Trade Unions in Australia

Tcap equal of contents Executive Summary.. Page 3 entrePage 4 Benefits of joining a join. Page 6 social rank declines and impact of legislationPage 7 Effect of homophile Resources on Employees and Union membershipsPage 9 ConclusionPage 10 ReferencesPage 11 Executive Summary Since the 1980s backing conjunction membership numbers convey declined rapidly ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 130).Once upon a cadence it was quiet all important(p) for employees to be sort of a Federal as it entitled them to welcome a embodied voice, and power to build a pleasurable giveplace. T present generate been umteen factors that have contri besidesed to this decline in centre memberships such(prenominal) as transports in body of work building as well as increase in employee numbers (Patmore, 1992, pg 227 ). Changes in legislation by the Howard organisation with the implementation of the 1996 piece of work Relations sour and ulterior the getchoices travel restricted switch over sum to tals in a gravid guidance and so contributing to the decline in members.The increasing use of benevolent Resources within businesses is too impacting as employees ar choosing to directly consult guidance over issues rather and whence involving a third troupe. With the Labour disclosey regaining power in 2007 the legislations have flat been adjusted in favour of trade unions. However they atomic number 18 firing to have to bide to work hard so employees choose to join unions and begin to go against this declining tr cease of union memberships (Cooper, 2004, pg 207). IntroductionA trade union is an cheek of employees whose focus is the protection and negotiation of pay rates and conditions of employment ( Balnave et al, pg 536, 2007). By people joining together as a collective non an individual, produces a greater amount of power when dealing with issues such as engage and working conditions (Balnave et al, 2007, pg125). It is this power that crooks changes to occu r in employment traffic and as a result employees establish satisfied with their workplace. dispense unions for numerous years now have played a key fictional character in Australias structure of employee dealings ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 124 ). It kitty be renowned that trade unions in Australia date back to as early as the rebellions do my convicts in regards to their living conditions and have moved forward to the period issues of employees such as work conditions, pay rates and various sassy(prenominal) factors (ACTU website). From the years 1850-1990, trade unions were officially established in Australia (ACTU website) and various unions were organise such as the she arrs union, seaman union and miners union (ACTU website).In 1901 the NSW industrial arbitrement Act was passed. This act was bought about in the hope of creating profitable workplaces by improving the standards of workplaces ( ACTU website). Also this act issued compulsory arbitration so that if a dis pute did arise within the workplace, it must be bought to the industrial Relations Committee (ACTU website). Since the 1980s trade unions in Australia have declined importantly (Patmore, 1992, pg 225). at a rate of 1% per year consequently change magnitude to 2% per year in the 1990s. ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 137).thither be several reasons as to why this has occurred such as the structure of the workplace, for example the increase in causal labour (Patmore, 1992, pg 227), changes in sparing markets, increase in flexibility given to employers over employees, increase in managerial rights and the behaviour of unions extra meter (Balnave et al, 2007, pg 138) . The biggest change of all for trade unions in Australia came about in 1996, with the reintroduction of the bountiful party low the power of John Howard. It was here that the development of the work Relations Act occurred.This act saw the introduction of Australian survey Agreements (AWAs). These harmonys allowed for employers to work closely with their employees to set their own working conditions that would be suitable to their work practices. The years following saw the Australian Council of mass Unions on with the Labour political relation campaigning against Howards idea of industrial relations ( Cooper, 2008, pg 285). In late 2007, the labour disposal regained power of the federal parliament. From here the rudd government moved to create the Forward with Fairness indemnity that still stands to date ( Cooper, 2008, pg 286).This was more beneficial for the unions. The unions however will persist tarnished from Howards workchoices for quiet virtuallytime and must focus on recruiting forward-looking members (Brigden, 2008, pg 365) if unions are going to remain within Australia. gentle Resources practices have also force on unions as managers within a workplace are encouraged to now work directly with their employees, rather thus including a third party such as a trade union ( Balnav e et al, 2007, pg 169). Because of this, trade union members will continue to declineBenefits of joining a union Joining a union can be passing beneficial for its members. A union offers its members the chance to join a collective support rather then fight individually. It increases economic benefits, increases productiveness and workplace protection ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 131). The culture of the workplace whitethorn also influence stars decision to join a union. When faced with a problem it is a lot easier to proceed to fight this problem if you are part of a collective rather then approach the problem as an individual.In the case of trade unions, the advantage of being part of a collective nitty-gritty that the union can approach precaution so that matters mingled with management and employees are discussed on a more even ticket ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 133). Also being part of a collective group means that members are represented in front of a tribunal, and therefore have equal chance of success ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 135). This is something that a member would expect of their membership. employment unions also prove effective when they act as lobby groups as a means of getting both parliament and the publics attention something that would be difficult to do as an individual ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 135). Trade unions are verbalize to increase economic benefits as the presence and influences of a union may create changes in wages and working conditions (Balnave et al, 2007, pg 134). If an employee is satisfied with their wage and conditions then it is most possible that they will be more productive and therefore a greater asset for the company.Being part of a union enables protection for an employee in many areas including training, recruitment, wages and conditions of the workplace (Balnave et al, 2007, pg 132). This protection is important for an employee if their employer is expecting them to be efficient within the workplace. Lastly if the culture of the workplace is actually union orientated, an employee is not going to tang comfortable if they too are not a member and vice versa. Therefore culture has an influence. There is also the argument that unions do not offer as many benefits as promised and members do not achieve any benefits.In toll of economic benefit, yes a union may influence an increase in wages, however in return management may increase work pressure on employees ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 134). At the same time, the decline in union membership numbers is affecting the king of unions to effectively influence management (Balnave et al, 2007, 133). Because of this employees do not see the benefits in joining a union. Membership declines and impact of legislation Since the 1980s union memberships have declined in Australia at an alarming rate ( 2004).Memberships in 1988 stood at 42% opposed to 2003 with a small percentage of 23% (2004). This decline in membership can be explained by different vari ables such as change in workplace structure such as the move to more occasional positions, workplaces employing larger groups of people and poor economic performance. The employers ability to make offend wages also tests the need for unions ( Patmore, 1992, pg 227). Due to the close relationships that Trade unions dowery with the labour party many unions had relied on this relationship to make the conditions and wages for their members more pleasurable (Patmore, 1992, pg 231).So the re- election of the tolerant government in the 90s impacted probatoryly on the declining number of union members as there was no positive relationship between unions and the liberal party. From here on in the traditional Australian model of industrial relations was tarnished as yet again the people had chosen a government who had introduced an anti- union plan ( Barnes, 2005, 370). The first initial major change by the Howard government was the introduction of Workplace Relations ACT of 1996. This A ct saw the introduction of Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs).These agreements enabled the employer and employee to formulate their own agreement conditions without any input from unions. The agreements had to pass the No Disadvantage testing ensuring that an employee would in no way be disadvantaged by these individual AWA agreements (Balnave et al, 2007, pg 146). after gentle the Australian peoples vote in the 2004 election, Howards government implemented changes to legislation which are considered to be the most significant in Australias biography of industrial relations since the Conciliation and Arbitration Act of 1904 ( Riley &038 Sarina, 2005, pg 343).These changes involved amendments to the Workplace Relations Act of 1996, to generate The Workplace Relations Act 2005, which is also known as Workchoices. The prime designate of workchoices was to shift the power in the workplace to be in favour of employers ( Barnes, 2005, pg 373). This introduction of this act really impacted on the involvement of trade unions in countless ways. Firstly they destroyed the No disadvantage Test, therefore there was no way in which to test employees were receiving canonical wages and that their conditions of work were up to standards (Riley &038 Sarina, 2005, pg 342).Also the unions were no longer able to enter workplaces and were restricted to visiting workplaces for recruitment only twice a year. If these rules were breached, penalties did apply ( Cooper, 2004, pg 202). Not only were unions unable to easily approach members and employees, but the Workchoices Act made it difficult for unions to partake in industrial performance such as strikes (Barnes, 2005, pg 373). Because of the restrictions that workchoices placed on unions, members were not reaping the benefits they were promised.As a result memberships continued to decline (2004). In response to Howards Workchoices Act the Labour government decided to campaign against workchoice in the hope of winning the opinions of the broader community (Barnes, 2005, pg373). Together with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), the Labour government launched a television campaign that dealt with issues such as job security, and a large level of unfairness that they believed was occurring in the workplace (Barnes, 2005,pg 375 ).The campaigns must have been some what effective as Labour was elected into power at the end of 2007. This was a great turning point for unions as it was the first time after more then a decade that they had not been confronted with an anti-union government ( Brigden, 2008, pg 365 ). Rudds government worked quickly to make amendment to the liberal governments workchoices with the implementation of the Workplace Relations Amendment (Transition to Forward with Fairness) Act 2008.With this innovative Act came the removal of AWAs and putting in place a new no disadvantage test. The scrapping of AWAs and the re-introduction of the no disadvantage test gave unions the abil ity to rebuild their members as they now had more ability to approach workplaces as the power had now shifted back to the employees. Due to the impact of Howards adjustments to industrial relations legislations with the introduction of Workplace Relations Act in 1996 then to the inclusion of the Workchoices Act 2006 unions were restricted on their ability to influence employees.This impacted greatly on the decline in union members. The Fair Work Act2008 implemented by Rudds government looks more smart for the continuation of unions, however to re-gain full respect unions are going to have to double their efforts and increase their efforts in years to come ( Cooper, 2004, pg 203). Effect of homophile Resources on Employees and Union memberships With the decrease in unions, there has been a historied increase in the use of human resources techniques in the workplace ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 169). human race Resources is the element of a business that deals traditionally with pay an d recruitment as well as planning and business performance ( Griffiths &038 Lloyd-Walker, 2007, pg 2). The techniques adopted by Human resources focus on the individual and their performance within the workplace ( Balnave et al, 2007 pg, 169). For instance businesses are more focused on including employees in their decision making process and rewarding them through reward systems.Also there are fewer management levels within workplaces which enables employees to be placed on a similar level to higher management ( Patmore, 1992, pg 239). This day and age, HR within a workplace is focused on helping the custody directly rather then including a third party such as a union ( Balnave et al, 2007, pg 169). Employees join unions for various reasons as already discussed such as the ability to be heard as a collective voice rather then as an individual, protection from employers, economic benefits and the culture of a workplace (Balnave et al, 2007, pg 169).Human Resources techniques offer the ability for employees to beat more involved with their workplace decisions, it is possible that employees feel that they are able to easily approach management. Because of this employees feel that there is less need for them to become union members. Therefore because employees are able to voice their opinions and take part in the decision making process of their company, it is more then likely that employees will directly approach their management team rather then involving a third party such as a trade union.This inturn has an impact on the declining rate of trade union members. Conclusion Trade unions have played an important role in industrial relations in Australia (Balnave et al, 2007, pg 124). Originally trade union membership was popular as it offered employees many benefits such as a collective voice and it gives employees a greater amount of power to achieve the pleasant working conditions they are after. For many years now trade union memberships have been declining delinquent to various factors such as the change in workplace structure to more casual employment and companies employing larger work forces.However one of the biggest impacts of all was the re-election of the liberal government in 1996. The drastic changes the government made to industrial relations with the introduction of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 and posterior the Workplace Relations Act 2005. These acts placed large restrictions on unions and as a result the number of union memberships continued to decline. It wasnt until the Rudd government was elected in 2007 that changes were made to these legislations that enabled unions to play a part in industrial relations once again.The modern practice of Human Resources in the workplace is also said to have impacted on the decline of union membership. Through the use of Human Resources techniques companies are now more inclined to directly deal with their employees rather then have a third party involved. This is well suited to employees and they may feel more comfortable just approaching management rather then be apart of a union which involve fees. The re-election of the labour government in 2007 lead to the changes in legislation that unions needed if they are going to regain their level of importance in industrial relations.However unions are going to have to work hard at doubling their efforts at recruiting employees if trade unions are going to have a positive history in Australia (Cooper, 2004, pg 208). References Balnave, N, Brown, J, Maconachie G, &038 Stone, RJ 2007 Employment Relations in Australia, 2nd edn, Wiley, Milton, QLD. Barns, A, 2005 Trade trade unionism in 2005, daybook of industrial relations, vol. 48, no. 3, pp 369-383 Brigden, C, 2008 Unions and Collective Bargaining in 2008, Journal of industrial relations, vol. 51, no. 3, pp 365-378 Cooper, R, 2005 Trade Unionism in 2004, Journal of industrial relations, vol. 7, no. 2, pp 202-211 Cooper, R, 2008 Forward with Fairness? Industria l Relations under Labour 2008, Journal of industrial relations, vol. 51, no. 3, pp 285-296 Griffiths, J &038 Lloyd-Walker, 2007 Human Resources precaution, 3rd edn, Pearson Education Australia, French Forest, NSW. Patmore, G, 1992, The future of trade unionism- an Australian perspective, transnational Journal of Human Resources Management, vol. 3, no. 2 pp 225-239 Riley, J, &038 Sarina, T, 2005, Industrial legislation in 2005, Journal of industrial relations, vol. 8, no. 3, pp 341-355 About Trade unions, Australian Council of Trade Unions, viewed tenth April, 2010 http//www. actu. org. au/About/Tradeunions/default. aspx Unions History 1900- 1960, Australian Council of Trade Unions, viewed tenth April 2010 http//www. worksite. actu. asn. au/fact-sheets/unions&8212history-1900-1960. aspx Feature article- Trade union membership, Australian Bureau of statistics, viewed 10th April 2010 http//www. abs. gov. au/AUSSTATS/email&160protected nsf/featurearticlesbyCatalogue/592D2F759D9D38A9C A256EC1000766F7? OpenDocument