The Effects of WorkChoices on Vulnerable South Australian Workers and Their Households

ABSTRACT

The federal Liberal-National Coalition Government made a number of assertions regarding the employee benefits of WorkChoices. This article tests four Coalition claims—namely: more employment certainty; flexibility to balance work and family; greater capacity for direct employer/employee negotiations; and simplicity and fairness—against the findings of a qualitative study on the impact of the legislation on twenty South Australian workers and their households. It finds that for these workers Coalition claims were not fulfilled. On the contrary, study participants experienced significantly less certainty in employment and less capacity to fit work with caring responsibilities as a result of changes imposed by their employer. Participants found it harder to use the new industrial relations system and fewer remedies were available to redress unfair treatment. The article shows that the Fairness Test would not have prevented or compensated for these negative outcomes. These findings support those of parallel studies conducted in other states. They also point to matters that a federal Labor government should address in any revised industrial system in order to protect and improve the security of vulnerable workers and their capacity to fit work with other commitments.