Big Week for Scrutiny of Work Choice

Date: 10 September 2007

Prof Freeman - - a.k.a. The Hat

One of the world's leading economists, Professor Richard Freeman of Harvard University, will be speaking on the significance of Work Choices in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney this week. He will be raising questions about the law's likely impact and argue the changes are set to create more problems than they solve.

On Thursday the findings of the most thorough analysis of registered collective agreements ever undertaken in Australia will be released. These are contained in a report prepared by a team from Sydney University's Workplace Research Centre. Their report is entitled: 'Lowering the standards': From Awards to Work Choices in Retail and Hospitality Collective Agreements.

The study is based on a close analysis of every publicly available Federally registered collective agreements from the Retail and Hospitality sectors registered in the first nine months after Work Choices. The key features of the study are:

- it was undertaken by a team of four researchers, supported by 17 research assistants over a 12 month period.

- the project team systematically examined the enforceable rights of sales assistants and food and beverage workers at over 330 workplace. Particular attention was devoted to measuring how agreements made under Work Choices changed employees' enforceable rights compared to the situation that prevailed before Work Choices.

- rigorous estimates of how most agreements have reduced employees earnings are also provided. These have been derived by simulating the impact of the changes in employees enforceable rights for employees working on the basis of 20 different types of rosters. Such a comprehensive assessment of the impact of agreements has never been reported before.

- the study raises serious questions about the ability of the new 'fairness test' to adequately protect employees experiencing the erosion of award standards.

A special meeting of the Ministerial Council for Workplace Relations is being held in North Sydney on Friday.

It will be addressed by Professor Freeman and discuss the significance of the findings of the 'Lowering the standards' report.

For more details contact

- for Professor Freeman's visit: John Buchanan 0418 207 945 or 02 9351 5626 or j.buchanan@econ.usyd.edu.au

- for 'Lowering the Standards' report: Justine Evesson 02 9351 5716 or 02 9351 5626 or j.evesson@econ.usyd.edu.au Copies of a pre-release, embargoed version of the report can be obtained from her

- for the ministerial council meeting: Glenn Bacic (from Office of John Della Bosca)

For further information

WWW:	http://www.econ.usyd.edu.au/event/84

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