Labour market deregulation: does small business care?

This article reports on a study undertaken to investigate the effect of the NSW Industrial Relations Act 1991 upon a sample of small business enterprises drawn from the North Coast region of NSW. Empirical data for the study was collected through a questionnaire distributed to eighty small business enterprises throughout the Lismore City Region. The data collected was used to establish which areas of flexibility small businesses valued and how awards and trade unions impacted on the ability of small businesses to achieve flexibility in these areas. This study provides an insight into industrial relations processes taking place within the small business sector.