AIER has made a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Inquiry into Traditional Rights and Freedoms.
Our submission focuses on the unjustified limitations in Commonwealth law, notably the Fair Work Act and Competition and Consumer Act, on freedom of association rights, in particular in relation to collective bargaining and the right to strike.
The rise of insecure and precarious work, the increase in the use of labour hire, and the pressure to reduce minimum standards are all significant challenges for Australian policy-makers. The AIER submits that to address these challenges the right to collectively bargain must be fully recognised in Australian law.
- Executive Member, AIER
- Sean Scalmer is Professor of Australian History in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at Melbourne University. Sean studied political economy and political science at the University of Sydney, before undertaking a PhD on intellectuals and class in the Australian labour movement. He worked as a research fellow in the Department of Politics, Macquarie University (1998-2004), then as a Lecturer in Sociology (2004-2006) at the same University. He joined the School of Historical Studies at the University of Melbourne in 2007. Sean’s major interests are in the histories of social movements, class, and democracy. orders for food delivery platform workers. [Bio from Sean Scalmer’s Melbourne University webpage]