, but also has errors neglecting needs and
wants of employees.
Historically, trends in Employment Relations have been changing in countries
such as Australia and Spain. In Australia Industrial Relations and in
consequence pluralism had dominated during the 20th century while in Spain
the dictatorship had reduced working conditions to well below the rest of
Europe and developed countries, which has resulted in high rates of
unemployment. According to Gahan and Pekarek (2012), “from the mid-1980s,
however, new wage-fixing principles and legislative changes have paved the
way for enterprise bargaining as the primary mechanism through which wages
and conditions of employment have been determined, evolving towards a
predominance of enterprise-level collective agreements” (p.195). The accord
reached between Australian Council Trade Unions (ACTU) and Labour
government would give employers the capacity to regulate the agreements
and conditions in which employees are going to work, depending on
productivity based wage increases. New neoliberal politics have been changing
gradually from the beginning of the 90s Australia's labour market (Campbell, &
Brosnan, 1999) The new Act 1988 called enterprise bargaining, was an
individualistic approach that it gave an advantage to employers towards
employees. Furthermore, more recently an important part of the safety net
has arisen again, trying to support collective bargaining in reaction to the last
20 years, as awards have decreased in relevance (Gahan & Pekarek, 2012). In
contrast, WorkChoices rose in 2005 reducing the power of unions and

4. Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), which was revised in 2007
and later in 2009 with the "Fair Work Act", (Loudoun, McPhail & Wilkinson
2009). As employers increase power in AIRC, the state had to give certain
peace of mind to the workers, so that companies could not abuse them. But
later, they would establish new laws in 2005, decreasing power of unions and
employees which would return in 2007 and 2009, only in part, because they
were very unpopular and unfair. On the other hand in Spain, as a result of
market reform which was introduced in 1985, 1994,2001 and 2010, and
alerted by high unemployment rates, temporary employment rose, as well as
important reforms in retirement pensions in relation to social protection (de
Frutos, Martinez & Civera, 2015). It is very significant because until this
moment there were no temporary employees in Spain, which employers had
difficulties hiring people in peak season. Additionally, this also denotes that the
new democracy was trying to be in accordance with surrounding developed
countries, and where making efforts in matters of social protection too. In
summary, while in Australia over the past 20 years employers started to
dominate the situation toward global competition and consequently unitarism
approach, Spain still had to do basic reforms to suffocate high unemployment
rates and improve social protection.
Approximately, in the last 3 decades, the unitarist approach has been getting
more control against pluralism in Australia. It means that they are becoming
more powerful and for this reason gaining the battle for the supremacy in
order to benefit themselves in the creation of new laws, agreements or
accords. According to Thornthwaite and Sheldon (2012) the group effort of
employers and their impact on the procedures of work and also on the
conservative coalition governments have contributed much in the evolution of
industrial law since the 1980s (p.255). Considering this connection, it could be
seen that employers can make policies which are favourable for enterprises
and their purposes. Moreover, “while employer associations have not always
shared identical policy visions, at least since the mid 1990s, they have mostly
shared a commitment to gaining for employers” (Thornthwaite & Sheldon
2012, p.256), which has resulted in declining of union influence in Australian
companies and economy (Thornthwaite & Sheldon 2012, p.256). In contrast,
Peetz (2012) stated that even if conditions in some companies were improved,
the manoeuvre from multiemployer to single-enterprise, it is clear that unions
were not ready effectively decrease union power (p.237). Employers'

5. associations have maintained a common interest, achieved the weakening of
unions and reduced intervention in mediation of conflicts, with the hope that
more employers enlist, and support economics in general. Links between
achievements, improvements and rewards on measurements and efforts have
expanded in the last 20 years (Patrickson & Hartmann, as cited in Shacklock
2005, p.5). This made a clear connexion between wages, performance and
benefits for workers, in which work intensification started to play a decisive
role in matters of employment relations, being clearly beneficial for employers.
Definitely, Australians employers were gaining better position in order to be
more competitive.
Unitarist approach is gaining power Spain. Gradually, employers are taking the
control in labour relations. According to Arranz, Serrano y Herranz (2013), if
legislative tools had been used properly, outcomes would have been better.
Considering the assessment of the changes in relation to working conditions,
results suggest that permanent contracts had no remarkable effects, neither
did temporary employment, which result in unions loss of trust. However, they
had a sensible reaction regarding transitions from unemployment to
employment, and from temporary to permanent, especially from 1997 work
policy changes (Arranz et. al. 2013). Therefore, it is clear that employers tried
to use State support, as Spain had a long way to reach a good employment
situation, and all these attempts to improve and support employers, were not
strong enough in the exact direction, and still greater efforts are required,
therefore more support for employers could be required. Spanish workers
have been treated worse due to the country’s economic crisis which creates an
allegiance to the employer in the face of poor job security. Grau-Grau (2013),
stated that level of Work Family Conflict (WFC) was affected by work
intensification in economic crisis time (p.591). Therefore, the term WFC has
increased due to more hours of work, and in consequence more stress in
workers. Clearly, Spanish employers still dealing with State policies in order to
gain better conditions for hiring employees, but still gaining power against
pluralist approach.
In conclusion the changes in the last 30 years were not beneficial for
employees because although it is called employment relation, the trend is
going toward unitarism. Obviously modernisation has prejudicially affected

6. workers. Moreover, the study shows how enterprises, trying to be more
aggressive, have not had any courtesy for workers and their unions. In
addition, employees and their unions have become weaker, with a higher
demand for productivity and dynamism. Additionally, unionism has slightly
decrease in the number of affiliated members. Finally, it has been shown how
Spain, being a country more fragile compared with Australia, has suffered
more from these modernisations, and also the result of the world financial
crisis.

7. REFERENCES
Arranz, J. M., Serrano, C. G., & Hernanz, V. (2013). Active labour market
policies in Spain: A macroeconomic evaluation. International Labour
Review, 152(2), 327-0_5.
Cahuc, P., Garcillo, M., & Zylberberg, A. (2014). Labor economic.
Massachusetts, MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Campbell, I., & Brosnan, P. (1999). Labour market deregulation in Australia:
The slow combustion approach to workplace change. International
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Cullinane, N., & Dundon, T. (2014). Unitarism and employer resistance to trade
unionism. International Journal of Human Resource Management,
25(18), 2573-2590.
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579-593.
Loudoun, R., McPhail, R., & Wilkinson, A. (2009). Introduction to Employment
Relations (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.
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bargaining. Labour & Industry, 22(3), 237-254.
Shacklock, K., Herring; S., & Arthur, H. (2005). The ageing workforce: Ethical
implications for HRM Practitioners. Griffith Business School, 1-16.

8. Thornthwaite, L., & Sheldon, P. (2012). Employer and employer association
experiences of enterprise bargaining: Being careful what you wish for?
Labour & Industry, 22(3), 255-274.