The Impact of Individual Rights in Labour Law Dynamics

In an upcoming event by the ANU College of Law, the University of Sydney Law School’s Professor Shae McCrystal takes the spotlight as the keynote speaker at the prestigious Phillipa Weeks Lecture. The annual event is named in honour of the deceased ANU Law Professor Phillipa Weeks and, typically, it is based on critical issues in labour law. The 2021 lecture, themed, “The De-Collectivisation of Representation in Collective Bargaining in Australia,” will essentially focus mainly on the transition in the dynamics of labour rights taking an individual as opposed to a collective form.

Since the enactment of the Fair Work Act 2009, there has been an observable move towards enhancing employee rights in a separate regard in relation to their bargaining rights. In a distinct shift of power, individual employees seem to be benefitting through protective overture as unions become weaker in their industrial bargaining. The changes presented during the event seem to echo Professor Weeks’ concern in her work, “Trade Union Security Law.” The event promises full house as Professor McCrystal takes guests through how critical the thematic shift threatens the industrial balances of the employed Australians.