The Theoretical Assumptions of the Newly Elected Australian Government Bring to Employment - Case Study Example

The Theoretical Assumptions the Newly Elected Australian Government Bring to Employment Relations Since time immemorial, governance systems have had to deliberate on employment relations. Ever since the industrial revolutions, employees and employers have been in constant negotiations seeking to alleviate living standards. The central intention underpinning these conclusive negotiations is the fact that, employees are a significant player in a country’s economy. They form a substantive economic cycle and the government have to adhere to their concerns. Industrial negotiations form an amicable agreement between the expected pay and the output. It is worth noting that there has to be a focal point between the negotiations to ensure that conflict situations do not arise. Australia is a democratic republic availing elective powers to its citizens. Recently, the country undertook the federal obligation to elect a premier as stipulated by their constitution. Tony Abbott the leader of the liberal party clinched the country leadership after vehement trials in the past. Tony Abbott has a substantive past in the political arena since his inception in the early 1990s. In 2010, during the previous elections, Tony Abbott was among the many contenders who failed to clinch the leadership position then. In any democratic election, partisan politics among other attributes take the center stage as aspirant’s woe the electorate. Things were not any different in the Australian scenario and through political manifestos, the liberal party, and other aspirants promised the Australian populace several achievements (Harley, 2012). It is prudent to evaluate what the promises forwarded by the liberal party if achieved will deliver to the current industrial relations. It is notable that, the Premier, Tony Abbott has been at the helm of affairs as the minister for employment. In 1998 to 2001, Tony Abbott was the minister for employment services. During this period, the minister oversaw the expansion of the work for the Dole as well as the development of the job network. Consequently, from 2001 to 2003, tony Abbott was mandated the honors of heading the employment and work relations ministry. This ministry directly deals with industrial relations seeking to deliberate on salient reforms to the betterment of the workforce. During his tenure, Tony Abbott significantly boosted the construction industry productivity through innumerable dimensions including the establishing of the Cole Royal Commission (Tony Abbott, 2013). There are a number of theories derived with the intent of defining an array of employment relations. The theories are enacted in accordance with the stipulations of the current regime governing a populace. First, there is the unitarist theory of industrial relations. The theory emphasizes on the importance of co-dependency between employees and employers. According to the unitarist perspective, the workplace should be a collaborative environment with a conducive atmosphere that harnesses productivity. It is worth noting that the unitarists do not favor the presence of trade unions (Spicer, 2013). This principle emanates from the fact that, in the instance employees pledge their loyalty to such an organization, it would detract the level of loyalty they bestow on their employers. In eventuality, the presence of employee unions would have an adverse effect on the bond between employers and employees. Secondly, there is the pluralist theory. According to the fundamentalists that propagated this theory, the presence of employees union improves the employment negotiations in a country. The pluralist’s have it that the presence of employees unions in an organization reinforce management responsibilities by availing a stable collective bargaining platform. According to the pluralists, organizations having a stable union are legitimate as they can enforce better employment relations negating instances of vindication or exploitation. This is because of the fact that, the primary goal of entrenching an employee union is to ensure that the management desists from over stepping their boundary. Thirdly, there is the radical theory commonly confused with the Marxist industrial relations theory. The radical theory asserts that the presence of unions and industrial relations is necessary but not ideal (Karnes, 2009). This is because as per the radicalists, there are a few sizeable and profitable organizations that disregard the employees and seek to exploit them. For these few instances, it is essential to have practical and feasible result oriented mechanisms that will avail the intended results. In light of these sentiments, the radicalists have it that, it is prudent to have in place employees unions that will prevent exploitation instances. According to the Marxist, the modern employers have no regard for the employee’s welfare. The intent is to have organizations or employers run their affairs similar to state institutions while the pay scale is standardized. The motive behind such stipulation is to promote a non-competitive, standardized and co-operative work environ. In Australia, the liberal party is at the helm of affairs. This comes with the recent victory by the coalition that saw their head tony Abbott clinch the country’s leadership. Austali8a is among the first countries in terms of enacting democratic policies. The country experiences a free economy, a democratically elected leadership and this tendency have infiltrated the private sector. In the emergence of the industrial revolution, Australia was grappling with a myriad of challenges emanating from its economic instability at the time. This implies that, the country embraces the presence of employee unions seeking to ensure that rights are observed. It is worth indicating that, the pluralist employment relation has absurd consequences to the Australian nation. First, with the passage of time, the employees unions have significantly grown tightening their grip throughout the entire nation. This implies that the Australian nation has to succumb to the demands of the employee union whenever demands are made (Strachan & Burgess, 2010). For instance, the pilot union has fronted a strike demanding payment increase that matches the current living standards. The engineers union has threatened to stage a nationwide strike seeking to have better wages availed. It is apparent that, in the past, when employee union strikes and their demands are met, other unions organize strikes airing similar demands. In the end, the employee union’s act as lobby groups where they seek to have wages increased in accordance with previous agreements. The salient and disturbing fact that haunts the Tony Abbott regime is the fact that, with the presence of employee unions, pay rise is inevitable but is it commensurate with productivity. This question lingers the minds of various airlines in the country that have opted to hire overseas-based pilots (Waddoups, 2011). This implies that there is an unresolved matter encompassing productivity of the employees engraved in the strong unions. The perturbing question emanates from the fact that, Australia is sound believer in democracy and enacting pluralist theories in the employment arena is among the numerous ways of alliterating this fact. The inalienable challenge is that employers have no option but to give to the demands of the employee unions that have grown and are so aggressive. However, the question of whether productivity will increase with the increase in pay remains unresolved. This is the central challenge that the coalition government or the liberal party headed by their premier Tony Abbott faces. The liberal party in an elaborative manifesto dubbed “Our Plan, Real Solutions for All Australians” underscores its desire to make Australia a better place. It is through this document that the Australian populace will judge the action of their government during their tenure. According to the 12th title, “Delivering More Jobs, Higher Wages, and Higher Living Standards” the liberal party makes a compelling promise to alleviate the living standards through the enactment of more jobs and higher pay (Tiver, 2013). The Tony Abbott regime promised the Australian populace two million additional jobs seeking to tackle the unemployment rate in the country. The treasury unveiled devastating facts that the unemployment rate in the country had hit an all time high. The liberal party sought to administer job creation ventures that would tackle this fact. The detrimental question lingering in the minds of employers and other stakeholders is what better employment rates mean in this economic environment. The liberal party sternly admits that Australia is facing a productivity crisis, which calls for urgent redress. To address this problem, the liberal party in their manifesto indicates that, they will formulate a productivity plan that will boost the employee’s morale into working harder. Proponents to these sentiments believe that the boost will alleviate the current crisis facing employers in the country. The implications of this notion will have an enormous effect on both the workforce and the employees (Macarthy, 2012). On the workforce, the proposed theory will ensure that the sentiments of the employee unions replicate to worthy results in terms of productivity. This implies that the workforce will work harder to attain set targets before demanding a pay rise. In a significant way, the new formulation will alleviate the pertinent crisis that loom the employment industry. The employees will comprehend that pay increment is a close nit affair with an increase in production. In such an instance, wage increase demands will only be accompanied by increased industrial performance evidenced by production levels. Additionally, the liberal party formulations will have a dire impact on employers and investors alike. It is apparent that the Tony Abbott regime has a notable challenge emanating from the employment relations. To avert the looming productivity crisis characterized by higher pay demands without a commensurate increase in productivity, the liberal party has sober plans. This entails developing a productivity plan where employees are paid in accordance to their industrial production. This will not only inculcate cohesion but improve performance as employees seek higher wages. Since this is a futuristic plan engraved in a manifesto, only time will tell how well the Tony Abbott led regime will tackle the salient issue. References Harley, B. (2012). The Conditions Associated With Peripheral Employment In Australia: An Empirical Analysis. Employee Relations, 16(8), 19-31. Boreham, P., Hall, R., & Harley, B. (2011). Two Paths To Prosperity?: Work Organisation And Industrial Relations Decentralisation In Australia. Work, Employment & Society, 10(3), 449-468. Gibson, C., Murphy, P., & Freestone, R. (2002). Employment and Socio-spatial Relations in Australia's Cultural Economy. Australian Geographer, 33(2), 173-189. Karnes, R. E. (2009). A Change in Business Ethics: The Impact on Employer Employee Relations. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(2), 189-197. Macarthy, P. (2012). Employers, the Tariff, and Legal Wage Determination in Australia--2000-2012. Journal Of Industrial Relations, 12(2), 182-193. Spicer, I. (2013). Employer Matters in 2013. 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