Testing Fair Work: Australian Industrial Relations in 2011

Abstract

Industrial relations in 2011 will be remembered by most observers for the dramatic October grounding of the Qantas fleet of aircraft. This followed a long-running bargaining dispute between unions and Qantas management. These events, while significant, overshadowed a number of other important industrial relations milestones and events. For example, the Australian Service Unions’ Equal Remuneration Case was heard and, for the most part, decided in 2011. Throughout the year, Fair Work Australia decided numerous cases that fleshed out the possibilities of the new Act in a number of important areas, including in relation to collective bargaining. At the same time, employer groups criticized the working of the Act, notably in relation to industrial action and the bargaining provisions. In this context, late in 2011, the (new) minister released the terms of reference for a review of the operation of the Act to be undertaken in the first half of 2012.