Voices from Australia
07/Feb/2007 14:55
The two
Australians in the class have added important new
voices to our discussion about the state of the trade
union movement in North America. As well, they have
given us insight into what has been happening to
unions in Australia, especially since the election of
John Howard’s government in 1996, 1998, 2001 and
again in 2004.
The
Australian labour movement initiated a process of
renewal long before the current government attack on
workers’ rights. Already in the late 1980s,
the Australian Council of Trade Unions
(ACTU) began to restructure
along sectoral by pushing through the amalgamation
of unions. Amalgamate or die, was the rallying
cry. Consolidation would strengthen bargaining
power and end inter-union competition,
facilitating real membership growth. ACTU also
promoted the transformation of unions from service
to organizing organizations by building power
through grassroots activism and participation.
Fast-forward to today. While ACTU is still organizing and promoting activism, union density has declined dramatically. This is the result of a decade of radical neo-conservative economic and social policies that reshaped the labour market. To make matters worse, John Howard has managed to get his “WorkChoices” industrial relations agenda through the Senate giving way to the most profound changes in labour law in the last century. The new laws came into effect March 2006 but popular opposition is mounting thanks largely to an aggressive ACTU’s rights at work campaign.
I interviewed fellow student Matthew Thistlethwaite, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the New South Wales Central Labour Council, to get a first-hand account of what is going on. Click on the audio clip below.
Interview with Matthew Thistlethwaite, Deputy Assistant Secretary, unions nsw (Australia's New South Wales Labor Council)
Fast-forward to today. While ACTU is still organizing and promoting activism, union density has declined dramatically. This is the result of a decade of radical neo-conservative economic and social policies that reshaped the labour market. To make matters worse, John Howard has managed to get his “WorkChoices” industrial relations agenda through the Senate giving way to the most profound changes in labour law in the last century. The new laws came into effect March 2006 but popular opposition is mounting thanks largely to an aggressive ACTU’s rights at work campaign.
I interviewed fellow student Matthew Thistlethwaite, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the New South Wales Central Labour Council, to get a first-hand account of what is going on. Click on the audio clip below.
Interview with Matthew Thistlethwaite, Deputy Assistant Secretary, unions nsw (Australia's New South Wales Labor Council)
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