Industrial relations reform and the small business sector

In Australia, governments and the business lobby have emphasised reform to decentralise the industrial relations system and to reduce the role of unions in bargaining. However, Jeremy Buultjens and Felicity Orme argue that small businesses are unlikely to be major beneficiaries of changes to labour regulation. The small business sector enjoys a substantial degree of flexibility under the centralised award system, and the costs of decentralised formal bargaining appear outweigh the perceived benefits