Authors
James Reveley
Publication date
1997/9
Journal
Journal of Industrial Relations
Volume
39
Issue
3
Pages
369-387
Publisher
Sage Publications
Description
New Zealand's programmes of waterfront reform, and of labour market deregula tion through the Employment Contracts Act 1991, have both attracted considerable attention from state reformers and organised business interests in Aus tralia. This article examines the combined effects of these legislative interventions on employment relations on the waterfront, and sounds a note of warning to tbose wbo seek to emulate the New Zealand experience. It argues that the causes and consequences of the process of waterfront labour reform can only be understood in the context of the historic effects of tbe 'bureau' system of labour administration, the scheme that regu lated the employment of watersiders for almost fifty years. While the abolition of this scheme in 1989, together with award restructuring, has increased the efficiency of New Zealand ports, recent moves by employers to increase labour flexibility' using the …
Total citations
Scholar articles
J Reveley - Journal of Industrial Relations, 1997