Enterprise agreements, labour productivity and wage earnings : an evaluation of the impact of enterprise agreements on Australian labour productivity and average wage earnings

摘要

This thesis contains an evaluation of the impact of enterprise agreements on Australianudlabour productivity and wage earnings between 1992 and 2003.udAfter almost a century of centralised industrial relations decision making, enterprise leveludbargaining provided employers and employees with the opportunity to negotiate workingudconditions and wages. The policy to introduce enterprise level bargaining was implementedudas part of extensive microeconomic reform designed to improve the internationaludcompetitiveness of the Australian economy. The industrial relations policy objective was toudimprove productivity by increasing technical and allocative efficiency at the enterprise level.udThe conclusions are that the introduction of enterprise agreements has contributed positivelyudand significantly to labour productivity and that wage earnings are positively and significantlyudinfluenced by labour productivity. Both of these findings are significant. Australian labourudproductivity had previously been primarily influenced by growth in output, while wageudearnings had been based on cost of living adjustments.udThere is preliminary evidence to suggest that by internalising bargaining over wage andudconditions, enterprises have used the bargaining process to introduce significant changeudand the agreement to formalise these changes.udThe findings are based on a policy evaluation framework. This requires a comprehensiveudapproach and as such the following perspectives are included: • Policy evaluation;ud• Organisational design, management and industrial relations theory and practice and theirudconvergence;ud• Production theory and productivity measurement; andud• Wages and wage earnings models. udEconometric techniques are used to quantify the impact of introducing enterprise leveludagreements. Generalised least squares and fixed effects modelling is applied to determineudthe impact of introducing enterprise agreements on labour productivity and wage earningsudrespectively. The analysis focuses on both the impact on the economy overall and within theudproduction/resources, margins and service sectors.udThe enterprise agreement data set comprises Department of Employment and WorkplaceudRelations (DEWR) unpublished data relating to enterprise agreements registered in theudfederal jurisdiction from 1992 to 2003. This is combined with ABS industry level data.udThe impact of enterprise level agreements on productivity is modelled using an expandedudCobb Douglas production function applied at the economy and sectoral levels.udThe impact of decentralised agreements on wage earnings is modelled using empiricaludapproaches consistent with Reserve Bank of Australia and international studies.