| Summary: | A recurrent theme in recent industrial relations literature is that analysis should go beyond the study of institutions and systems. The analysis of industrial relations should also incorporate changes to political, ideological and economic environments, as well as the impact of new technologies and changing product markets. With the advent of the Employment Contracts Act in May
1991 this theme has gained greater currency within New
Zealand. The de-centralisation of bargaining, and the
emergence of employer-driven ways of organising the
employment relationship, have given rise to a growing
body of research into contemporary workplace "reform".
This research has documented a widening diversity in
industrial relations practices.
This study seeks to extend this research by documenting
this diversity, between different employers in the same
industry. The focus of the study is the retail grocery
industry. Utilising a longitudinal approach it examines
significant infrastructural and environmental
constituents of change and evaluates the different ways
in which these have been used by employers in reworking
the employment relationship in different enterprises and
workplaces.
The study is based on an extensive series of interviews
conducted between 1990 and 1995, complemented by
documentary material from industry, media and academic
sources. Those interviewed included a cross-section of
employers, managers and workers, as well as union
officials involved with the industry.
The findings disclose that the Employment Contracts Act
was not the primary cause of innovation and change in
this industry. Emerging patterns of workplace industrial
relations display elements of continuity as well as
change. Employer pursuit of greater workforce
flexibility, impelled by competition and changing
product markets, was formerly constrained by the
operation of an overarchlng industrial relations
framework. The removal of this framework, coupled with a
low level of worker organisation and resistance, has
legitimised former de-facto practices and set a new
agenda for union survival.
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