A Paradigm Shift? Employee Relations in the Victorian Public Service Since 1992
When Jeff Kennett was swept into office on 3 October 1992, one of his first priorities was to reform the Victorian public sector as one part of his broad strategy to get ‘Victoria on the Move’. Without losing much time, and with very little community or parliamentary debate, both the Public Sector Management Act 1992 (Vic) and the Employee Relations Act 1992 (Vic) were passed. These pieces of legislation have been the main instruments to regulate terms and conditions of employment for employees in the Victorian public service. Changes to the legislation will be examined in this paper and discussed in the context of whether a paradigm shift has occurred in managing employee relations in the Victorian public service.