Challenges facing the trade union movement

by Anna Pha

The past 20 years has seen a huge transformation for the worse in working 
hours and conditions, in types of employment, the level of trade union 
organisation and distribution of wealth.

This process commenced under the Prices and Incomes Accord between the ACTU 
and newly elected Labor Government in 1983.

The Accord was based on the economic theory that if workers restrained 
wages to increase profits then those profits would be invested and lead to 
job creation. The so-called "trickle down" effect.

In return for their co-operation the Labor Government introduced Medicare 
and later, universal superannuation. But there was always a "trade off" 
which actually meant that workers lost out when it came to working 
conditions and real wages.

The trade union movement was sold the idea by Prime Minister Hawke that all 
they had to do was to sit around the table with "reasonable" employers and 
their needs would be looked after.

This resulted in previously held sacred trade union principles being 
abandoned for short-term gains. Hard won conditions such as hours of work 
and manning levels were traded off for wage rises or simply given away.

The earlier right of the trade union movement to take industrial action at 
any time became restricted by harsh industrial legislation and by 
"enterprise agreements" that limited industrial action to "protected" 
action during prescribed periods.

Although unions continued to campaign and members faired better than 
workers who were in non-unionised workplaces, the Accord period was marked 
by a significant reduction in struggle and an erosion of real wages, 
working conditions and hours.

Prime Minister Hawke boasted to employers how the Labor Government had 
reduced industrial action and made conditions right for them to improve 
their profits.

The ACTU developed it own direct ties with the corporate sector with 
corporate sponsors at its Congresses, ventures into the finance sector and 
unions providing members with a range of services and special offers of 
private health insurance and other products.

Labor Government policies

During the Hawke/Keating Labor years the ACTU and a number of trade unions 
diverted considerable time and energy into supporting the Government and 
ensuring its re-election ignoring the fact that Labor Governments had 
embarked on a policy of privatisation of publicly owned enterprises and 
that the real conditions of workers were under severe attack. A number of 
basic trade union rights were given up.

Contracting out, privatisation, deregulation, arbitrary tariff removals and 
competition policy have all contributed to the present situation where many 
workers are non-unionised and work under oppressive conditions. All these 
policies were first introduced by Labor Governments.

In practice the trade union movement lost much of its independence and 
fighting spirit. It became more an arm of government facilitating the 
introduction of unpopular policies.

The centralised award system governing wages and working conditions has 
been largely replaced by a decentralised system of enterprise agreements, 
individual contracts or no protection whatsoever.

This process was commenced under the Accord and taken up with a vengeance 
by the Howard Coalition Government.

As a direct consequence of these policies, trade union membership has 
declined from 60 per cent to 24 per cent of the workforce during recent 
decades. On many jobs there is no trade representation at all. And what is 
more worrying, trade union membership of young workers aged 15-24 years is 
only 13 per cent.

Casualisation

Employment is being "casualised", with the majority of new jobs offering 
little if any security. Now, 25 per cent of the workforce is employed on a 
casual basis.

Young workers are particular targets of this process. More than 66 per cent 
of 15-19-year-old workers are in casual employment.

Employers and the government are using casualisation as a backdoor method 
to attack wages and working conditions. By deeming workers to be casual 
they undermine job security with no regular holidays or holiday pay, sick 
leave and other entitlements.

The many advances made by women in the 1970s towards equal pay for work of 
equal value have been substantially eroded. Overt sexism is rearing its 
ugly head more and more often.

On the other hand, company directors and executives are pocketing larger 
amounts than ever without conscience as they lay off workers, bleed 
companies of their assets and corruptly pocket workers' entitlements.

Hours of work

The hours of work of those in full-time employment have steadily risen 
since the introduction of the Accord. Australia now has the largest 
proportion of workers working long hours of any country in the Organisation 
for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD). And the situation shows 
no sign of improving.

One in three full-time workers work more than 48 hours per week and a third 
of them work more than 60 hours per week. This is in the country where 
workers and their unions back in 1856 won the first eight-hour day in the 
world.

A national campaign during the late 1970s for a 35-hour week resulted in a 
national standard of 38 hours in 1983. After Labor came to office the 
campaign was dropped.

Bans and limitations on overtime, and even in some instances penalty rates 
for overtime, have been lifted. Sixty percent of overtime is now unpaid. In 
some cases limits on the hours of work and working conditions have been 
traded off for wage rises.

All these measures helped to create record company profits.

As the ACTU says in its Congress background paper on wages and collective 
bargaining: "The profit share of national income is close to its all-time 
high levels, and the wages share close to all-time lows."

The question is why? How did employers make so many gains at the expense of 
workers?

Class struggle or class collaboration?

The eight-hour day, sick and annual leave, overtime payments, permanency, 
penalty rates and the many other conditions that workers enjoyed were not a 
gift from employers.

Every single award provision, every single concession was won over more 
than a century of hard struggles, strikes, and sacrifice by workers 
organised in their trade unions.

Employers on their part have never let up in their fight to take back the 
concessions that workers have forced from them. But under the banal 
influence of Labor Party politicians, the trade unions did largely give up 
their historic struggle.

Employers continually strive to increase profits. The lower the wages and 
the higher the output per worker, the larger the profits. Every dollar 
extra in profits is a dollar less in wages and vice versa. This is why 
employers and their representatives like Howard and Costello fight so hard 
to keep down wages and other employment costs.

This simple truth has not changed. The economic interests of workers and 
employers are diametrically opposed.

The Accord and the political and economic principles that underlay it were 
a disaster for the working people of Australia. Although few would these 
days trumpet its merits the trade union movement has still to seriously 
analyse the terrible mistake of going down this path.

The substantial decline in the membership of the trade union movement dates 
from the introduction of the Accord. It was a disaster in this respect as 
well. This was compounded by structural changes in the economy and the 
attacks of employers eager to take advantage of the situation.

Why join a union?

Workers are very conscious of the benefits that trade unions can bring 
them. They understand the vulnerability of individual workers attempting to 
look after themselves. Recent surveys have continued to demonstrate this 
understanding by workers.

They look first and foremost to trade unions to defend their interests, to 
fight for them on the job and to fight politically for their living 
conditions.

In the workplace and industrial sphere this means a strong, democratic, 
militant union which has a working class outlook and puts the interests of 
workers first.

In the wider community, trade unions have a responsibility to take up 
economic, social, cultural and political issues, fight for what is best for 
workers, regardless of the government in power. The social, economic and 
political interests and needs of workers do not cease when they leave work 
for home.

As the largest mass working class organisation trade unions have a special 
responsibility to lend their weight to broader struggles and join with 
other progressive and democratic forces to improve the lives and security 
of workers and their families.

Unions prepared to assert their independence and fight unswervingly for the 
working class inside and outside the workplace will soon win the support of 
workers and build. On the other hand, a trade union that does little or 
nothing for workers, whose officials are never seen, can hardly expect to 
win support and membership.

There are the beginnings of a return to class struggle trade unionism 
(rather than class collaboration) and this is a very welcome sign. Workers 
will respond when a fight is put up on their behalf and they will then see 
that being a trade union member is worthwhile and quickly become a member.