Overview
This unit discusses the changing nature of employment relations. In this unit, you will assess the role of state, employers, unions and employees in employment relations within the context of a changing labour market. You will analyse the legal, political and economic framework within which employment relations take place. Contemporary issues will be highlighted and discussed.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 1 - 2024
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from From the school/ discipline meeting.
Recorded Lecturers
Please ensure that the lecturer does not utilize outdated lecture recordings. Instead, please confirm the use of the most recent recordings of the HRMT19021 lecture by the instructor, and also provide any necessary updated study materials. This is essential to enhance student learning and contribute to overall unit satisfaction. Additionally, please verify that the lecturer's recordings are functioning correctly to facilitate a smooth learning experience.
Feedback from From the school/ discipline meeting.
Unit Coordination by the sessional academics
The recognition of low response rates in student evaluations as an issue and the commitment to address this by ensuring up-to-date lecture recordings and increasing student engagement will be a positive move. Hence, it is essential to maintain proactive supervision to monitor these improvements effectively. Collecting a more representative number of responses in future unit evaluations will provide valuable insights for continuous enhancements. In the future, it would be beneficial to maintain transparent communication with students to address their concerns and keep an open feedback loop for ongoing recommendations and refinements.
- Explain and analyse the role of the state, employers, unions and employees in employment relations.
- Assess the impact of changes in the labour market and in the legal, political and economic framework on employment relations.
- Identify and discuss contemporary issues in employment relations.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Literature Review or Systematic Review - 50% | |||
| 2 - Case Study - 50% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||
| 5 - Team Work | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Textbooks
Employment Relations
Edition: 4th (2018)
Authors: Mark Bray, Peter Waring, Rae Cooper, & Johanna Macneil
McGraw-Hill
Binding: Paperback
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
g.r.stewart@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
What is employment relations?
Chapter
Chapter 1
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The study of employment relations:
analytical tools
The study of employment relations:
values
Chapter
Chapters 2 & 3
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
The state
Chapter
Chapter 4
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Management and employer representatives
Chapter
Chapter 5
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Employee representation: unions
Chapter
Chapter 6
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Employee representation: non-union
Chapter
Chapter 7
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
State regulation: minimum standards and awards
Chapter
Chapter 8
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
State regulation: EEO, unfair dismissal and safety at work
Chapter
Chapter 9
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Managerial unilateralism and individual contracting
Chapter
Chapter 10
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Collective agreement-making and collective bargaining: structures and processes
Chapter
Chapter 11
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Industrial conflict
Chapter
Chapter 12
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Employment relations and performance
Chapter
Chapter 13
Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Literature Review or Systematic Review
The primary purpose of Assessment 1 is to enhance your research, literature analysis, and referencing skills. This task will also provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate your critical thinking and written communication skills.
You are required to compile a literature review of recent (published in or after 2014) peer-reviewed journal articles (such as for example, The Journal of Industrial Relations) and authentic news information sources (such as for example, The Australian Financial Review) relating to a recent industrial dispute involving DP World in the maritime industry (2000-2500 words).
Something of the flavour of this dispute can be gleaned from the following news article;
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-23/dp-world-maritime-workers-union-australian-ports-pay-dispute/103378230?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other
The Unit Coordinator will provide further details of this assessment on the Unit Moodle website.
Week 6 Friday (19 Apr 2024) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 8 Friday (3 May 2024)
The literature review will be returned to students after the moderation process has been completed.
Your assessment will be marked out of 50 with the following distribution:
-Depth of knowledge and critical analysis of the topic (15 marks)
-Appropriateness of responses to the topic question (5)
-Relevant and accurate literature (25 marks)
-Essay has clear introduction, main body and conclusion. Clarity of expression/grammar and spelling (2)
-Correct referencing style (2)
-Appropriate word length (i.e., 2000-2500 words including references) relevant to the topic (1)
A criteria sheet is also available on the Unit Moodle website.
- Explain and analyse the role of the state, employers, unions and employees in employment relations.
- Assess the impact of changes in the labour market and in the legal, political and economic framework on employment relations.
- Identify and discuss contemporary issues in employment relations.
2 Case Study
Students will be asked to analyse a case study (2000-2500 words). The case study will relate to the employment relations strategy of QANTAS.
Analyse the employment relations strategies of Qantas Airways since 2011. Why did management adopt these strategies? Account for their success or failure. Do you agree with these management "strategic choices"? Justify your viewpoint.
Please note that a relevant Case Study ("Values and the 2011 Qantas dispute") by Mark Bray and Johanna Macneil is on pages 73-76 of the textbook. In addition, Anthony Forsyth and Shae McCrystal (2023) discuss employment relations in Qantas as part of their analysis of bargaining under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs Better Pay) Act 2022.
References
Bray, M, Waring, P, Cooper, R & Macneil, J 2018, Employment relations: Theory and practice, 4th edn, McGraw-Hill Education (Australia), Sydney.
Forsyth, A., & McCrystal, S. (2023). The potential impact of the Fair Work Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 on collective bargaining in Australia: Reviewing the new multi-employer bargaining provisions and other measures to promote bargaining. Journal of Industrial Relations, 65(4), 386-402. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221856231198156
The focus for your research should be on events that have occurred in 2023, such as for example, the recent High Court decision that has been reported:
Qantas loses High Court appeal over sacking of 1,700 baggage handlers and cleaners during COVID-19 pandemic - ABC News
The Unit Coordinator will provide further details of this assessment on the Unit Moodle website.
Week 12 Friday (31 May 2024) 11:45 pm AEST
The case study will be returned to students when the moderation process has been completed and the Grades for this Unit have been certified.
Your assessment will be marked out of 50 with the following distribution:
-Depth of knowledge and critical analysis of the topic (30 marks)
-Appropriateness of responses to the topic question (10 marks)
-Relevant and accurate literature (5)
-Essay has clear introduction, main body and conclusion. Clarity of expression/grammar and spelling (2)
-Correct referencing style (2)
-Appropriate word length (i.e., 2000-2500 words including references) relevant to the topic (1)
A criteria sheet is also available on the Unit Moodle website.
- Explain and analyse the role of the state, employers, unions and employees in employment relations.
- Assess the impact of changes in the labour market and in the legal, political and economic framework on employment relations.
- Identify and discuss contemporary issues in employment relations.
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
