In 1993, the Keating government passed laws to move Australia
towards a "system based primarily on bargaining at the
workplace, with much less reliance on arbitration at the
apex" (Laurie Brereton MP, Minister for Industrial
Relations, 28 October 1993). The embrace of enterprise
bargaining instead of industry-wide, centralised wage fixation was
to be the end of a creaking "Australian settlement" that
had been overtaken by modern values and economic reality.
Enterprise level bargaining has undoubtedly been a positive move
away from the system that preceded it. Nevertheless, over 20
years since its introduction, an observer might feel skeptical
about the promise of agreements that would be tailored to the needs
of individual workplaces and their employees, under which
"employees and employers alike can and will
benefit". It is not hard to find examples where
enterprise bargaining's ideals are being undermined
by:
