Ways in Which Australian Trade Unions Have Improved the Lives of Working Women - Case Study Example

Name Class Unit Introduction I am against the view that trade unions are just a group of men who shout a lot and call for strikes. Trade unions are not “dinosaurs”, unwilling to change and respond to the changing world. This is based on knowledge of the Australian trade unions, their history and the achievements in improving the lives of workers and empowering women (van Gellecum, Baxter and Western, 2008). Literature also supports relevance and ability to change of Australian trade unions. Unionisation in Australia has reduced differentials between men and women hence enhancing equality and reducing discrimination (Colgan and Ledwith, 2003). Since the trade unions were formed in Australia more than 150 years ago, they have been the primary organisation for the working class (Peetz and Pocock, 2009). Despite the unions’ strengths varying over the years, they have been the pivotal force for Australian workers in their struggle to gain improvement for their lives. The unions have fought for good working conditions and enhancement of workers’ rights (Griffin, Small and Svensen, 2003). This essay will show why the trade unions are not dinosaurs and their prominence in changing the work environment. This will involve looking at the vital role played by the trade union in promoting fairness in the workplace. The essay will also look at ways in which Australian trade unions have improved the lives of working women. ACTU Origin Australia has a long history with trade unions which started to form in the 1850s (ACTU, 2016). The Australian trade unions emerged due to influence from the British trade unions and were based on crafts as opposed to industries (Muir and Peetz, 2010). The labour party was formed in the 1890s with an aim of acting to uphold workers’ rights and interests. This was greeted with a lot of enthusiasm by the working class. The Australian labour federation was formed in 1904 and the first labour government elected in Queensland in 1904 (Peetz and Pocock, 2009). By 1901, Australia has a union membership of 97,200. Women were allowed to vote for the first time in 1902. In 1907, the labour unions were able to call for a basic minimum wage. By 1911, the union has a membership of 364,700. In 1920, the union was successful in attaining 44 hour week for the engineers ad timber workers (ACTU, 2016). The others later followed the suit in the country. Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) was formed in 1927. It is important to note by 1930, women were only receiving 54% of the male wage rates. This was followed by the great recession which led to a 10% wage cut in Australia removing the need for wage fixing (ACTU, 2016). By 1931, Australia union membership was at 769,000. According to Muir and Peetz (2010), ACTU was formed as a compromise between Labourism and revolutionary industrialism. Through the labour government, there were a lot of workers reforms in Australia between 1972 and 1975. This included the equal pay principle and catering for women who had entered the workforce in large number during the World War 2 (Peetz and Pocock, 2009). At this time, women earned wages which were almost equal to their male counterparts. Women were replacing men in industrial jobs after the Second World War, and workplaces were putting child care facilities for women (ACTU, 2016). ACTU achievements and relevance In 1941, labour unions were able to campaign for annual leave of one week. This became a standard, and the union membership rose to 1,076,600. In 1945, two weeks annual leave was introduced through the unions’ efforts and ACTU membership rose to 300,000 (ACTU, 2016). By 1950, female wages had been lifted to 75% of the male wage (van Gellecum, Baxter and Western, 2008). The union was able to make the annual leave be three weeks standard in 1963. ACTU filed to make discrimination clauses removed in both state and federal awards. By 1975, women were able to attain equal wages to men for same duties (Colgan and Ledwith, 2003). Through the work of unions, annual leaves have been enhanced. This is a proof that trade unions in Australia are not obsolete and are capable of changing with time (Muir and Peetz, 2010). Unions are not finished and cannot be compared to dinosaurs that were unable to adapt to change. A look at the Union score card shows successful fight for equal pay, women empowerment in workplaces, service leave, paid public holidays, wage increases, paternal and maternity leave, annual leave, compensation, workers occupational health and safety and personal carer leave among others (Sano and Williamson, 2008). A recent proof of activity of the trade unions in Australia is the national paid parental leave which has benefited both genders. The union has also been able to launch a campaign aimed at ensuring that worker’ rights and their working lives are improved (Muir and Peetz, 2010). This is aimed at fighting for 40% of the Australians who are employed in insecure work. Based on the fair work Australia ruling, social and community sector workers have attained a pay increase of between 23% and 45% for a period to span eight years (ACTU, 2016). Challenge of change Despite the achievements of the labour unions, they have been facing a serious decline in Australia due to change (Caspersz, 2007). For the last 15 years, union membership has fallen by 22%. This cannot be associated with lack of usefulness for the trade unions or failure to change. The main cause of failure in trade union membership to increase membership has been economic restructuring. There has been the growth of casualization in the labour market while the recent legislations have made a shift of balance of power towards employers (Peetz and Pocock, 2009). In Australia, Australian Labour Party (ALP) has lost a lot of blue collar voters as they have become delusional on the dissertation of labour compromise (Muir and Peetz, 2010). The labour union has also suffered from the decline in socialist vision and has been poorly equipped to handle the conservative agenda (Sano and Williamson, 2008). Faced with the changing environment, trade unions in Australia have proved that they can adapt. The unions have been working to increase membership (Sano and Williamson, 2008). With the deepening neoliberalism, the Australian government has been reducing the effectiveness of trade unions (Cooper and Ellem, 2008). The main challenge has been making the trade unions survive despite the declining membership. In Australia, it would be wrong to argue that unions have been unable to respond to change. For example, facing a decline in membership, ACTU came up with a plan which was aimed at increasing union membership (ACTU, 2016). This is through allocating finances and other resources to recruit new members. This was done in industries that have been facing an increase in workforce. ACTU has been able to enhance their recruitment methods and sent a lot of officials overseas to gain new knowledge (Muir and Peetz, 2010). The organisation has been offering their workers incentives and gimmicks which include access to cheap holidays and retail goods at a discount. Although these initiatives have worked in other countries, they have failed to work in Australia (Griffin, Small and Svensen, 2003). Australian employers started to go against unions in the 1980s due to changes in the economy. The federal government which came to power in 1983 worked in economic reforms (Muir and Peetz, 2010). This was an ambitious reform and employers faced a lot of pressure. There were major industrial disputes where the employers sued the unions based on the common laws. This led to employers winning damages and disputes (Caspersz, 2007). Radical deregulation of the labour market was called for. When Howard government was elected in 1996, Australian labour union was in decline. Informal compulsory unionism had been eliminated, and formal system of arbitration had been removed based on the labour market reforms (Muir and Peetz, 2010). Non-union forms of bargaining were being promoted at the state level, and the award safety nets were being abolished. At the federal level, there were efforts to move from the award reliance to enterprise bargaining. This was accompanied by provisions which were aimed at maintaining union primacy and collective bargaining (Caspersz, 2007). It is important to note that ACTU has played a role in the shift to using of enterprise bargaining. Most of the unionised workplaces have been based on membership and not activism (Muir and Peetz, 2010). Members of unions saw a very little gain on union activism which included monthly deductions. Workers were being offered better deals by their employers (Cooper and Ellem, 2008). Organisations with inactive union presence had the highest number of members leaving. The Workplace Relations Act (WR) which was in place by 1996 led to a major challenge for Australia trade unions. The WR Act prohibited any compulsory unionism arrangement in the workplace (Muir and Peetz, 2010). It also introduced penalties for unions which participated in industrial action in place of negotiating a new enterprise agreement. It is thus clear that union faced challenges which have made it decline. Based on worker choices, unions engaging in industrial actions faced heavy restrictions (Cooper and Ellem, 2008). Unions’ rights to the workplaces are highly limited. Unions response to change Responding to anti-union legislation in Australia, unions have been coming up with campaigns. These are known as Your Rights at Work (YRaW). This is a campaign that has been unmatched in Australia industrial history. This is due to using of technology, duration, and community support (Muir and Peetz, 2010). The campaign aim was to defeat the WorkersChoices and a change in government. This is a campaign that was central to the defeat of Howard government with WorkChoices being the main issue that led to the success of the campaign. WorkChoices was thus removed based on the fact that antiunion scare had missed the mark (Caspersz, 2007). The falling union membership cannot be used as an evidence of ending unionism of lack of relevance (Caspersz, 2007). It is obvious that unions in Australia are still relevant and are neither dead nor dying. It is important to note that unions are not immune from the challenges and difficulties experienced worldwide (Sano and Williamson, 2008). The response to these challenges as explained shows that Australian unions are capable of responding strategically and change based on the environment (Muir and Peetz, 2010). The number of unions in Australia is still increasing despite the decline that was experienced. The decline in union membership has been a serious threat to ACTU, which has led to new ways of recruiting and planning for the members (Caspersz, 2007). Australian unions are aware of the challenges they face and are working to counter them. Australian unions are still working to face the challenges and are not dying out. The unions still continue to give members a lot of achievements in their workplaces (Muir and Peetz, 2010). ACTU has ensured that even when faced with a hostile government, they can engage the electorate to gain the required change (Caspersz, 2007). The ability of ACTU to mobilise change during labour election is enough to show that unionism is capable of change and can adapt to changing world. It is important to note that YRaW was only capable of toppling government using workers but did not gain an increase in membership. The challenge of membership and growth still exists in Australia labour movements (Griffin, Small and Svensen, 2003). The unions still face a major task of organising and enhancing union democracy. At the moment, Australian unions continue to represent workers in their workplaces. This is through the use of collective bargaining workers interests, wages and conditions are upheld. The unions still ensure that the interests of all wage earners, women, unemployed and venerable are protected in Australia (van Gellecum, Baxter and Western, 2008). Based on ILO world report on labour, it is clear that collective bargaining is still relevant. This is due to the growth of precarious employment and seemingly intractable employment (Peetz and Pocock, 2009). Australian labour movements are well positioned to advocate for workers’ rights. The unions will have to continue fighting for Australian workers’ rights and fair society. Unions have to work in attracting those joining the labour market through persuading them that being a union member have enormous advantages. They also have to convince the employers that union in the workplace leads to high profits through efficiency brought by employees who are content and motivated (Griffin, Small and Svensen, 2003). Unions should also work hard in increasing women membership and also promote them in union management (Colgan and Ledwith, 2003). Conclusion To sum up, trade unions are not just groups of men who shout and call for strikes. Trade unions in Australia are willing to change and respond to the changing world. This can be seen with the movements’ activities which have achieved a lot. The unions have been able to fight for the women rights in the workplace and have also been promoting inclusion. Through movements’ actions, it has been possible to fight for the workers’ rights and make the working conditions in Australia better. Trade unions have been able to mobilise workers and remove governments which are oppressive to workers’ rights. Despite this, it is important to acknowledge that unions face the challenge of declining membership in Australia. This is a challenge that ACTU has been addressing. Despite this, unions should work hard to increase new membership and persuade employers on the benefits of unionisation. References ACTU, (2016), History of unions, ACTU.org, Retrieved 9th May 2016 from, http://www.actu.org.au/about-the-actu/history Caspersz, D., (2007), December, Responding to Trade Union Decline in Australia, In TASA/SAANZ Joint Conference, pp. 4-7. Colgan, F. and Ledwith, S. eds., (2003), Gender, diversity and trade unions: International perspectives, Routledge. Cooper, R. and Ellem, B., (2008), The neoliberal state, trade unions and collective bargaining in Australia, British Journal of Industrial Relations,46(3), 532-554. Griffin, G., Small, R. and Svensen, S., 2003, Trade union innovation, adaptation and renewal in Australia: still searching for the holy membership grail, Trade unions in renewal: A comparative study, 78-101. Muir, K. and Peetz, D., 2010, Not dead yet: The Australian union movement and the defeat of a government, Social Movement Studies, 9(2), 215-228. Peetz, D. and Pocock, B., 2009, An analysis of workplace representatives, union power and democracy in Australia, British Journal of Industrial Relations, 47(4), 623-652. Sano, J. and Williamson, J.B., 2008, Factors affecting union decline in 18 OECD countries and their implications for labor movement reform, International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 49(6), 479-500. van Gellecum, Y., Baxter, J. and Western, M., 2008, Neoliberalism, gender inequality and the Australian labour market, Journal of Sociology, 44(1), 45-63. Read More