
Issue No 12		07 May 1999

News

Reith Second Wave Will Prolong Industrial Disputes

Plans by the Howard Government to further radically change the industrial relations framework will backfire and actually prolong industrial disputes.

Labor Council secretary Michael Costa says the proposal to introduce secret ballots before strike action would prolong industrial disputation because it would make it more difficult for unions to facilitate resolutions.

"Any experienced practitioner of industrial relations knows that strikes are a last resort for trade unions," Costa says.

"Union officials often play a pivotal role in brokering a deal between management and workers when relations have broken down and workers have been so frustrated with management inactivity that they take strike action.

"The secret ballots would detrimentally interfere with union officials' ability to head off these types of disputes. Once a strike has been called, any union official would testify to the difficulty in getting people back to work, particularly when a compromise has been struck.

"The evidence from Britain where the Thatcher Government introduced similar changes backs this up."

Costa says separate proposals to limit the ability of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to be involved in the resolution of disputes will further increase the number of disputes.

"It's interesting to see the contrast in strike activity between NSW, where there is a strong Commission, and in Victoria where there is none. In Victoria a worker is twice as likely to go on strike as one in NSW," he said..

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Issue 12 contents

Interview: The Call of the Wild
We meet a union organiser who�s taking the union message into the call centres.

Unions: After the Gold Rush
Call centres are the boom industry and governments everywhere are touting them as major job creators - particularly in regional areas.

History: From Steam Trains to Information Superhighways
A new project is dedicated to promoting the heritage of the Eveleigh railway workshops.

Work/Time/Life: This Working Life: Issue #1
The debut issue of the ACTU's new monthly bulletin for it's Working Time and Employment Security Campaign.

International: British Unions Halt Membership Decline
Union membership has stopped falling in the UK for the first time in 18 years, suggesting that unions� increased committment to recruitment and organising is starting to pay off.

Review: Cold Warriors' Secrets Exposed
NSW Attorney General Jeff Shaw looks at two books that lift the lid on Cold War espionage.

» Push for Decent Call Centres

» Shaw Unveils Second Wave

» Union Raises the Roof for Beryl

» Cotter Withdraws Currawong Standover Claims

» Reith Second Wave Will Prolong Industrial Disputes

» It�s Rio Telstra -- Union Braces for Attack

» Fears of AWA Push in State Rail

» Age Tele-Centre Seeks Pay Equity

» Advocate Ads to be Referred to Auditor-General, ACCC

» Labor Council to Stage Pre-Drug Summit

» Guest Report

» Sport

» Trades Hall

» Piers Watch

» Wran Wrong on Wrepublic

» Digging the Dirt-Digging

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