History of the Society |
In May 1958 a diverse group of people involved in industrial relations came together in Sydney to form a society, the first of its kind in Australia. Kingsley Laffer, the Head of Industrial Relations at the University of Sydney was a key founder. He marshalled the support of other academics at the university who had an interest in industrial relations as well as employers, trade union and government officials, and representatives from the state and federal industrial tribunals. The objective of the society was to promote the development of industrial relations as an interdisciplinary field of academic study as well as improving the practice of industrial relations with the involvement of practitioners from employers in the private and public sectors, unions and the industrial tribunals. That body is now known as the Industrial Relations Society of New South Wales (IRSNSW). Its formation in 1958 inspired practitioners in other states to follow suit and form their own societies. In 1964, a national body was formally established as a federation of eight state and territory societies. That body is known today as the Australian Labour and Employment Relations Association (ALERA). |
Kingsley Laffer - image courtesy of the University of Sydney |
Oral history projectIn 2021 the IRS of NSW established a project to record the history of the society through video interviews with long-serving senior members. The interviewees included past presidents of the IRS of NSW, ALERA and the International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA) and former editors of the Journal of Industrial Relations. Those interviewed were: Robin Amos, Professor Marian Baird, Vice President Joseph Catanzariti, Professor Emeritus Ed Davis, Dr Jonathan Hamberger, Greg Harrison, Dr Rod Harrison, Professor Emeritus Russell Lansbury, Professor Emeritus John Niland, Sharlene Wellard and Vernon Winley. The interviewer was Judy Hughes. The project used a whole-of-life oral history approach. Interviewees were asked about their involvement with the society and industrial relations in the context of a life lived. This approach saw them talk about the early influences that led them to industrial relations, their various career experiences and the value of membership of the society. The outcome of this project is a series of videos. These include the documentary, ‘Building Bridges’ which explores the origins of the society, its membership, activities, challenges and future, as well as the full 12 interviews. Each video runs for about 30 minutes. IRSNSW extends its gratitude to ALERA for their generous grant, which contributed to the production of these videos. |
John Niland in the studio for his interview |
Accessing the videosThe videos are available on the society’s YouTube channel in a dedicated playlist. See the documentary ‘Building Bridges’ below on this page or go to the YouTube channel to see all 12 interviews in full. |
Building Bridges |