Whatever happened to second tier ettlements? A survey of settlements under the Labour Relations Act 1987

Abstract

The Labour Relations Act 1987 provides a Package that will enable employers to effectively dismantle the system of national awards should they so desire. Such employers will no doubt use the provisions of the Act that restrict unions to a single set of negotiations for any group of workers thus effectively eliminating secondary bargaining as we have known it. This research examines what has happened to second tier settlements in the 1987/88 wage round. It is concluded that this wage round has been very much treated as a transitional round as far as wage bargaining is concerned. New rules effectively eliminating secondary bargaining have been widely ignored by unions and employers alike as both groups grapple with difficult decisions about the future of wage bargaining. Old practises have been informally continued in many industries. There is some evidence however that the maintenance of the nationui award system in future wage rounds will present significant problems for some unions.