The primary purpose of the International Labour Organisation also known as ILO is to establish and maintain the relationships of equality and fairness in the labour markets across many countries (Safe Work Australia, n. d.). This paper will provide a series of examples of activities and measures designed and applied specifically to improve the employment relationships in Australia.
First of all, the ILO is responsible for the programme recognised as Safe Work Australia (or “Programme on Safety and Health at Work and the Environment”); it targets the workers employed at hazardous workplaces and protects their rights, deals with the compensation and equity issues, handles the problems of occupational health and makes sure that the policies and regulations as to the safety rules are properly documented by the employers (Safe Work Australia, n. d.).
Secondly, at the end of the 1990s, the ILO currently began working on the decentralisation of the industrialised relations (IR) in Australia (Silva, 1997). As a result, the reduced standardisation and regulation of the IR allowed the promotion of the workplace competitiveness and the application of various motivation strategies rewarding high-performers and attracting new human resources.
Thirdly, the Fair Work Act of 2009 has facilitated changes in the Australian labour legislation; that way, the labourers of Australia are protected by a set of standards that involve fair working hours and wages, health and safety regulations, and the shift from the federal to a national system in terms of law and policymaking (Howe, Yazbek, & Cooney, 2011).
The fourth example of the ILO’s involvement in the improvement of the ER in Australia is the policy undertaken in 1999 that targeted the attraction of the foreign professionals with business skills (Findlay & Stewart, 2002). Even though this policy was not global and targeted only the states with certain characteristics, it was designed to improve the ER in Australia.
The fifth example is Australia’s relation to professional unions. The country permits the existence of multiple unions in the region that is recognised for their purposes to bargain. Regardless of the risk of strikes, the rates of unionisation in Australia have fallen substantially over the last decade (Macdonald, 1997).
Clayton and Mitchel (1999) specify that the overall rates of unemployment fell by 133 thousand people in the male population and by 40 thousand people among females which accordingly represents the reduction by 3.2 % (men) and 2 % (women) in the period between 1992 and 1998.
The ILO has held multiple conventions to ensure a better ER in Australia. One of such conventions was C173 – Protection of Workers’ Claims (Employer’s Insolvency) Convention that was held in 1992. This convention targets the issues of the workers’ protection in terms of the reimbursement and claims for wages for the periods of holiday and the other types of paid absence (ILO, 2012).
The examples provided above reflect that the ILO has made a significant contribution to the improvement of the ER in Australia addressing this issue from a multitude of angles and for many decades.
References
Clayton, A. & Mitchel, N. (1999). Study on employment situations and worker protection in Australia. Web.
Findlay, A. M. & Stewart, E. (2002). Skilled labour migration for developing countries. Web.
Howe, J., Yazbek, N., & Cooney, S. (2011). Study on Labour Inspection Sanctions and Remedies: The case of Australia. Web.
ILO. (2012). C173 – Protection of Workers’ Claims (Employer’s Insolvency) Convention, 1992. Web.
Macdonald, D. (1997). Industrial relations and globalization: challenges for employers and their organizations. Web.
Safe Work Australia. (n. d.). International Labour Organization. Web.
Silva, S. (1997). The Changing Focus of Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management. Web.