The State and employment relations: wartime welfarism

An important dimension to understanding the development and character of employment relations in Australia is the role of the state in promoting and diffusing new labour management ideas and practices throughout the twentieth century. Not only did the state play an indirect role in shaping the labour process through the arbitral system, it was also directly involved in fostering and encouraging the use of modern labour management practices in Australia through the activities of various government departments. The relative lack of large-scale private organisations in Australia and the dominance of the public sector provided a further channel for the state, as an innovative employer, to promote the need for efficiency and productivity, and to implement new strategies for this end.