ABSTRACT
The second attempts to provide a theoretical framework that accounts for changes in the pattern of labour utilization in Australia (Case study 2.5), where over half of hotel workers are casual or contingent workers (Timo, 2001). Employers’ labour use choices are theoretically constrained by industry or occupational awards and by workplace agreements (see Chapters 5 and 6). Awards define regular employment categories on the basis of the number of hours worked per day or per week, and connect working time with the pay system. However HI employers have coined their own terms of core and periphery by differentiating between regular and irregular casuals and part-time workers. The crucial difference is the variability of irregular workers’ hours, which places them outside the scope of the awards. New working time systems have cut labour costs by reducing idle and non-productive time. Their low-road response has created different employment systems built around regular and irregular job tenure (see Case study 2.5). By circumventing the award system hotels have been able to introduce workplace change without the need for cooperation, consultation and negotiation with employees under workplace bargaining.
