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The Neoliberal State, Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining in Australia

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  • Rae Cooper
  • Bradon Ellem

Abstract

For nearly 12 years from 1996, the Australian government pursued a neoliberal industrial relations agenda, seeking to break with structures based on collective bargaining and trade unions. In the name of choice and deregulation, this agenda involved unique levels of state intervention and prescription — and anti‐unionism. In the last round of legislative change, the 2005 laws badged as Work Choices, the government overreached itself and in 2007 was defeated in a general election. As in the UK after Thatcher, the extent to which collective bargaining can be restored and trade unions regain a voice is problematical.

Suggested Citation

  • Rae Cooper & Bradon Ellem, 2008. "The Neoliberal State, Trade Unions and Collective Bargaining in Australia," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 46(3), pages 532-554, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:46:y:2008:i:3:p:532-554
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8543.2008.00694.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Van Barneveld, K & Waring, P, 2002. "AWAs: A review of the literature and debates," Australian Bulletin of Labour, National Institute of Labour Studies, vol. 28(2), pages 104-119.
    2. Hyman, Richard, 2001. "The Europeanisation – or the erosion – of industrial relations?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 751, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Bray, M. & Waring, P., 2006. "The Rise of Managerial Prerogative Under the Howard Government," Australian Bulletin of Labour, National Institute of Labour Studies, vol. 32(1), pages 45-61.
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    Cited by:

    1. Tom Barratt & Caleb Goods & Alex Veen, 2020. "‘I’m my own boss…’: Active intermediation and ‘entrepreneurial’ worker agency in the Australian gig-economy," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(8), pages 1643-1661, November.
    2. Sarah Kaine & Cathy Brigden, 2015. "Union responses to regulatory change: Strategies of protective layering," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 26(4), pages 614-630, December.
    3. John Buchanan & Damian Oliver, 2016. "‘Fair Work’ and the Modernization of Australian Labour Standards: A Case of Institutional Plasticity Entrenching Deepening Wage Inequality," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 54(4), pages 790-814, December.
    4. Stephen Clibborn & Chris F Wright, 2018. "Employer theft of temporary migrant workers’ wages in Australia: Why has the state failed to act?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 29(2), pages 207-227, June.
    5. Chris Howell, 2021. "Rethinking the Role of the State in Employment Relations for a Neoliberal Era," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 74(3), pages 739-772, May.
    6. Patrick O’Keeffe, 2018. "Creating a governable reality: analysing the use of quantification in shaping Australian wheat marketing policy," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(3), pages 553-567, September.
    7. Bryson, Alex & Freeman, Richard B. & Gomez, Rafael & Willman, Paul, 2017. "The Twin Track Model of Employee Voice: An Anglo-American Perspective on Union Decline and the Rise of Alternative Forms of Voice," IZA Discussion Papers 11223, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Amanda Pyman & Peter Holland & Julian Teicher & Brian K. Cooper, 2010. "Industrial Relations Climate, Employee Voice and Managerial Attitudes to Unions: An Australian Study," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 48(2), pages 460-480, June.
    9. Cameron Roles & Sukanya Ananth & Michael O’Donnell, 2022. "Reinforcing managerial prerogative in the Australian Public Service during the COVID-19 pandemic," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 33(1), pages 18-36, March.
    10. Lixin Cai & C. Jeffrey Waddoups, 2011. "Union Wage Effects in Australia: Evidence from Panel Data," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(Supplemen), pages 279-305, July.
    11. Bradon Ellem, 2013. "Peak Union Campaigning: Fighting for Rights at Work in Australia," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(2), pages 264-287, June.
    12. Chris F. Wright & Colm McLaughlin, 2021. "Trade Union Legitimacy and Legitimation Politics in Australia and New Zealand," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(3), pages 338-369, July.
    13. Mark Bray & Johanna Macneil, 2023. "Still central: Change and continuity in Australia's major industrial tribunal," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4-5), pages 359-376, July.
    14. Chris F Wright & Stephen Clibborn, 2020. "A guest-worker state? The declining power and agency of migrant labour in Australia," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(1), pages 34-58, March.
    15. Caleb Goods & Alex Veen & Tom Barratt & Brett Smith, 2024. "Power resources for disempowered workers? Re‐conceptualizing the power and potential of consumers in app‐based food delivery," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 107-131, April.
    16. Stephen Clibborn & Sally Hanna‐Osborne, 2023. "The employer perspective on wage law non‐compliance: State of the field and a framework for new understanding," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 411-438, October.
    17. Colm McLaughlin & Chris F. Wright, 2018. "The Role of Ideas in Understanding Industrial Relations Policy Change in Liberal Market Economies," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 568-610, October.

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