2013 News
21st Annual Labour Law Conference - Beyond Groundhog Day: Can productivity and fairness be improved without further labour law reform? - 22 July 2013 25 Feb 2013
At this year's labour law conference we will explore ways to improve productivity within the existing system and consider how labour relations policy-making can be improved.
MoreFestive Season's Greetings from the WRC 18 Dec 2012
Thank you for all your support in 2012. Please note we will be closing Friday 21st December and reopening Monday 7th January 2013. All the best for the festive season.
MoreHappiness, Health and Wellbeing at Work Conference, 31st October 2012 21 Aug 2012
Happiness, Health and Wellbeing @ Work Conference, 31st of October, 2012.
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The Happiness + Wellbeing @ Work conference is facilitated by some of Australia's leading experts on Health, Psychology, Leadership and Human Resources. The conference, now in it's sixth year, presents the latest research and strategies on workplace health and wellbeing programs.Recruitment at WRC 17 Aug 2012
The Workplace Research Centre is currently recruiting for two Leading Research Analyst Positions and one Research Analyst Position.
More20th Labour Law Conference, 13th August 31 Jul 2012
Don't forget to register for the Labour Law Conference taking place on the 13th of August. We have an incredible line up this year and there will be some interesting debate at the dedicated Q&A session on Labour Law Reform with:
Andrew Stewart, University of Adelaide
Ron McCallum, Sydney Law School, University of Sydney
Giri Sivaraman, Principal, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers
Anthony Forsyth, RMIT University
For more information go to please go to the Conference and Advocacy Training Section of our Website.
MoreThe WRC is recruiting for 3 positions 01 Jul 2012
The WRC is recruiting for 3 positions:
PA/Operations Administrator CLOSING DATE: 4 July 2012
Project Officer CLOSING DATE: 13 July 2012
Senior Research Analyst CLOSING DATE: 13 July 2012
MoreWorking Indigenous Australians 23 May 2012
In an important collaborative partnership, the Workplace Research Centre has worked closely with Aboriginal Employment Strategy Ltd, Generation One and Mission Australia to undertake a review of the current data challenges in the realm of Indigenous labour market analysis.
MoreMake it Work Report 30 Apr 2012
As part of a wider regional workforce development strategy occurring in northern New South Wales, the WRC evaluated a workplace survey with a dual purpose. While collecting information from employees and employers on operational improvements, it also facilitates dialogue about EOC practices. A second report was also commissioned to examine the underlying concepts of EOC, and evidence on what it has been found to deliver.
MoreWRC to prepare a report on the work, wages and living standards of electrical apprentices. 06 Mar 2012
The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) has commissioned the WRC to prepare a report on the work, wages and living standards of electrical apprentices as part of Fair Work Australia's review of modern awards. More
Australia at Work Five Year Study 2007- 2011 12 Jan 2012
In 2007 the Workplace Research Centre began the Australia at Work project - a major ARC-funded longitudinal study of Australian workers. Since the project commenced in 2007, the Australia at Work project team has sought to understand the nature of employment in this country, and how it is changing over time. Below is a link to a number of factsheets reporting on key themes from the study. This includes factsheets on topics including hours of work, working time preferences, employee attitudes to their managers, the gender pay gap, incidence of job change, and factors influencing employee perceptions of risk of workplace injury or illness.
MoreThe relationship between payment systems, work intensification and health and safety outcomes: a study of hotel room attendants 11 Jan 2012
This publication was produced by Sarah Oxenbridge and Maja Moensted as part of the LHMU/WorkCover Assist Funded Research Project into Australian Room Attendants.
This paper examines the impact of payment systems on workers' exposure to body-stressing injuries. Data are drawn from interviews with managers and focus groups of room attendants in Australian luxury hotels. We find that the most important factor predicting work-related bodily injury is the payment system. Payment on the basis of the number of rooms cleaned (piece rates) was found to result in task 'speed-up'. The capacity to earn a living wage was therefore reliant on work intensification, leading to the use of unsafe working methods and injury. By contrast, attendants paid an hourly wage worked at a slower pace, earned a living wage and sustained fewer, if any, injuries. Mediating factors include the shift towards the contracting-out of housekeeping services to labour hire agencies, which typically pay on a per room basis, and their preference for employing migrant workers on temporary work visas. The paper concludes by considering regulatory strategies that might be used to reduce the incidence of work-related injuries among room attendants and workers subject to similar modes of employment in other sectors.
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