Shifting the Balance of Power in Collective Bargaining: Australian Law, Industrial Action and Work Choices

2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shae McCrystal
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Industrial Action ◽  
Work Choices

scholarly journals Pre-Strike Ballots and Collective Bargaining: The Impact of Quorum and Ballot Mode Requirements on Access to Lawful Industrial Action

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-376
Author(s):  
Breen Creighton ◽  
Catrina Denvir ◽  
Richard Johnstone ◽  
Shae McCrystal ◽  
Alice Orchiston
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Trade Union ◽  
Qualitative Empirical Research ◽  
Industrial Action ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Key Features ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Abstract In 2016, the UK Parliament passed the Trade Union Act 2016 (TU Act 2016), which introduced new quorum and approval requirements for pre-strike ballots. In Australia, mandatory pre-strike ballots, including a quorum requirement, were first introduced in 2006. This article explains the key features of the Australian pre-strike ballot system and reports on quantitative and qualitative empirical research findings on the operation of the ballots process to analyse the majority and quorum requirements, mode of ballot (postal, attendance or electronic) and choice of ballot agent. Quorum is the biggest obstacle to Australian unions authorising strike action under the pre-strike ballot rules, and postal ballots fail to reach quorum at significantly higher rates than do attendance ballots. By introducing quorums and retaining the requirement that all pre-strike ballots must be conducted by post, the TU Act 2016 endorsed the two factors under the Australian regime most likely to impede the authorisation of strike action in a pre-strike ballot.

The Double Confrontation of Grassroots Unionism in Argentina

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 12-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cora Cecilia Arias ◽  
Nicolás Diana Menéndez ◽  
Paula Dinorah Salgado
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Social Conflicts ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Of ◽  
Political Scene

Social conflicts in Argentina over the past decade have retrieved the essence of the capitalist dispute: the struggle between capital and labor as situated in the workplace and no longer across urban space as it was in the 1990s. In this context, both institutionalized and alternative union expressions regained their centrality for analyzing social reality. The revitalization of collective bargaining and the consequent repositioning of unions on the labor and political scene activated grassroots dynamics that sometimes challenged existing union structures. Few experiences of resistance were able to alter the balance of power as much as the workers’ organization of the Buenos Aires subway. This organization was able to achieve such gains because of a combination of the strategic importance of the subway to the city’s production and reproduction, the fact that the privatization of the firm was a time-limited concession rather than a direct sale, the union tradition and workers’ awareness of lost rights, and the incorporation of new workers with a history of political militancy. Los conflictos sociales en Argentina durante la última década han recuperado la esencia de la disputa capitalista: la lucha entre el capital y los trabajadores como situado en el lugar de trabajo y ya no a través del espacio urbano, como lo fue en la década de 1990. En este contexto, las dos expresiones sindicales institucionalizadas y alternativas recuperaron su centralidad para el análisis de la realidad social. La revitalización de la negociación colectiva y la consecuente reposición de los sindicatos sobre el escenario laboral y político activan dinámicas de base que a veces desafiaban las estructuras sindicales existentes. Pocas experiencias de resistencia fueron capaces de cambiar al equilibrio de poder tanto como la organización de trabajadores del metro de Buenos Aires. Esta organización fue capaz de lograr tales ganancias debido a una combinación de la importancia estratégica del metro para la producción y reproducción de la ciudad, el hecho de que la privatización de la empresa fue una concesión de tiempo limitado más bien que una venta directa, la tradición sindical y la conciencia de los trabajadores de los derechos perdidos, y la incorporación de nuevos trabajadores con antecedentes de militancia política.

After Globalisation and Financialisation: Logics of Bargaining in the German Automotive Industry

2002 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Kädtler ◽  
Hans Joachim Sperling
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Automotive Industry ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Corporate Management ◽  
Strategic Choices

The article is focused on actual and future importance of collective bargaining at plant and company level in the German automotive industry. The impacts of restructuring of business processes, which are connected with trends towards globalisation and financialisation, are described and analysed. Empirical evidence is based on case studies in German based automobile companies. It is argued, that globalisation and financialisation are changing the balance of power within enterprises, the issues over which bargaining is taking place and the significance of certain arenas for negotiation. The paper concludes that collective bargaining still matter, and the locally embedded collective skills and cooperation play an important role in strategic choices of corporate management towards restructuring and globalisation and thereby give room to maneuver for employees' representation.

12. Trade unions: recognition, collective bargaining, and industrial action

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Jefferson
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Essential Information ◽  
Collective Agreements ◽  
Industrial Action ◽  
Disclosure Of Information ◽  
The Law

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. The chapter discusses the law on trade unions. Topics covered include independence and recognition; the legal enforceability of collective agreements; disclosure of information for collective bargaining; protection for trade unionists; statutory immunity in tort for various types of industrial action.

Unions and Collective Bargaining in 2008

2009 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cathy Brigden
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
First Year ◽  
Conservative Government ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Public Sector Unions ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Work Choices

For Australian unions, 2008 was the first year with a federal labour government in office after more than a decade of conservative government. Attention focused on the promised dismantling of the Work Choices legislation and the introduction of a new legislative framework, although it took until late November for the Fair Work Bill to be introduced into federal parliament. Confronting a disappointing decline in union membership levels, a number of union campaigns focused on recollectivizing workplaces. For other unions, collective bargaining with employers was a frustrating experience, as was the case with Qantas and Telstra. Public sector unions faced lengthy and hard-fought disputes with state labour governments, while an extraordinary dispute over electricity privatization unfolded between unions and the New South Wales Labor government. By the end of the year, the impact of the global financial crisis, and the consequences for jobs was the prevailing concern for many unions.

scholarly journals Negotiating a new Swedish model: Employment transition agreements and the struggle over redundancies

2021 ◽  
pp. 002218562110200
Author(s):  
Olle Jansson ◽  
Jan Ottosson
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Archival Material ◽  
Swedish Model ◽  
Employment Security ◽  
Employment Transition ◽  
Training Programmes

This article is aimed to contribute to our knowledge regarding employer and employee preferences about employment security and unemployment income protection as well as the degree of neoliberal change during the last decades through the lens of collective bargaining. It charts the institutional–historical development of an Employment Transition Agreement (ETA) between the bargaining cartel for white-collar unions, PTK, and the organisation for private employers, SAF/SN. ETAs are a form of institution through which Swedish trade unions and employer organisations give employees added protection in the event of redundancies, mostly in the form of added income protection but also matching services and shorter training programmes. Drawing from archival material and published statements in newspapers, the article engages with what the organisations wanted from such agreements during negotiations and how this shifted during the decades. The results show that the agreements have given employees added unemployment income protection while at the same time giving employees greater flexibility during collective lay-offs. It also shows how the agreement initially was more focused on employment security and proactive investments in skills. But when the balance of power shifted in favour of employers, PTK had to give up any such ambitions.

scholarly journals The Saskatchwan Government’s Internal Arrangements to Accomodate Collective Bargaining

2005 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 452-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt Wetzel ◽  
Daniel G. Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Nursing Homes ◽  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The Third ◽  
Control Functions ◽  
Central Coordination ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Control ◽  
Coordination And Control

This study looks at three models employee! by Saskatchewan's provincial public sector management to facilitate bargaining. First is a relatively conventional adaptation to bargaining with provincial civil servants. In the second, associations of nursing homes and hospitals bargain in the presence of a government observer. The third has the government and school trustees, with government holding the balance of power, negotiating jointly with the teachers. The paper also discusses the central coordination and control functions which the government has developed to deal with bargaining.

Major court and tribunal decisions in Australia in 2017

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique Allen ◽  
Ingrid Landau
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Good Faith ◽  
Workplace Discrimination ◽  
Annual Survey ◽  
Industrial Action

This annual survey of significant court and tribunal decisions in Australia in 2017 covers changes to the award safety net implemented through the 4-yearly review, including in relation to penalty rates and casual employment. It outlines developments in collective bargaining, focusing on agreement-making, protected industrial action, the good faith bargaining provisions and the rise in successful applications by employers for termination of agreements. A Queensland decision considering community pickets and the interaction between state peaceful assembly legislation and the Fair Work Act is also noted. Decisions on workplace discrimination show that the courts are still grappling with Fair Work Act provisions in this area, and taking divergent approaches. The survey also discusses a successful accessorial liability action taken by the Fair Work Ombudsman, which is significant for both internal and external business advisors.

Collective bargaining and industrial action

2018 ◽  
pp. 332-368
Author(s):  
Malcolm Sargeant ◽  
David Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Industrial Action
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