Presentation on the Australian HR-System

Jan: "Wow - What a coincidence, I have three PHDs on Australian labour relations, and the Australian HR-System is my One and ONLY hobby. Additionally, I am the only professor at Sidney Beach University with a German accent. I am sure you would LOVE to chat with me!"

Rob: Okay... Sure.... When most Americans think of Australia, they generally think of your island’s very interesting HR-System. Why is that so?

Jan: There are many reasons why our HR-System fascinates so many people. First of all, Australia has a very interesting environment. We are blessed with rich natural resources, and have traditionally exported raw materials while importing finished goods. When gold was found in the 1850s, many Europeans started immigrating to Australia, yet we closed the borders in the 1890s to protect our labour market. The government has steadily increased its involvement in the economy, especially after the 2^nd World War when it guaranteed full employment. The Australian economy grew quickly up to the mid-70s, but we have experienced some changes since then that I want to comment on later.

Rob: That was extremely interesting. But moving on from the environment, what characterised Australia’s HR Systems up until the mid-70s?

Jan: This is going to blow you away! Australia has developed a unique system of arbitration. Special tribunals were created in the 1890s to prevent and settle disputes by means of arbitration and conciliation. Additionally, companies paying what is considered to be "fair" wages were protected by tariffs. Labour unions are occupational and decentralised, yet strengthened by the Australian Council of Trade Unions that was created in 1927.

Rob: After having learnt about the environment and the HR-System of Australia, I can’t wait to hear about the outcomes!

Jan: I wrote 2 out of 3 PHD-thesises on outcomes, so this is stuff I know really well. First of all, Australia experienced almost continuous growth from around 1850 until the mid-70s, and unemployment was less than 2%. Even though the pressured job market caused inflation to rise, Australia enjoyed rising living standards throughout most of the last century. Already by the 1930s, most Australians were used to 40-hour workweeks. Yet, the dependence on exports of unfinished products did not stimulate economic diversification. Consequently, Australia has traditionally had a very blue-collar workforce, but things started changing by the mid-1970s as unemployment started to increase.

But before continuing with the late 70s, I want to explain the environment, HR-System and Outcomes of every SINGLE year, starting 1850!