James Fleming has been appointed the new Executive Director of the Australian Institute of Employment Rights.
James joins the AIER with over ten years’ experience as a labour lawyer for government, unions and the community legal sector. Most recently, he worked for the Australian Council of Trade Unions as a Legal and Industrial Officer. Prior to that, he was a Solicitor at JobWatch and Youthlaw, and a Solicitor and Adviser in External Affairs at the Fair Work Ombudsman.
James said “I’m joining the AIER in the midst of a pandemic that has shaken Australia and the world to its core. It has exposed inequalities, bankrupted businesses, and increased unemployment and insecurity. It has also caused us to think about the kind of work we value, the kind of lives we would like to lead, and the kind of society we would like to live in. I look forward to leading the AIER as it contributes to the debate on rethinking the fundamentals of work. I’m daunted but particularly excited by the AIER’s ambitious project to redesign Australia’s workplace architecture and to build an industrial relations system that works better for everyone. This is going to need input from across the spectrum of stakeholders, from academia, workers, employers, unions and government as we tackle the big challenges, some enduring, some new.”
Michael Harmer, AIER President and Chair said “the AIER is fortunate to have someone of James’ talent, ability and background joining us at such a vital and challenging time in the history of workplace relations in Australia . We look forward to James’ contribution to the quality of discussion over Australia’s workplace relations future”.
If you want to follow the AIER’s work in improving industrial relations in Australia, subscribe to our newsletter at www.aierights.com.au/subscribe, and become a supporter.