Australian wages policy 1983-90

Abstract

This article reviews Australian wages policy in the period 1983 to 1990. The period can be divided into 3 phases, each characterized by differing environmental and/or political circumstances impinging upon wages policy. The first phase, the period of the wages pause/freeze, ended with the National Wage Case of September 1983 when the Industrial Relations Commission reintroduced wage indexation. Full indexation was the hallmark of the second period, from September 1983 to March 1987. The deteriorating balance of payments situation led to the abandonment of indexation and the search for greater labour flexibility. The period since 1987 has been characterized by a wage regime which has attempted to impose a form of administered flexibility.