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Reshaping the public service bargain in Queensland 2009–2014: Responding to austerity?

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  • Linda Colley

Abstract

This is a study of the renegotiation of pay, employment security, and of the relationship between government and public sector unions, in an Australian state public service during and after the global financial crisis. It examines the extent to which this renegotiation of the ‘public service bargain’ was necessitated by austerity requirements, and the extent to which the crisis provided an opportunity for the deprivileging of public employment that has been an enduring feature of the neoliberal state. A case study of the different approaches of two Queensland governments to their relationships with public sector workers between 2009 and 2014, it tracks two key measures of wages and staff numbers, as well as the consequences of breaches of the trust relationships of the traditional public sector bargain. Given the moderate nature of Australia’s economic downturn, the implementation of public service austerity measures was less an economic necessity than an opportunity for a conservative government to alter employment policies and sever union relationships. This continuation of public sector employment relations favoured by previous conservative governments had electoral consequences.

Suggested Citation

  • Linda Colley, 2016. "Reshaping the public service bargain in Queensland 2009–2014: Responding to austerity?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 27(1), pages 81-97, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:27:y:2016:i:1:p:81-97
    DOI: 10.1177/1035304616631421
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cazes, Sandrine., 2009. "Labour market policies in times of crisis," ILO Working Papers 994341633402676, International Labour Organization.
    2. Linda Colley & Brian Head, 2013. "Changing Patterns of Privatization: Ideology, Economic Necessity, or Political Opportunism," International Journal of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(12), pages 865-875.
    3. Robert Skidelsky, 2015. "Austerity: The wrong story," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 26(3), pages 377-383, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Linda Colley & Shelley Woods & Brian Head, 2022. "Pandemic effects on public service employment in Australia," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 33(1), pages 56-79, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Austerity; collective bargaining; economic stimulus; employment conditions; employment security; global financial crisis; industrial/employment relations policy; neoliberalism; public sector bargain; trade unions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H72 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Budget and Expenditures
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets
    • J58 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Public Policy

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