Journal Archive
Unionism in Australia By Mark Carroll
Union density in Australia is in decline. Union surveys and the labour force survey series indicate that union density may now be around 31 per cent.
In 1975, union membership was at 58 per cent, for all wage and salary earners. The Federal Labor Government had been in power (or rather, office) since December 1972, and as a matter of policy it encouraged workers to be union members. In the 3 years of Whitlam, membership increased by some 300,000 people which represented an increase of almost 12 per cent. The increase in the size of the public sector and the government's encouragement of union membership caused this rapid growth.
Over the 1980s the proportion of unionists in the workforce fell. The fall was due to constant unemployment, expansion in the service industries combined with a lack of union recruitment, and the non-existence of union coverage over a whole industry . In the 1990s the casualisation of the workforce, the increases in participation rates of women in work, continual high levels of unemployment, and the downsizing of the public sector, has affected union density. Since 1991 union density has fallen dramatically and the decline is steepening rather than moderating.
State Liberal governments in power since 1991 have been a significant factor in declining union density. The Western Australian Court Liberal government proposed legislation in 1995 that would remove state coverage rights from a union seeking a federal award and would restrict union entry to the workplace. Industrial action, including a blockade of the West, was endorsed by the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and placed political pressure on both state and federal Liberal parties. This
action proved effective in a federal pre- election climate. Premier Court was made to make Labour Relations Minister, Graham Kierath, back down, and the law was redrafted. However, in 1997 the Court Liberal government has moved to pass a third wave of industrial laws through the upper house that will include employees having to declare to the employer that they are in a union before the union official has the right to visit. Other amendments will see employees lose some annual leave pay if they resign from work 'unlawfully'. There will also be no compensation for unfair dismissal, and $200 a day fines for employees who take action involving a stoppage of or bans or limitation on work performance.
In South Australia and Victoria, Liberal governments decreased the size of the public sector, through budget cutbacks and targeted separations. The public sector has been a traditional union membership base and the loss of numbers directly has an impact on union density. The disappointment through enterprise bargaining and the use of over award payments to non union members by their employers have not helped unions retain or recruit members. Unions were under siege and in 1996 a federal Liberal coalition government was elected. As a result, the new government was given a "mandate to rewrite the Australian industrial relations system, a rewrite which conservatives characterise as merely 'evolutionary', but one that firmly targets unions and promises significant changes for Australian industrial and workplace life" (Pocock B. Wright P, March 1997, pp 1). The act has allowed the Coalition to achieve "some of its goals, greatly constraining the role of unions and forcing them into a defensive or irrelevant role in many workplaces, given the lessening role for awards, unions, and the Australian Industrial Relations Commission" (Pocock B Wright P, March 1997, pp 5). The challenge is firmly placed at the feet of the unions. The declining rate of unionisation cannot continue if unions wish to remain an important part of the industrial landscape.
The shift for unions in the 1990s began with the amalgamation ballots. Over one million trade unionists voted and in doing so reaffirmed their support for unionism with the majority voting for real change. Consequently, the ACTU facilitated the amalgamations of many unions to form super unions. The number of federally registered unions fell to 47 in July 1995, down from 143 six years prior. Their are currently 20 large unions representing over 90 per cent of members under federal awards. Unionists were promised that the amalgamations would lead to stronger, better resourced, more democratic and efficient unions. In hand, they would provide better services for their members and would be restructured with both a workplace and a national focus. The ACTU facilitated this change as they did not believe the structure of unionism was correct. In a speech in 1989, the secretary of the ACTU, Mr Bill KELTY, stated:
"I have never held the view that union organisation of this country is right. It is not efficient for you as managers in many cases; not efficient for us as unions it is a ludicrous position that we have in the country so many unions, in so many industries, with so many bargaining agents." (Decry S & Plowman D, 1991, pp 434).
Promises are one thing, but the question is whether the amalgamation of unions has been able to deliver. It is necessary for the unions to re-create themselves so that they are an important part in the working lives of all Australians. To be important is to be relevant and unions must restructure in a way that prevents them from becoming a 'super bureaucracy'. Remaining relevant in the workplace at a grass-roots level is the challenge. The key elements of building a strong union movement are separated into three groups, as reported in 'Unions 2001 - A Blueprint for Trade Union Activism', they are:
Rebuild: Focus toward a recruitment culture, expand services to members, resources for sophisticated communication.
Democratise: Focus toward a semi- autonomous, trained workplace organisation. Devolution of power to decentralise, and creation of true workplace democracy.
Modernise: Focus toward streamlining union services, professionalise, and provision of co-operative solutions. (Evatt Foundation 1995, pp 42)
Creating more efficient infrastructures is expensive and the pooling of resources has been vital with amalgamation. The challenge was taken up by the Public Service Union (PSU) which wrote the following to its members:
"The amalgamations that created the PSU have given us ... resources ... we never dreamed of having in our separate unions. For example we are currently setting up an electronic communications network which will put us in closer touch with members, delegates and officials all over Australia. None of the PSU's predecessors could have done this and it is members who will benefit, through improved access to advice and information." (Evatt Foundation 1995, pp 47).
Unions are responding to the challenge in many ways with a return to mobilisation and activism as an integral part of their strategy. The Organising Works initiative is one example. It grew out "of the findings of the union mission to the United States in July 1993. The delegation noted that some US unions in the late 80s had questioned their traditional approach to servicing members" (Organising Works Leaflet, 1995). A servicing union is one that is reactive and has a central hierachy. It operates to solve problems in the workplace for the members and has direct ownership of the issues. An organising union is one that empowers workers to solve the problems in the workplace for themselves. The union provides specialist support to the workplace representative who has a leadership role. Members are to be involved in the decision making process and set the agenda.
The delegation to the United States presented their report to the ACTU National Congress in 1993. As a result the 'Organising Works' initiative, which is designed to train young, newly employed organisers in the features of an organising union model, was developed. It is hoped this will enable the recruitment of new members into unions and reverse the current trend of decline, especially in the service industries that have a low ratio of union members. Combined with the amalgamations, it is a direct strategy by unions and actively seeks to remain relevant and necessary in people's working lives. The organising model identifies three main areas for change:
Organisation: Means setting in place a workplace network to effectively communicate face to face with every worker.
Education: Through the workplace network, education is achieved through one to one communication about issues that confront people and how the workplace can deal with them.
Action: As members understand the issues the union ask them to become actively involved in collective activities to win changes. (Organising Works Leaflet, 1995)
The resolve of unions to reverse the decline is continuing. The ACTU Congress has repeatedly advised unions of the need to recruit, for their own survival as well as the union movement in general. The ACTU Congress in September 1993 stated that unions "need to apply their resources and energies to improving services and organisational effectiveness in order to attract members" (ACTU Congress, [http://www.actu.asn...ut/policy/93union.htn] , September 1993, pp 1). Particular attention was drawn to the provision of sufficient resources and support, increasing the number of union organisers especially to organise employees in small businesses, along with education and training of delegates and officials. Innovation in recruiting strategies, and the acquirement of new talent into their organisations that are representative to the majority of members and identifiable to potential membership with regard to gender, age and ethnicity, was stated also. On 29 January 1997, in an ACTU speech, Jon Linehan, senior industrial officer for the ACTU, stated:
"Of the 20 unions about a third are growing, a third are maintaining their existing membership and one third are in decline. Unions growing include those representing nurses, engineers and scientists, and retail workers ... There are any number of excuses why unions cannot grow or stem the tide of membership loss. They all have some validity but even with those factors there is no reason to accept as inevitable the decline of union membership numbers in Australia. Several unions have demonstrated that with the right combination of services they can grow alongside of a growing workforce." (Linehan J., [http://www.actu. asn.a.../970129 challenges.htm], January 1997, pp 4).
Some of the 'right combination of services' have been mentioned. Other methods that unions have used to appeal to members and potential members, which are highlighted in the ACTU Policies and Resolutions paper from the September 1991 Congress are:
Implementing strategies to increase participation of women.
Special affirmative action positions on executives of state union councils for women.
Promotion of union structures which are more democratic and accountable.
Provision of a high level of service to individual employees through enterprise agreements.
Market research of the attitudes and needs of members/non members/potential members.
Delivery of direct debit facility for subscriptions.
Series of publications explaining issues facing trade union movement.
Increased membership services such as discount schemes and travel.
Strategies to break down stereotypes of unions and union officials.
An example of a union facing the challenge toward declining union densities is the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia (A.P.E.S.M.A.). This union has over 20,000 members and currently grows at the rate of 5% each year. It provides tailored advice on remuneration matters, is a nationally certified 'Quality Organisation', and provides a range of extra services. The Nurses unions also continue to grow in numbers, providing quality industrial services, a close contact with membership views, and a positive public profile. Its members are loyal and well informed. The Police Association of South Australia (PASA) has retained high membership (never below 95%) and has changed its delegate structure to provide better communications with members. It uses advanced technological resources and recently appointed an organiser. PASA has sustained a positive public profile and obtained wage increases through a range of industrial action.
The ACTU, for their part, have assisted unions in the amalgamation process and provided the necessary technical support to achieve stated aims. The image of the ACTU has also changed over the last few years. The election of Jennie George to the position of president-elect in 1995 was welcomed with a standing ovation. Her accession "to the leadership was completely unmarked by factional intrigue or discussion of any other candidate. Her merits were unquestioned" (Pocock B, March 1996, pp 140-141). The ACTU aims to have equal representation of men and women on the Executive by the year 2000. The ACTU is leading the way with regard to women's representation, where it "is in fact better than at senior levels of the corporate sector or some parliaments" (Pocock B, March 1996, pp 143). However, all unions have a significant way to come before they can claim fair representation of women, migrant workers, and young people. It is a strategy however, that will transpose into creating a union movement that is relevant and identifiable and thus attractive to more workers.
The ACTU also conducted the 'Living Wage Campaign' in 1996/1997, with the aim of bringing workers on the lowest incomes up to at least $12 an hour. The campaign represented a return of image for unions to be the advocates of the poor. The Accord years saw the relationship between the ACTU and government becoming closer than at any other time so that the ACTU "acted as a broker between the government and the unions to secure almost complete compliance with policies necessary to the maintenance of the Accord and its derivatives" (Hagan J, 1989, pp 47). Under the Accord, in the period between 1989 to 1996, "productivity rose 17 per cent while real award wages fell by around 4 per cent ... few employers - let alone unionists -- 'would have predicted in 1983 that 13 years of Labor rule would deliver historically low levels of strike activity, union officials who understand and appreciate profit motive ... and an ACTU leadership committed to macroeconomic outcomes' " (Pocock B Wright P, March 1997, pp 3). Since the federal Labor loss in 1996, the ACTU has taken a more independent path. A path that, whether planned or not, will make unions more identifiable to those of us wishing not to compromise our rights as workers for our political beliefs.
Unions are responding to declining rates of unionisation. The mistakes of the past with regard to recruitment and retention have been absorbed and disseminated by unions, especially at peak council level. A range of initiatives have been undertaken and their success will be determined over the coming years. The union movement will need to pay particular attention to future trends and adapt their strategies when necessary. The problem is and has been evident. The path forward requires a commitment to the training and education of union officials, delegates and members. With knowledge, there is understanding and power. On 9th February, 1997 when launching the Trade Union Education Foundation, (after the Howard Government abolished the Trade Union Training Authority) Gough Whitlam stated:
"The paradox of Australian industrial relations in 1997 is that the new onslaught against unionism is occurring just when the Australian economy is reaping the benefits of a decade of union restraint ... Yet the political beneficiaries now choose to destroy one of the key institutions through which we have sought to build a well-led, flexible, responsible and responsive work-force -- the working men and women of Australia exercising one of the great, inalienable rights, the right to organise." (Whitlam G, [http://actu.asn. a...es97/9702091aunch.htm], February 1997, ppl).
Is it a coincidence that the Howard government would seek to destroy a key element in reversing the declining rate of unionisation -- that of educating to mobilise and organise.Mark Carroll is the Police Association's most recent appointment. He won the position of organizer (formerly known as field officer) in June, and will, among other duties, support the Association's branch structure and service delivery. He intends to make himself known to members by visiting workplaces, but to make Mark more widely known among the Association's membership, an interview with him will appear in next month's Police Journal.
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