Understanding the impact - research on the effects of WorkChoices
A number or studies have been undertaken as part of a national research project that provides qualitative analysis of the impact of Workplace Relations Amendment (Work Choices) Act 2005 on vulnerable workers in each of five states.
National
Lowering the standards: From Awards to Work Choices in Retail and Hospitality Collective Agreements (PDF, 321 KB)
This report prepared for the Queensland, New South Wales and Victorian Governments by Justine Evesson et al examines how enforceable rights for employees have changed under WorkChoices.
Every collective agreement lodged federally between 26 March and 8 December 2006 was examined for the retail and hospitality industries where large numbers of workers were previously dependent on awards.
Agreements from the retail and hospitality industries were compared with the awards and agreements that had previously (prior to Work Choices) covered the employees of these workplaces.
There are 339 Work Choices agreements in the study compared back to 70 previous instruments.
Women and WorkChoices: impacts on the low pay sector
This national report provides an overview of the findings and recommendations arising from studies conducted in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Queensland on the impact of Work Choices on vulnerable workers. This report highlights how Work Choices has affected women in particular in terms of the erosion of their job security and reductions in their pay and employment standards and how the loss of these conditions have had a rippling effect on families, workplaces and communities.
This report prepared for the Queensland, New South Wales and Victorian Governments by Justine Evesson et al examines how enforceable rights for employees have changed under WorkChoices.
Every collective agreement lodged federally between 26 March and 8 December 2006 was examined for the retail and hospitality industries where large numbers of workers were previously dependent on awards.
Agreements from the retail and hospitality industries were compared with the awards and agreements that had previously (prior to Work Choices) covered the employees of these workplaces.
There are 339 Work Choices agreements in the study compared back to 70 previous instruments.
- summary (PDF, 707 KB)
- full report (PDF, 1.2 MB)
Queensland
Tipping the scales: A qualitative study of the impact of WorkChoices on women in low-paid employment in Queensland (PDF, 283 KB)
The "Tipping the scales" report highlights the impact of WorkChoices on women in low paid employment in Queensland. The report tells of the experiences of 20 women aged from 19 to 59 who were employed in a variety of industries including cleaning, community sector, retail, accommodation, hospitality and clerical and provides insights into how Work Choices has affected their lives.
New South Wales
Down and Out with Work Choices: The Impact of Work Choices on the Work and Lives of Women in Low Paid Employment (PDF, 794 KB) (non-Queensland Governement link)
The report presents the experiences and views of twenty five women in low paid work who have been affected by Work Choices. Women in low paid sectors of the labour market, whose pay and conditions were previously determined by the former award system, are among the most vulnerable to the changes introduced by Work Choices.
Victoria
Going to far: WorkChoices and the experience of 30 Victorian workers in minimum wage sectors (PDF, 421 KB) (non-Queensland Governement link)
This report presents the experiences and views of 30 Victorian workers, 24 women and six men, whose employment has been affected by WorkChoices. It builds on an earlier quantitative stocktake of gender, work and employment conditions (Preston, Jefferson & Seymour 2006), which identified employees in five sectors - childcare, aged care, cleaning, retail and hospitality - as particularly vulnerable to the WorkChoices changes.
South Australia
Not fair, no choice: the impact of WorkChoices on twenty South Australian workers and their households (PDF 668 KB) (non-Queensland Governement link)
This report examines the experiences of twenty workers affected by changes to industrial law in Australia following the enactment of WorkChoices.
Last update February 11, 2008