|
Happiness + Wellbeing at Work Conference 2008
The conference was held on the 25th September in Darling Harbour. Hugh Mackay opened the day with some controversy about the definition of happiness. Hugh stated that he thought that happiness should be redefined to encompass wellbeing. However, Dr Tim Sharp aka Dr Happy was satisfied with the current definition. The day also presented a mix of academic thought from Kathryn Page and practical examples from Adrian Dolling, BMW and Ian Moore, Getronics on the happiness and wellness programs that they have implemented into their own workplaces. The afternoon was rounded off with some workshops presented by John Lang and Chris Taylor who presented some excellent data.
The audience thought that the day was "Brilliant! Thought provoking, interesting, engaging" and "5 stars. Absolutely wonderful."
With such encouragement we would like to present the conference to you again in 2009 but with a slightly different format. We will keep you posted.
T he Hon. Bob Hawke and Dr John Buchanan, Director, Workplace Research Centre
The end of an era: publication of WRC’s ADAM Report ends after 15 years
The release of ADAM Report 55 marks the end of an era of reporting on agreement trends and developments at the WRC, having offered this subscription service since 1993. The WRC was effectively the only remaining non-government based organisation releasing independent and informative data and analysis on agreement making in Australia.
The release of access to agreements data by the Workplace Authority has slowed dramatically and hampered our ability to provide comprehensive coverage of matters raised in agreements in a professional and timely fashion. The data we rely on for producing the quarterly ADAM Report is crucially dependent on the availability and timing of the release of agreements by the government authorities.
On an encouraging note, the new Federal Labor Government has recently announced that it would make data available to "allow researchers, like those at the WRC, to analyse AWAs". Workplace Relations Minister Julia Gillard said that they would in the next year "improve and extend its Workplace Agreements Database", broadening the range of information that is coded from collective agreements and in turn enhance the range of data available for analysis. The WRC plans to use this very rich field of data held by DEEWR for future research – but is unlikely to offer a subscription based service in the foreseeable future.
The WRC still offers its tailored research services on enterprise bargaining and agreement making.
2008 Workplace Research Centre Annual Conference
The Workplace Research Centre’s Annual Conference took place last Friday, 20th June at the Hilton, Sydney.
Key note speaker, The Hon. Julia Gillard highlighted her support for the Workplace Research Centre, "whose research plays such an important part in helping Australians understand workplace relations". Click here to read the Hon. Julia Gillard's speech.
The conference was a great success and we have received some wonderful feedback about the variety and insights provided by our speakers.
Thank you to all those who attended and participated on the day.
|
16th Annual Labour Law Conference
The Workplace Research Centre’s and Sydney Law School's Labour Law Conference was held on Friday, 15th August at the Hilton, Sydney.
The Hon Bob Hawke opened the day and was followed by some of Australia's leading labour law and IR practitioners.
The topics were varied and comprehensive and at some times controversial!
We appreciated the great attendance on the day!
The Hon. Julia Gillard MP and Dr John Buchanan, Director, Workplace Research Centre
|
|
Remaking Industrial Relations: A Unique Opportunity
As the Federal Government drafts new industrial relations legislation it is clear that a unique opportunity to shape labour law is present. The Remaking Industrial Relations Forum, held on 16th June in Sydney, brought together leading Australian industrial relations and labour law researchers and policy practitioners to debate the fundamental question ‘what should an industrial relations system seek to achieve in contemporary Australia, and how can we get there?’ The Forum was based on the recent issue of the Economic and Labour Relations Review which included plenary papers from important figures in labour law who had previously led comprehensive reviews of industrial relations. The main speakers at the conference included Professors Margaret Gardner, John Niland, Keith Hancock and Fred Hilmer, as well as Murray Wilcox QC. State IR department heads also spoke about their experiences under changing IR systems.
Professor Gardner noted that the current situation presented a ‘Higgins Moment’ in which ‘we can lay down a new base of a system that should serve for many decades’. While there was much debate on exactly what a new system should look like there was consensus on two key points: that the current opportunity to build a fair IR system should not be wasted and that the new IR system shouldn’t be vulnerable to the political whims of the Government of the day. |
Professors Keith Hancock,
Margaret Gardner and John Niland
Murray Wilcox QC, Dr Brigid van Wanrooy, Ass Prof. Peter Sheldon, Dr John Buchanan, Prof. Joellen Riley
|
