Since academia.edu is a 'for-profit' site, I prefer to post my work at university websites where pre-print versions are also freely available. All of my publications to November 2016 can be found at QUT e-prints https://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Price,_Robin.html Publications from Dec 2016 onwards can be found at CQUniverity Acquire
Trade union renewal strategies have become increasingly important in the context of challenging c... more Trade union renewal strategies have become increasingly important in the context of challenging conditions for unions worldwide (Frege & Kelly 2003). This paper examines union renewal, and in particular, how organising strategies play out in the retail industry in three countries: the United Kingdom (UK), Australia and New Zealand (NZ). The trade unions that are the focus of this study are: the Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) in the UK, the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA) in Australia and FIRST Union in NZ. Our analysis reveals both similarities and differences in how retail unions in the three countries are organising workers. In particular, our analysis identifies an empirical puzzle: the NZ union is different with respect to organising. In this paper, we seek to explain why these differences exist: namely, union leadership and risk and urgency.
By the mid-1990s child and youth labour was pronounced by both the International Labour Organisat... more By the mid-1990s child and youth labour was pronounced by both the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to be one of the dominant issues of our time (UNICEF 1997, ILO 1998, 1999, 2006). Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified young employees as a high-risk group of workers (WHO 1995, 2009). Nevertheless, child and youth labour continues to be characterised by precarious, hazardous and unregulated conditions in some countries and sectors (Roggero et al 2007, Nokov 2000; Lilley et al 2004)
ABSTRACT The project aimed to understand how young people in different socio-demographic categori... more ABSTRACT The project aimed to understand how young people in different socio-demographic categories (age, gender, rurality) conceptualise and negotiate employment relations and the structural mechanisms (education, industry, legislation) through which youth are socialised in employment citizenship. The study extends previous research on youth employment in that it combines data from young people with that from other key actors in education and employment; that is, schools, employers, government, unions and non-government organizations. Despite the disparate nature of these groups there were some common themes regarding young workers. All agreed, for example, that there was a need for a greater level of employment knowledge and understanding among young people and that the current provisions for information dissemination on this subject are inadequate. There was also general consensus that, despite the need for some further clarifications and some potential limitations, the Child Employment Act 2006 (Qld) was beneficial.
This edited book brings together empirical studies of young people in paid employment from a vari... more This edited book brings together empirical studies of young people in paid employment from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and in different national settings. In the context of increasing youth labour market participation rates and debates about the value of early employment, it draws on multi-level analyses to reflect the complexity of the field. Each of the three sections of the book explores a key aspect of young people's employment: their experience of work, intersections between work and education, and the impact of other actors and institutions. The book contributes to broadening and strengthening knowledge about the opportunities and constraints that young people face during their formative experiences in the labour market.
In light of declining trade union density, specifically among young workers, this article explore... more In light of declining trade union density, specifically among young workers, this article explores how trade unions recruit, service and organize young people. Our focus is the way in which trade unions market their services to the young. We use, as a lens of analysis, the services and social marketing literature and the concept of an ‘unsought, experience good’ to explore trade union strategy. Based on interviews with a number of union officials in the state of Queensland, it is clear that unions see the issue of recruitment of young people as significant, and that innovative strategies are being used in at least some unions. However, the research also indicates that despite union awareness, strategies are uneven and resource allocation is patchy. While the research was carried out in one state, the results and conclusion are broadly applicable to the Australian labour movement as a whole, and have implications for union movements in other Anglophone countries.
Young people are arguably facing more ‘complex and contested’ transitions to adulthood and an inc... more Young people are arguably facing more ‘complex and contested’ transitions to adulthood and an increasing array of ‘non-linear’ paths. Education and training have been extended, identity is increasingly shaped through leisure and consumerism and youth must navigate their life trajectories in highly individualised ways. The study utilises 819 short essays compiled by students aged 14–16 years from 19 schools in Australia. It examines how young people understand their own unique positions and the possibilities open to them through their aspirations and future orientations to employment and family life. These young people do not anticipate postponing work identities, but rather embrace post-school options such as gaining qualifications, work experience and achieving financial security. Boys expected a distant involvement in family life secondary to participation in paid work. In contrast, around half the girls simultaneously expected a future involving primary care-giving and an autonomous, independent career, suggesting attempts to remake gendered inequalities.
ABSTRACT While the literature points to significant shifts in young peoples’ labour market partic... more ABSTRACT While the literature points to significant shifts in young peoples’ labour market participation and the social, economic and political context in which this has occurred, it tells us little about whether and in what sense young people can be considered as industrial citizens. We explored the notion of youth citizenship using data derived from 48 focus groups conducted with 216 young people (13-16 years of age) at 19 high schools in Australia. The findings reveal the ways in which several key dimensions of industrial citizenship come to be shaped and have implications for addressing the vulnerability of youth in employment and informing policy and action.
This chapter explores the gender pay gap in public services, comparing the female-dominated libra... more This chapter explores the gender pay gap in public services, comparing the female-dominated librarian workforce to other professions. In the highly regulated public-sector environment, with standardized pay scales and job evaluation processes, and decades of equal employment policies, the gender pay gap should have disappeared. We use Cockburn’s typology of skill, that is, skill in the person, skill for the job, and skill in the setting. The gender pay gap existed due to decisions around skill in the setting, including managerial interpretation of the industrial instrument obstructing progression through lower classification levels, and management decisions resulting in librarians having lesser access to higher-level jobs than male-dominated professions. Despite high levels of regulation, librarians are disadvantaged by discretionary decisions made in the gaps of this regulatory scaffold.
Trade union renewal strategies have become increasingly important in the context of challenging c... more Trade union renewal strategies have become increasingly important in the context of challenging conditions for unions worldwide (Frege & Kelly 2003). This paper examines union renewal, and in particular, how organising strategies play out in the retail industry in three countries: the United Kingdom (UK), Australia and New Zealand (NZ). The trade unions that are the focus of this study are: the Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) in the UK, the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA) in Australia and FIRST Union in NZ. Our analysis reveals both similarities and differences in how retail unions in the three countries are organising workers. In particular, our analysis identifies an empirical puzzle: the NZ union is different with respect to organising. In this paper, we seek to explain why these differences exist: namely, union leadership and risk and urgency.
By the mid-1990s child and youth labour was pronounced by both the International Labour Organisat... more By the mid-1990s child and youth labour was pronounced by both the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to be one of the dominant issues of our time (UNICEF 1997, ILO 1998, 1999, 2006). Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has identified young employees as a high-risk group of workers (WHO 1995, 2009). Nevertheless, child and youth labour continues to be characterised by precarious, hazardous and unregulated conditions in some countries and sectors (Roggero et al 2007, Nokov 2000; Lilley et al 2004)
ABSTRACT The project aimed to understand how young people in different socio-demographic categori... more ABSTRACT The project aimed to understand how young people in different socio-demographic categories (age, gender, rurality) conceptualise and negotiate employment relations and the structural mechanisms (education, industry, legislation) through which youth are socialised in employment citizenship. The study extends previous research on youth employment in that it combines data from young people with that from other key actors in education and employment; that is, schools, employers, government, unions and non-government organizations. Despite the disparate nature of these groups there were some common themes regarding young workers. All agreed, for example, that there was a need for a greater level of employment knowledge and understanding among young people and that the current provisions for information dissemination on this subject are inadequate. There was also general consensus that, despite the need for some further clarifications and some potential limitations, the Child Employment Act 2006 (Qld) was beneficial.
This edited book brings together empirical studies of young people in paid employment from a vari... more This edited book brings together empirical studies of young people in paid employment from a variety of disciplinary perspectives and in different national settings. In the context of increasing youth labour market participation rates and debates about the value of early employment, it draws on multi-level analyses to reflect the complexity of the field. Each of the three sections of the book explores a key aspect of young people's employment: their experience of work, intersections between work and education, and the impact of other actors and institutions. The book contributes to broadening and strengthening knowledge about the opportunities and constraints that young people face during their formative experiences in the labour market.
In light of declining trade union density, specifically among young workers, this article explore... more In light of declining trade union density, specifically among young workers, this article explores how trade unions recruit, service and organize young people. Our focus is the way in which trade unions market their services to the young. We use, as a lens of analysis, the services and social marketing literature and the concept of an ‘unsought, experience good’ to explore trade union strategy. Based on interviews with a number of union officials in the state of Queensland, it is clear that unions see the issue of recruitment of young people as significant, and that innovative strategies are being used in at least some unions. However, the research also indicates that despite union awareness, strategies are uneven and resource allocation is patchy. While the research was carried out in one state, the results and conclusion are broadly applicable to the Australian labour movement as a whole, and have implications for union movements in other Anglophone countries.
Young people are arguably facing more ‘complex and contested’ transitions to adulthood and an inc... more Young people are arguably facing more ‘complex and contested’ transitions to adulthood and an increasing array of ‘non-linear’ paths. Education and training have been extended, identity is increasingly shaped through leisure and consumerism and youth must navigate their life trajectories in highly individualised ways. The study utilises 819 short essays compiled by students aged 14–16 years from 19 schools in Australia. It examines how young people understand their own unique positions and the possibilities open to them through their aspirations and future orientations to employment and family life. These young people do not anticipate postponing work identities, but rather embrace post-school options such as gaining qualifications, work experience and achieving financial security. Boys expected a distant involvement in family life secondary to participation in paid work. In contrast, around half the girls simultaneously expected a future involving primary care-giving and an autonomous, independent career, suggesting attempts to remake gendered inequalities.
ABSTRACT While the literature points to significant shifts in young peoples’ labour market partic... more ABSTRACT While the literature points to significant shifts in young peoples’ labour market participation and the social, economic and political context in which this has occurred, it tells us little about whether and in what sense young people can be considered as industrial citizens. We explored the notion of youth citizenship using data derived from 48 focus groups conducted with 216 young people (13-16 years of age) at 19 high schools in Australia. The findings reveal the ways in which several key dimensions of industrial citizenship come to be shaped and have implications for addressing the vulnerability of youth in employment and informing policy and action.
This chapter explores the gender pay gap in public services, comparing the female-dominated libra... more This chapter explores the gender pay gap in public services, comparing the female-dominated librarian workforce to other professions. In the highly regulated public-sector environment, with standardized pay scales and job evaluation processes, and decades of equal employment policies, the gender pay gap should have disappeared. We use Cockburn’s typology of skill, that is, skill in the person, skill for the job, and skill in the setting. The gender pay gap existed due to decisions around skill in the setting, including managerial interpretation of the industrial instrument obstructing progression through lower classification levels, and management decisions resulting in librarians having lesser access to higher-level jobs than male-dominated professions. Despite high levels of regulation, librarians are disadvantaged by discretionary decisions made in the gaps of this regulatory scaffold.
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Papers by Robin Price