Can a fair and productive workplace exist?

Employers, workers, and their respective advocates have differing opinions surrounding labour laws; however, they share some common ground, a recent debate has revealed.

At the 15th annual Ron McCallum Debate on Thursday, 6 November 2025, some of Australia’s leading commentators, academics and union representatives gave their takes on the theme “Now or Never? How Can We Make Workplace Relations Fairer and More Productive?”

The solutions to productivity issues

In her keynote speech, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Amanda Rishworth stressed that fairness and productivity are “not mutually exclusive”. Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) assistant secretary Liam O‘Brien echoed this, saying that productivity and fairness go hand in hand, and that productivity will never eventuate without fair distribution. However, too often, productivity is mistaken for profitability.

O’Brien said productivity losses were caused by an underinvestment in people and innovation. He noted that productivity has fallen while businesses’ investment in training has dropped 14 per cent since 2007.

Australian Resources and Energy Employer Association chief executive Steve Knott similarly stressed that investment in people is crucial. Additionally, he emphasised that the system is “there”, not “fair” for employers; however, he agreed that “great” workplaces cannot be built on productivity without fairness.

University of Sydney Associate Professor Dr Anna Boucher stressed that regulation does not suppress growth – instead, “non-compliant, low-wage firms relying on underpaid migrant labour drag down national productivity. Productivity and fairness rise together when the rules are enforced.”

In addition to productivity drains caused by what Boucher called “unknown variables”, Per Capita director Wesa Chau cited studies that revealed the $3.8 billion annual cost of sexual harassment, and racism’s 3 per cent burden on the Australian economy, and stressed that “better managers” are needed to increase productivity.

Measuring productivity

The fundamental fault is that productivity is not being measured properly, Chifley Research Centre executive director Emma Dawson said. She noted: “The Productivity Commission once claimed there had been ‘no productivity growth’ in [the] early childhood education and care sector since the turn of the 21st century, but ... women’s workforce participation has gone up by 12 per cent.”

Thus, an objective assessment of job demands is crucial, said Ian Coyle, adjunct professor at La Trobe University and Australian Catholic University. Observing factors such as “work pressure, physical demands, emotional demands, bullying, harassment and work and family conflict” is necessary to improve workplace relations and make them more productive, Coyle said.

Australian Law Reform Commission president Justice Mordy Bromberg said productivity could be best achieved through a “comprehensive consultation and the active participation of all relevant stakeholders”. He concluded that a tripartite approach is necessary, where labour relations, workers, employers, and government all come together to have input in labour law reform.