In this topic you will learn to:

Examine economic issues
  • investigate structural changes in the Australian economy resulting from microeconomic policies
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Apply economic skills​
  • explain how governments are restricted in their ability to simultaneously achieve economic objectives
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You will learn about:

Labour market policies
  • role of national and state systems
  • the national system for determining
  1. minimum employment standards
  2. minimum wages
  3. awards
  4. enterprise agreements
  5. employment contracts for high income earners
  • dispute resolution
  • arguments for and against the use of centralised, decentralised and individualised methods of determining employment contracts
  • education, training and employment programs
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What are some of the most famous labour market policies?
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Head to the TED-Ed link and answer the questions under "THINK".
Using your text and online resources, write a definition for labour market policies and evaluate the effectiveness of the "New Deal" as an economic policy to address high rates of unemployment in 2-3 sentences.
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How does this connect to Australia and the Jobs Summit?

This is the context of the 2022 jobs and skills summit: a nation that has lost faith in the economic status quo looking for its elected representatives to chart a better path forward that puts more agency back in the collective.

Rising wages are no longer the burning platform they were in 1983. It’s the lack thereof and the flow-on effects of an economy increasingly out of whack with the needs or aspirations of its most important input: the worker.

Right now, many of these workers are struggling with flatlining wages, job insecurity, rising cost of living and interest rates. Key industries that stepped up during the pandemic are now facing crippling labour market shortages, a direct result of their failure to build attractive careers and invest in the training required.

The virus challenged the way the workers had been devalued over decades of economic freedom, with a clear disconnect between the contribution they provide the community and the diminishing value the economic system places on them.

-Peter Lewis, The Guardian, 23 August 2022

What are the structures that make up our industrial relations system?

The 5 Whys help you dig down to get to the heart of an issue. 5 Whys are generally enough to really understand something. Open the 5 Whys Google Slides in another tab.
  1. Using the 5 Whys, and your textbook (pp 344-350), investigate the problem at the top of each slide.
  2. Answer the question at the top of the slide in one sentence. Write this sentence on the first line. Follow it with "Why?"
  3. On the next line, answer your "Why?" that relates to your first answer. Keep going until you have answered 5 Whys.
See the example below that outlines how the process works.
​An example of a problem is: The vehicle will not start.

Why? – The battery is dead. (First why)
Why? – The alternator is not functioning. (Second why)
Why? – The alternator belt has broken. (Third why)
Why? – The alternator belt was well beyond its useful service life and not replaced. (Fourth why)
Why? – The vehicle was not maintained according to the recommended service schedule. (Fifth why, a root cause)
Now open this Google Slides and try this process with ONE of the questions about labour market structures.

​​In your workbook, complete your own notes under these headings:​

Role of national and state systems
Minimum employment standards
Minimum wages
Awards and enterprise agreements
Dispute resolution
Photo used under Creative Commons from (Imagine) 2.0