Employer and employer association matters in Australia in 2014

This article examines the industrial relations issues at the forefront of employer and employer association attention in Australia in 2014. We examine their ambitions for legislative change and frustrations with parliamentary gridlock, as well as their engagement in the four-year Modern Award Review, the annual Minimum Wage Review, and policy discussion on 457 Visas. As well, we look at the involvement of employers and their associations in several positive social policy agendas, and developments in the employer association world during the year. As 2014 draws to a close without their long-sought modifications to the Fair Work system, the public policy rhetoric of employers and their associations is shifting once again towards the advocacy of larger-scale industrial relations change.