Some industrial relations researchers have considered the meat processing industry as one of the more strike-prone industries in Australia. Many researchers have analysed this industry from either a political economy perspective or a union industrial relations perspective. This thesis acknowledges this body of literature, but takes as its focus the ways that employers have shaped the industry?s industrial relations. Employers, far from being reactive or even passive actors in shaping the industry?s industrial relations, have taken a long-term active role in this area. This thesis, therefore, focuses on an historical analysis of the changing roles of employers and employer associations in the industry?s industrial relations. This thesis will identify and link the relevant theoretical literature to the historical narrative, and then link this to actual events through three case studies analysing three exemplar employers. The findings of this thesis are that employers have had and made strategic choices about the industry?s industrial relations, at the workplace, industry and national-levels. The rise of AMH, which forms much of the second half of the narrative and analysis, shaped the industry?s industrial relations in ways not seen before in the Australian meat processing industry. Thus, the strategic choices on by many medium and larger meat-industry employers at the time, proved ineffective in the face of AMH?s success in driving down the cost of the wage-effort bargain, rendering many uncompetitive on both the input and output sides of the product market.

The focus of this inquiry is “New Zealand small business employers’ perspectives of the important factors in return-to-work (RTW) of an employee following a musculoskeletal injury or an illness”. Whilst worldwide there is an increasing amount of attention focused on the RTW process in large organisations, there continues to be little understanding of this phenomenon in small businesses. I chose to use a social constructivist theoretical framework drawing on grounded theory methodology to construct some understanding of the employers’ perspectives of the RTW process. Eight small business employers from Auckland and Christchurch participated in this research. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews. Constant comparative analysis, theoretical sampling and thematic analysis were used to construct two themes from the data. The findings showed that small business employers prefer informal organisational approaches, rely on close working relationships with their staff, are generally wary of bureaucracy and often must run their businesses with limited staff and financial resources. Having an employee off work for a prolonged period of time creates a sizable gap in the staff resources that keep the business running. The employer has responsibility to fill this gap while maintaining a productive business. In the absence of formal injury management practices an ad hoc approach was taken to the RTW process. A number of the employers felt undervalued by key stakeholders, such as doctors, treatment providers, Accident Compensation Corporation and in some cases RTW co-ordinators. Health and safety was a risk all employers appeared to take seriously whereas injury management information and support seemed less of a focus. This research suggests there may be little focus on injury management in small businesses by employers and, that employers perceive greater government emphasis on injury prevention. The extent and associated costs of work disability in small businesses is as yet unknown, but it is likely to be significant. How to support and encourage the uptake of injury management in small businesses in the long term warrants further investigation. Understanding that employers may well lack injury management expertise, experience and resources requires stakeholders to make specific effort with the employer, at the workplace, to facilitate the RTW process.

Published also as Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University. / Bibliography: p. 254-266.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-145).

Thesis (M.P.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-145). Also available in print.

Published also as Thesis (Ph. D.)--Columbia University. / Bibliography: p. 254-266.

Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar a influência da elite empresarial local nas alternativas políticas para a cidade do Rio de Janeiro ao longo dos anos 1990. A importância de compreender o papel da elite empresarial carioca na construção de um projeto político para a cidade do Rio de Janeiro está pautada no postulado de que essa elite é peça fundamental para a projeção da cidade, atuando em várias esferas de poder, entre as quais o Executivo e o Legislativo estadual e municipal. A nossa investigação baseia-se, também, no fato de que os gestores da prefeitura, ao construir um projeto para cidade do Rio de Janeiro, estiveram atentos ao empresariado local, compondo parcerias. Neste sentido, a nossa pesquisa procurou analisar os aspectos políticos e ideológicos sobre os quais se fundamentaram tais parcerias. Tal influência ocorreu de diversas formas: projetos liderados pelos empresários cariocas, cargos no executivo e criação de conselhos empresariais para a resolução de determinados problemas da cidade. / The goal of this paper is to investigate the influence of the local business elite over the political alternatives for Rio de Janeiro city in the 1990`s. It is extremely important to understand the role of the carioca business elite in the process of creating a political project to Rio de Janeiro city, due to the fact that this elite is a key element to the projection of the city, since it exerts influence over the state and municipal Executive and Legislative powers. This research is also based on the fact that the municipal managers took into consideration the local businesses, with the intention of having them as partners, when the city's political project was idealized. This way, our research aims at analyzing the ideological and political aspects which lie behind such partnerships. This influence presented itself in different forms throughout the process: projects which were led by carioca enterpreneurs, positions in the Executive power and the creation of local business counselling committes responsible for dealing with some specific problems of the city.

Les créances du salarié n’ont pas la même nature que les autres créances dont l’employeur peut être débiteur. Elles ont une nature alimentaire qui justifie une protection exorbitante en cas de placement de l’employeur en procédure collective. Une garantie originale des créances salariales a été créée pour pallier l’insolvabilité de l’employeur. L’objet de cette thèse est de rechercher la nature de cette garantie et d’analyser sa dynamique. La garantie des salaires n’a pas la nature d’un privilège puisqu’elle n’est pas assise sur les biens mobiliers et immobiliers de l’entreprise, mais sur les cotisations y afférentes. Elle n’a pas non plus la nature d’une assurance sociale, car la sécurité sociale est fondée sur une logique d’universalité et recouvre des mécanismes multirisques, alors que la garantie des salaires ne bénéficie qu’aux salariés et ne couvre que le risque de non-paiement des salaires. La dynamique de cette garantie permet de montrer que son objet ne se limite pas seulement au salaire, il s’étend aux accessoires du salaire et aux dommages-intérêts notamment ceux liés à un licenciement sans cause réelle et sérieuse ou en cas d’irrégularité de procédure. L’extension du champ des créances garanties permet davantage la sauvegarde de l’entreprise que de l’emploi. Cette dynamique incite, dans une certaine mesure, à la destruction de l’emploi, car les ruptures du contrat de travail auxquelles résultent les créances garanties sont fermées dans les délais qui ne permettent pas la mise en œuvre effective des mesures de maintien de l’emploi. L’employeur est toutefois le responsable principal de l’indemnisation des salariés, car c’est lui le titulaire du pouvoir dans l’entreprise. L’AGS, association patronale, est un responsable supplétif, mais d’autres responsables alternatifs existent. Cette thèse s’achève par une évolution souhaitant la construction du droit social des entreprises en défaillance pour supprimer, sinon réduire les incohérences constatées dans la mise en mouvement de la garantie. / The employer’s debt to the employee has a particular nature. As the payment is necessary for the employee’s maintenance it justifies a specific protection within the collective insolvency proceedings. A particular guarantee is offered to the employees. This PHD’s aim is to study this guarantee’s nature and its dynamic. This guarantee does not consist on a preference over others debtor in the employer’s goods seizure. It is financed by the employer’s contribution. It is neither a social security’s insurance, as it only covers employees and not the whole population. This guarantee concerns not only wages but also all other employer’s debt to the employee’s even unemployment remedies. The institution in charge of this guarantee is a back-up guarantor. The main guarantor remains the employer. This PHD plead for a new social law applicable to firms in collective insolvency proceedings in order to solve the current guarantee’s issues.

Employers can be viewed as a center of a so called work ideology. This ideology is at least as old as the ancient greeks and effects how we view people who work, and people who for different reasons do not work. Work ethic as a choice is a content analysis of interviews with five employers regarding work and leisure. This study shows that the interviewed employers speak about labour as something everybody must, and will at some point in life, do. People who are on sick leave are to be respected, and all decisions regarding the persons use of their time should be decided by their doctor. No one should get money without first contributing to society by working in a wage paying job. Work is however something healthy and makes people feel good, mostly because of the social context and the feeling of being part of something; of contributing. The work ideology is highly present in the interviewees language and differs between them in accordance with difference in class and economic, social and cultural capital. / Arbetsberoendet

Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar a influência da elite empresarial local nas alternativas políticas para a cidade do Rio de Janeiro ao longo dos anos 1990. A importância de compreender o papel da elite empresarial carioca na construção de um projeto político para a cidade do Rio de Janeiro está pautada no postulado de que essa elite é peça fundamental para a projeção da cidade, atuando em várias esferas de poder, entre as quais o Executivo e o Legislativo estadual e municipal. A nossa investigação baseia-se, também, no fato de que os gestores da prefeitura, ao construir um projeto para cidade do Rio de Janeiro, estiveram atentos ao empresariado local, compondo parcerias. Neste sentido, a nossa pesquisa procurou analisar os aspectos políticos e ideológicos sobre os quais se fundamentaram tais parcerias. Tal influência ocorreu de diversas formas: projetos liderados pelos empresários cariocas, cargos no executivo e criação de conselhos empresariais para a resolução de determinados problemas da cidade. / The goal of this paper is to investigate the influence of the local business elite over the political alternatives for Rio de Janeiro city in the 1990`s. It is extremely important to understand the role of the carioca business elite in the process of creating a political project to Rio de Janeiro city, due to the fact that this elite is a key element to the projection of the city, since it exerts influence over the state and municipal Executive and Legislative powers. This research is also based on the fact that the municipal managers took into consideration the local businesses, with the intention of having them as partners, when the city's political project was idealized. This way, our research aims at analyzing the ideological and political aspects which lie behind such partnerships. This influence presented itself in different forms throughout the process: projects which were led by carioca enterpreneurs, positions in the Executive power and the creation of local business counselling committes responsible for dealing with some specific problems of the city.