What is it about?
Falling membership numbers and declining union density are issues of concern for Australian unions, and especially those in the transport and manufacturing sectors. Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that between 2005 and 2008, trade union membership declined from 22.4 per cent to 18.9 per cent of the workforce. Studies and statistics have consistently shown that union membership and density is lowest in Western Australia and this is a continuing trend, despite reversals elsewhere. Using the Western Australian branches of two ‘blue-collar’ unions – the Australian Rail, Tram and Bus Industry Union, WA Branch [RTBUWA] (which includes the former Locomotive Engine Drivers’, Firemen’s and Cleaners Union of WA, the WALEDF&CU), and the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union [AMWU], which now covers a wide range of metal working, printing and other manufacturing trades – as examples, this paper examines whether privatisation has contributed significantly to falling trade union density and membership in this State. The RTBUWA and the AMWU are unions whose predecessors represented large public sector workforces. In order to test the hypothesis that privatisation has adversely affected union membership and density, the paper examines three areas: changing policies in the Australian Labor Party [ALP], the breaking down of union culture, and changes in trade training and concludes that privatisation is a significant factor in the recent decline of these two unions
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Why is it important?
The nationalisation of industry, strong unity density and entry to skilled trades by apprenticeship training represent the traditional foundations of the Australian organised labour movement. But these factors have also significantly shaped the nature of Australian society, politics and economics. This paper investigates reasons for and impacts of the decline in union membership, density and trades training that characterise Australia in the 21st century. The methods used here could be applied elsewhere in Australia or in similar societies elsewhere in the world, such as Britain, New Zealand or Canada.
Perspectives
For almost two decades, I have been researching industrial workplaces and seeing correlations between privatisation and drastic reductions in the workforce, leading in some cases to a complete closure of the works. In Australia, we also see a continuing reduction in manufacturing work as companies send contracts off shore. In this paper, I test my theory that privatisation means loss of jobs, loss of work culture and in many cases, a reduction in the proportion of workers who are unionised (that is, union density). I believe that the evidence clearly shows that this is the case.
Professor Bobbie Oliver
Curtin University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The impact of privatisation on union membership and density: A Western Australian case study, The Economic and Labour Relations Review, January 2014, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1035304613518475.
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