The Future of Unions in the Australian System of Employment Relations - Literature review Example

The Future of Unions in the Australian System of Employment Relations Student’s Name Instructor Institution Course Date The Future of Unions in the Australian System of Employment Relations Introduction An understanding of future of unions in the Australian system of employment relations needs critical assessment of the beginning of Hawke Labor government. Additionally, an understanding of steps that these unions have taken towards realization of support to workers tends to negate the conception that there is a multiplicity of unions in Australian workplaces. The recent amalgamation in trade unions points to the fact that Australian system of employment is being consolidated to ensure that representation of workers is at maximum. Despite these developments, the future of unions still remains a mirage noting that the responses of employers to the recent changes in union systems have been varied. Bray & Waring (2014) note that while some unions have been making attempts to introduce non-union agreements, in most cases against strong opposition from the existing workforce (we take a case of mining industry and waterfront) these unions are still growing in number and it can be ascertained that Australian system of employment relations will be firmly protected through unions. It has to be noted that Australian system of employment relations is diversified and as such, there is need to illustrate future of unions in the Australian from the same angle. While taking consideration of such diversities, this essay critically assesses the future of unions in the Australian system of employment relations. To conceptualise the thesis statement the essay decipher current trends that have been taking place within Australian system of employment relations and how much such trends have impacts on the sustainability and effectiveness of unions in Australia. While Australians are not anticipating a return to a centralized system of employment relations, Wright & Lansbury (2016) noted that the current system has a bearing on the functionality and effectiveness of the future of unions. The point of the authors is that with the current system, there is slim chance that parties will be engaging unions in greater dialogue especially between the parties leading to a new form of social partnership under a future labour government. This in return is projected to have adverse effects on the functionality of unions in Australia. This view is supported by the recent concerns from Australian Council of Trade Unions who noted that with the recent lack of inter-party dialogues, its representations of the workforce in the public policy issues is jeorpadised (Bray et al. 2014; Heery 2015; Lyons 2015). The interpretation of this concern is that Australian unions are soon moving in a situation where domestic and international representation may be limited. The recent international workforce representations in industrial tribunals such as the Equal Pay Cases and National Wage Cases may be hampered in future. It has to be recognized that the last 2 to 3 decades have seen unions fighting for great deal of workforce changes in Australia. As a matter fact, a number of these changes have been innovative and geared towards ensuring that Australian system of employment relations is improved. However, means by which these changes have been brought and effected by trade unions have varied considerably. Cooper & Ellem (2008) note that terminologies such as ‘high involvement’, ‘high commitment’ and ‘high performance’ work systems have for the last few years entered the vocabulary of employment relations to mean new approaches by trade unions which have been emphasizing the significance of multi-skilling, teamwork, and employee involvement to achieving high levels of productivity. However, surveys from studies such as Bailey & Peetz (2015) show that trade unions in Australia fail to consult employees before making or agreeing on key employment policies. Currently, Bailey & Peetz (2015) note that employees in Australia feel highly stressed, over-worked and have little job security yet there are dozens of trade unions that should fight for the betterment of Australian working environment. These concerns raised question on the future of Australian trade unions. It means that workers are soon deviating from unions as the tool used to bargain collectively on national basis for salaries, wages and terms of service. Looking at this issue differently, Australian system of employment relations is moving to a future where unions may be disengaged in the collective and co-ordinated bargaining with governments or performing broad managerial functions for workers on a consultative basis. The major part of twentieth century has seen falls in union density in Australia. While the essay does not anticipate this to be the future trend, falls in union power and resources continue to raise concerns though. Secondly, researchers have documented that a number of Australian unions made attempts to respond to these crises by adopting organising strategies that amounted to a major focus upon new membership expansion and workplace activism but lesser focus on the servicing of the already existing members (Bailey & Peetz 2015; Barnes & Balnave 2015). This approach indeed had the support of labour movement’s single peak council, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). Contrariwise, this approach has been critisized by scholars such as Barnes & Balnave (2015) who see the future of trade unions in Australia to be bleak the more the unions continue to put lesser focus on the servicing of existing members. Furthermore, the understanding and analysis of this approach has not been without controversy in the international literature (Bowden 2011). In particular, Buchanan et al. (2014) note that the decision of Australian to employ ‘lesser focus of the servicing of existing members’ kills its future because the unions will cease from practicing workforce activism and membership growth. In actual fact, there have been no mobilisations or if any, minimal on increasing unemployment, homelessness amongst the youth, threats of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), continued drop in wages, worsen working conditions, increasing costs of medical procedures and medications and continued radical alteration of employer employee relations. Australia is among countries that have been aligned with Anglo Saxon that have been experiencing decline in union density. As a matter of fact, the decline in the density of trade unions in Australia is even intense than in countries such as United Kingdom and United States. Still, the future of unions in the Australian system of employment relations can be understood from the positions governments have been taking with regard to fighting for employment relations in Australia. In 2007 for instance, the Australian Labor Party (ALP) made a promise that it would restore a balance to federal workplace laws with regard to Forward with Fairness industrial relations package (Clark 2016). This would in turn, strengthen the future prospects and bargaining powers of trade unions or Council of Trade Unions’ link with Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), the Australian Chamber of Manufactures (ACM) or Metal Trades Industry Association of Australia (MTIA). At long run, many in the trade union were disappointed by the Australian Labor Party’s perceived political pragmatism as the party failed to deal with some of the needed reforms. This position begged the question as to whether trade unions in Australia was going to have cutting edge in bargaining for the rights of its members. Clark (2016) noted that with the political pragmatism the future of unions in the Australian, system of employment relations remains weakened since they will be lacking independence and possibly critical role in the advancement of industrial interests. In fact, the thwarted “Your Rights at Work” campaign tells that the future of trade unions in Australia may be bleak as a result of poor relationship between the unions and the regime. Importantly, the failure by the government to honour union campaign messages shows that the relationship between the union’s perceived powers and characteristics of workplace delegates is widening and becoming weaker. The implication of this position is that labour movement advocacy; including training, activism, and support for workers and workplace representation is weakening thus a future which is likely to have weaker unions’ subjective powers. This view was support by a research conducted that aimed to assess the link between future unions’ prospects in Australia and current strength of their linkages with political institutions (Hannan 2015). The research concluded that in places where Australian unions have weaker bargaining powers towards political regime or institutions the future success of union renewal strategies in other settings is equally affected now and in future. The future of unions in the Australian system of employment relations depends on the linkages between Australian democracy and the perceived union powers. According to Hannan (2016) Australians are facing a situation where union powers will be no longer relying on identification of collective interest. On the other hand, Clark (2016) noted that the unions are facing a challenge where their expressions, especially towards their members or groups do not generate a sense of common grievance. Separately, while assessing levels of representations of the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) and the Business Council of Australia (BCA) Hannan (2016) found that trade unions in Australia do not rely on collectivist attitude. There has been lack of awareness amongst members of the group (e.g. the Business Council of Australia) that the unions have something significant in common and that they (unions) have something important in common and that they have the needed intent to act cooperatively, and a belief that their collective efforts will have positive effects. This suggests that workers are walking into the future where unions will no longer be viewed as a tool that fights for them. Actually Hannan (2016) puts this point succinctly when he argues that, “a renewal process which builds power of bargain in unions is soon lacking as workers continue to lose faith in them. There is lack of common purpose and a sense of efficacy brought by recent failings in unions’ pursuit for better working conditions.” (p. 48). Collective power should be mobilized in the interests of workers if the future of Australian union has to be sustained. However, the more the unions fail to respond to the interests and wishes of the members the more one can argue that as far as Australian system of employment relations is concerned, members are soon walking out of unions that struggle to have true powers in the workplace. Researchers who have looked at the future of unions in the Australian system of employment relations from this perspective have often cited the Prices and Incomes Accord that was negotiated between the Government and ACTU (the first Prices and Incomes Accord was signed by the Australian Labour Party and the ACTU) (Hannan 2016). While the accord has often aimed at forging alternative economy strategy to the policies of Conservative Governments, workers feel that the power of bargain from unions have been weaker especially after the accord failed to save the unions from double digit unemployment, double digit inflation, poor health and social security policies, low profit levels, and an extremely high level of industrial disputation when compared with international standards. One notable characteristics of Australian unions is their singular character; being distinguished by their orientation to the Labour Party (in as much as it can be said that some are not affiliating), by their more or less democratic characters, by their orientation to left or right factions of the Party, by their level of looser federation or centralisation and gender politics and industry and occupational character. However, the focus of this essay is to examine the characteristic of the unions’ orientation to the Labour Party vis-à-vis their futures in the Australian system of employment relations. In the last 2 decades Australian unionisms have operated within ‘antipodean patter on labour movement representation and labour market regulations (Hannan 2016). What the author means by antipodean patter on labour movement representation and labour market regulations is that there has been instances where arbitral system have been offering unions and the density of unions some protection. This in turn has weakened the bargaining power or the pursuit of Australian unions on some issues affecting workers. In fact, this view suits situations where Australian unionism was seen to be extending to its active parliamentary-political engagement through the Australian Labour Party. This pattern was witnessed when Bob Hawke, the then ACTU President became Prime Minister of Australia thus weakening the strength and bargaining powers of trade movements and Australian system of employment relations. There have been reports suggesting that due to orientation to the Labour Party, some unions, particularly from Victoria have been considering leaving Australian Labour Party to join Australian Greens Party because of a feeling that the continued orientations towards Australian Labour Party may kill the future roles of unions (Hannan 2016). For the sake of the future of Australian system of employment relations, Australian Council of Trade Unions need to consider what they do in the face of an enormous array of youth and the unemployed and constant workers attacks. Contrariwise, there have been different innovations, changes and advocacies that have been advanced that make the future of trade unions look promising. The epitome of the success of future of unions in the Australian system of employment relations began with the 1986 Victorian nurses’ strike that lasted for 50 days (Pyman et al. 2010). As a result, the nurses achieved the career structure reform that shaped the future of Australian unions. The aftermath of the strike portrayed the union as a tool that allows for the changes in taxation and wage policy. Trade union movements in Australian are moving the Australian system of employment relations into a future where terms of services will be negotiated with changes that are meant to improve working environment. For instance, the establishment of the Accord has ensured that severe terms of service have declined. This means that Australia is moving into a future where the Australian system of employment relations will be negotiating for enterprise bargaining. Pyman et al. (2010) supports this view arguing that whilst at the beginning of the Accord the wage system was basically centralized and the increase of wages was pegged on changes in the cost of living, the situation has since improved as a result of the efforts made by the unions. The interpretation of Pyman et al.’s view on the future of unions is that workers will be embracing a future where unions will be fighting to adjust safety net award so that such awards increase lowly paid workers. In so doing, the stability of unions is guaranteed now that ACTU is already advocating for benefits for workers’ families like superannuation, employment, health care, occupational health and safety and family payments. Additionally, the minimum fixation of wage by Fair Work Australia (FWA) as well as that of Fair Work Commission (FWC) and the present framework have not only been a modest but an indication that Australian unions is moving the Australian system of employment relations into a future where there will be need to advocate for positive employment terms or future where there will be little political interference as it has been before. Conclusion This essay critically assessed the future of unions in the Australian system of employment relations. From the analysis, the essay found that there is strong link between the current practices of labour unions and their failures in future. Currently, unions, under the leadership of Australian Council of Trade Unions are not meeting most of demands and bargains from its members. While the causal linkages between these factors have not been certain, our findings with the central tenets of the literatures indicate that advocacy and union power is weakening. The essay further notes that the unions have been concerned majorly with social security making them to be at the forefront negotiating for workers’ pensions. This approach however, puts the future of unions and the Australian system of employment relations at jeopardy because unions disregard the issue of employment and better terms of service as part of the labour market reform process or part of battleground or agenda on which labour movement should be representing workers. Recent shift to Australian Greens Party because of orientations towards Australian Labour Party is a typical case that shows that the future of Australian unions is indeed bleak. Just like Peetz et al. (2015) noted, the process of accelerating reforms in Australian system of employment relations have been slower than what workers expected; need for redundancy pay, unemployment benefits, superannuation, pensions and labour market programs in the White Paper on employment creation in Australia have been some of the concerns raised by wokers showing that at least, Australian system of employment relations is not in tandem with efforts made by trade unions. References Bailey, J & Peetz, D 2015, ‘Australian unions and collective bargaining in 2014’, Journal of Industrial Relations , vol. 57, no. 3, pp. 401 -421. Barnes, A & Balnave, N 2015, ‘Back to grass roots: Peak union councils and community campaigning’, The Economic and Labour Relations Review, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 577 -595. 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Peetz, D, Murray, G, Muurlink, O & May, M 2015, ‘The meaning and making of union delegate networks’, The Economic and Labour Relations Review, vol. 26, no. 4, pp. 596 -613. Pyman, A, Holland, P, Teicher, J & Cooper, BK 2010, ‘Industrial relations climate, employee voice and managerial attitudes to unions: An Australian study’, British Journal of Industrial Relations , vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 460 -480. Wright, CF & Lansbury, RD 2016, ‘Employment relations in Australia’, in GJ Bamber, RD Lansbury, N Wailes & CF Wright (eds), International and comparative employment relations: National regulation, global changes, 6th edn, eds, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest. Read More