Australian Council of Trade Unions
Encyclopedia
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia
. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated union
s.
unions like the CNT
or revolutionary industrial union
s like the IWW
.
In the Australian case, agitation for One Big Union occurred from 1911 from two different sectors: from the revolutionary Australian section of the IWW and from the pro-arbitration
Australian Workers Union (AWU). At that time the AWU was the largest single Australian union. In 1918 after the collapse of the Australian IWW, a group of militant trade unions (which were opposed to the AWU) attempted to form One Big Union under the name Workers Industrial Union of Australia (WIUA). The hostility between the WIUA and the AWU prevented the formation of One Big Union in Australia. It was the attempts of Stanley Bruce
's federal government in 1927 to dismantle the Australian Industrial Relations Commission
which impelled the Australian trade unions to form a national council.
The ACTU's Australian trade union "peak body" precursors include state labour council
s like the Victorian Trades Hall Council
(originating in 1856 as the 'Melbourne Trades Hall Committee'), the Labor Council of New South Wales
(originally formed in 1870 as the 'Sydney Trades and Labor Council') and the Inter-Colonial Trade Union Congress (formed in 1879).
The ACTU has not achieved the ideals expressed for One Big Union: it remains a council organisation, but it does however represent the majority of Australian trade unions.
At its formation in 1927 the ACTU was only seen as representing blue collar trades unions, and only managed to achieve the support of trades unions. From 1948 peak bodies of white collar associations existed, and from 1969 peak bodies of government employees. The white collar bodies were: the Council of Professional and Commercial Employees Association (1948), which became the Council of White Collar Associations (1954), which amalgamated with the Salaried Employees Consultative Council of New South Wales (1954) to become the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations (ACSPA) in 1956. The government employee bodies were: the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations (1969) which became the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations (CAGEO) in 1975. The ACTU successfully integrated these bodies in 1981. After 1981 the ACTU was generally viewed by the Australian media and public as the organisation representing all workers' organisations.
The ACTU and Labour Councils have often united Australian working class opinion behind certain initiatives like the eight-hour day
or compulsory arbitration. In the early 1980s this unifying impulse created an accord between government, capital and labour on wages and prices. The ACTU retains a close relationship with the Australian Labor Party
: former ACTU President Bob Hawke
went on to become the leader of the ALP and then Prime Minister of Australia
. Other former ACTU Presidents who went on to become members of Federal Parliament are: Simon Crean
(president 1985-90), Martin Ferguson
(1990–96), and Jennie George
(1996–99). The November 2007 election win by the Labor Party, saw the election of a number of union officials to the parliament (Commonwealth) including Bill Shorten
(Australian Workers Union) and Greg Combet
(former ACTU Secretary).
In the late 1980s and early 1990s the ACTU was influential in a move to forcibly amalgamate smaller unions into so called "super unions". The ACTU's plans envisaged 20 super unions organised on an industrial basis. While a large number of amalgamations occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s (in part under the influence of changed industrial law), there are still a large number of unions, and union coverage is often organised by historical amalgamation, not by industry.
The current president is Ged Kearney.
The ACTU has also launched a service by which workers can join their applicable union directly through the ACTU. This self titled "one stop shop" for union membership is Unions Australia.
In 2008, the ACTU launched a campaign to make Paid Maternity Leave a new national employment standard.
's WorkChoices
legislation, which included an advertising campaign and public rallies. This campaign was called "Your Rights at Work" and was considered a success in making industrial relations an important election issue by both marketing companies and even Joe Hockey MP, the Federal Workplace Relations Minister, who said "This is the most sophisticated political plan that we have seen in Australia.". One of the rallies was called Fill the "G" , attended by 50,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
and broadcast to other similar rallies throughout the country. A previous national rally had a reported attendance of 500,000 around Australia.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s.
History
The ACTU was formed in 1927 as the "Australian Council of Trade Unions". It was one of the earliest attempts by trade unions to apply the principles of One Big Union earlier explored by more radical syndicalistSyndicalism
Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state socialism, which uses federations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions...
unions like the CNT
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo
The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labor unions affiliated with the International Workers Association . When working with the latter group it is also known as CNT-AIT...
or revolutionary industrial union
Industrial unionism
Industrial unionism is a labor union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union—regardless of skill or trade—thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in bargaining and in strike situations...
s like the IWW
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
.
In the Australian case, agitation for One Big Union occurred from 1911 from two different sectors: from the revolutionary Australian section of the IWW and from the pro-arbitration
Arbitration
Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
Australian Workers Union (AWU). At that time the AWU was the largest single Australian union. In 1918 after the collapse of the Australian IWW, a group of militant trade unions (which were opposed to the AWU) attempted to form One Big Union under the name Workers Industrial Union of Australia (WIUA). The hostility between the WIUA and the AWU prevented the formation of One Big Union in Australia. It was the attempts of Stanley Bruce
Stanley Bruce
Stanley Melbourne Bruce, 1st Viscount Bruce of Melbourne, CH, MC, FRS, PC , was an Australian politician and diplomat, and the eighth Prime Minister of Australia. He was the second Australian granted an hereditary peerage of the United Kingdom, but the first whose peerage was formally created...
's federal government in 1927 to dismantle the Australian Industrial Relations Commission
Australian Industrial Relations Commission
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission, or AIRC , was a tribunal with powers under the Workplace Relations Act 1996. It was the central institution of Australian labour law...
which impelled the Australian trade unions to form a national council.
Labour council
A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or state level...
s like the Victorian Trades Hall Council
Victorian Trades Hall Council
The Victorian Trades Hall Council is a representative body of trade union organisations, known as a Labour council, in the State of Victoria, Australia...
(originating in 1856 as the 'Melbourne Trades Hall Committee'), the Labor Council of New South Wales
Labor Council of New South Wales
The Labor Council of New South Wales is a representative body of Trade union organisations in the State of New South Wales, Australia. As of 2005 there are 67 unions and 8 Rural and Regional Trades & Labor Councils affiliated to the Labor Council, representing 800,000 workers in NSW...
(originally formed in 1870 as the 'Sydney Trades and Labor Council') and the Inter-Colonial Trade Union Congress (formed in 1879).
The ACTU has not achieved the ideals expressed for One Big Union: it remains a council organisation, but it does however represent the majority of Australian trade unions.
At its formation in 1927 the ACTU was only seen as representing blue collar trades unions, and only managed to achieve the support of trades unions. From 1948 peak bodies of white collar associations existed, and from 1969 peak bodies of government employees. The white collar bodies were: the Council of Professional and Commercial Employees Association (1948), which became the Council of White Collar Associations (1954), which amalgamated with the Salaried Employees Consultative Council of New South Wales (1954) to become the Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations (ACSPA) in 1956. The government employee bodies were: the Council of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations (1969) which became the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations (CAGEO) in 1975. The ACTU successfully integrated these bodies in 1981. After 1981 the ACTU was generally viewed by the Australian media and public as the organisation representing all workers' organisations.
Eight-hour day
The eight-hour day movement or 40-hour week movement, also known as the short-time movement, had its origins in the Industrial Revolution in Britain, where industrial production in large factories transformed working life and imposed long hours and poor working conditions. With working conditions...
or compulsory arbitration. In the early 1980s this unifying impulse created an accord between government, capital and labour on wages and prices. The ACTU retains a close relationship with the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
: former ACTU President Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
went on to become the leader of the ALP and then Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
. Other former ACTU Presidents who went on to become members of Federal Parliament are: Simon Crean
Simon Crean
Simon Findlay Crean is an Australian politician, and the current Minister for the Arts and Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government in the Australian Federal Government. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition at the Federal level,...
(president 1985-90), Martin Ferguson
Martin Ferguson
Martin John Ferguson AM , Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Batman, Victoria. He was born in Sydney, the son of Jack Ferguson, who was Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 1976...
(1990–96), and Jennie George
Jennie George
Jennie George , Australian politician, is a former Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from November 2001 to July 2010, representing the Division of Throsby, New South Wales.-Early life:...
(1996–99). The November 2007 election win by the Labor Party, saw the election of a number of union officials to the parliament (Commonwealth) including Bill Shorten
Bill Shorten
William Richard "Bill" Shorten is an Australian politician, the Member for Maribyrnong in the Australian Parliament, Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Superannuation and Financial Services. He was the Parliamentary Secretary for Disability and Children's Services in the Rudd/Gillard Government...
(Australian Workers Union) and Greg Combet
Greg Combet
Gregory Ivan Combet AM MP is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions between 2000 and 2007...
(former ACTU Secretary).
In the late 1980s and early 1990s the ACTU was influential in a move to forcibly amalgamate smaller unions into so called "super unions". The ACTU's plans envisaged 20 super unions organised on an industrial basis. While a large number of amalgamations occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s (in part under the influence of changed industrial law), there are still a large number of unions, and union coverage is often organised by historical amalgamation, not by industry.
The current president is Ged Kearney.
Organisation
The ACTU holds a biennial congress that is attended by approximately 800 delegates from affiliated organisations. Between congresses the ACTU is governed by an executive of 60 members: the president, the two vice-presidents, the secretary, the assistant secretaries, Trades and Labour Council representatives from each capitial city and elected delegates from affiliated unions.Objectives
The objectives of the ACTU, as stated in its constitution, are as follows:- The socialisation of industry;
- Organisation of wage and salary earners in the Australian workforce (within the trade union movement);
- The utilisation of Australian resources to maintain full employment, establish equitable living standards which increase inline with output, and create opportunities for the development of talent.
Current campaigns
The ACTU's main focus since the 2007 Australian federal election has been its campaign to restore workers rights under the banner of the Your Rights at Work campaign In addition to this campaign the ACTU is also running a number of other campaigns, including workplace health and safety, working with other unions on the Your Rights at Telstra campaign and supporting the Rights on Site campaign.The ACTU has also launched a service by which workers can join their applicable union directly through the ACTU. This self titled "one stop shop" for union membership is Unions Australia.
In 2008, the ACTU launched a campaign to make Paid Maternity Leave a new national employment standard.
Past campaigns
In the lead up to the 2007 federal election, the ACTU campaigned actively against the Howard GovernmentHoward Government
The Howard Government refers to the federal Executive Government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard. It was made up of members of the Liberal–National Coalition, which won a majority of seats in the Australian House of Representatives at four successive elections. The Howard Government...
's WorkChoices
WorkChoices
The Workplace Relations Act 1996, as amended by the Workplace Relations Amendment Act 2005, popularly known as Work Choices, was a Legislative Act of the Australian Parliament that came into effect in March 2006 which involved many controversial amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996, the...
legislation, which included an advertising campaign and public rallies. This campaign was called "Your Rights at Work" and was considered a success in making industrial relations an important election issue by both marketing companies and even Joe Hockey MP, the Federal Workplace Relations Minister, who said "This is the most sophisticated political plan that we have seen in Australia.". One of the rallies was called Fill the "G" , attended by 50,000 people at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
The Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
and broadcast to other similar rallies throughout the country. A previous national rally had a reported attendance of 500,000 around Australia.
Current member organisations
- Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, AustraliaAssociation of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, AustraliaThe Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia is an Australian employee association registered under state and federal industrial relations acts. This makes it, effectively, a trade union for the purposes of worker-employer bargaining; APESMA is affiliated with the...
- Australasian Meat Industry Employees UnionAustralasian Meat Industry Employees UnionThe Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union, better known as the Meatworkers Union, is an Australian trade union, registered with the AIRC and affiliated to the Australian Council of Trade Unions. The AMIEU was formed in 1906 as the Federated Butchers Union, and changed its name to the AMIEU in...
- Australian Education UnionAustralian Education UnionThe Australian Education Union is an Australian trade union, founded in 1984 as the Australian Teachers Union, which is registered with Fair Work Australia as an employee group, and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions...
- Australian Institute of Marine and Power EngineersAustralian Institute of Marine and Power EngineersThe Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers is both an Australian professional association and a trade union. They are registered with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and are affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions.The AIMPE represents engineers in coastal...
- Australian and International Pilots AssociationAustralian and International Pilots AssociationThe Australian and International Pilots Association is a trade union and professional association formed in 1981 to represent Qantas and its related companies pilots and flight engineers. The AIPA broke away from the Australian Federation of Air Pilots in the early 1980s...
- Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers AssociationAustralian Licenced Aircraft Engineers AssociationThe Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association is an Australian employee organisation which is registered with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions...
- Australian Manufacturing Workers UnionAustralian Manufacturing Workers UnionThe Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, or more fully, the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union is an Australian trade union that is registered with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade...
- Australian Maritime Officers UnionAustralian Maritime Officers UnionThe Australian Maritime Officers Union is an Australian trade union that is registered with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions...
- Australian Nursing FederationAustralian Nursing FederationThe Australian Nursing Federation was established in 1924. The ANF is the national union for nurses and the largest professional nursing organisation in Australia...
- Australian Professional Footballers' AssociationAustralian Professional Footballers' AssociationThe Professional Footballers Australia is an Australian trade union affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions that represents professional male, female and elite junior football players.-History:...
- Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry UnionAustralian Rail Tram and Bus Industry UnionThe Australian Rail Tram & Bus Industry Union , formerly known as the Public Transport Union or PTU, was formed on 1 March 1993, through the amalgamation of the Australian Railways Union, the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen, the Australian Tramway & Motor Omnibus Employees'...
- Australian Salaried Medical Officers FederationAustralian Salaried Medical Officers FederationThe Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation is an Australian trade union, affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions, that represents doctors who receive salaries. In Australia doctors operate as self-employed trades-people, or as salaried employees of clinics, hospitals, or...
- Australian Services UnionAustralian Services UnionThe Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union, which operates under the trading name of the Australian Services Union or ASU, is a trade union that represents members in a variety of industries.-Union history:...
- Australian Workers Union
- Australian Writers' GuildAustralian Writers' GuildThe Australian Writers' Guild is the professional association for all performance writers, that is, writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video and new media. The AWG was established in 1962 and is recognised throughout the industry in Australia as being the voice of performance writers...
- Blind Workers Union of Victoria
- Breweries & Bottleyards Employees Industrial Union of Workers WABreweries & Bottleyards Employees Industrial Union of Workers WAThe Breweries & Bottleyards Employees Industrial Union of Workers WA is a trade union in Australia. It is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions.-External links:* at the ACTU....
- Civil Air Operations Officers Association of Australia
- Club Managers Association Australia
- Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of AustraliaCommunications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of AustraliaThe Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of Australia is a trade union in Australia. Its full name is the Communications, Electrical, Electronic, Energy, Information, Postal, Plumbing and Allied Services Union of Australia as it represents workers in all of these industries.CEPU is an...
- Community and Public Sector UnionCommunity and Public Sector UnionThe Community and Public Sector Union is a national trade union in Australia.- History of The CPSU :...
- Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy UnionConstruction, Forestry, Mining and Energy UnionThe Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry and furnishing products, mining and energy production....
- Finance Sector UnionFinance Sector UnionThe Finance Sector Union of Australia is an Australian white collar trade union formed from the amalgamation of various smaller unions drawn from the banking, insurance, trustee, broking, and general finance industries.-Origins:...
- Flight Attendants' Association of AustraliaFlight Attendants' Association of AustraliaThe Flight Attendants' Association of Australia is a trade union is Australia. It is divided into two separate entities:* Flight Attendants' Association of Australia - Domestic Division...
- Funeral and Allied Industries Union of NSW
- Health Services UnionHealth Services UnionThe Health Services Union is a specialist health union with over 70,000 members working in all areas of healthcare across Australia.The membership of the union includes doctors, nurses and allied health professionals such as physiotherapists and radiographers, ambulance officers, clerical and...
- Independent Education Union of AustraliaIndependent Education Union of AustraliaThe Independent Education Union of Australia with a current membership of over 68,000, is the federally registered industry union representing all employees working in non-government schools and institutions across Australia...
- Maritime Union of AustraliaMaritime Union of AustraliaThe Maritime Union of Australia covers waterside workers, seafarers, port workers, professional divers, and office workers associated with Australian ports. As of 2011 the union has about 13,000 members. It is an affiliate of the International Transport Workers' Federation and represents the...
- Media, Entertainment and Arts AllianceMedia, Entertainment and Arts AllianceThe Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance is the Australian trade union and professional organisation which covers the media, entertainment, sports and arts industries...
- National Tertiary Education UnionNational Tertiary Education UnionThe National Tertiary Education Union is an Australian trade union for all higher education and university employees. It is an industry union and the only union working exclusively in the Australian university sector.-About the NTEU:...
- National Union of WorkersNational Union of WorkersThe National Union of Workers is a large Australian trade union formed in 1989.-History:The National Union of Workers of Australia was formed by a progressive amalgamation of unions from 1989 onwards in a time when all Australian unions were merging, with varying degrees of success...
- Police Federation of AustraliaPolice Federation of AustraliaThe Police Federation of Australia is a peak union body that represents the interests of Australian police officers.It was formerly registered under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 on 1 January 1998...
- Rugby League Professionals AssociationRugby League Professionals AssociationThe Rugby League Professionals Association is a trade union in Australia. It represents professional Rugby league players in the National Rugby League ....
- Salaried Pharmacists Association of WA Union of Workers
- Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees AssociationShop, Distributive and Allied Employees AssociationThe Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association is the largest trade union in Australia with more than 230,000 members and branches in every state and one in the Newcastle, Hunter Valley and Central Coast region. The SDA is the union for retail and fast-food workers, but does have other...
- Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of AustraliaTextile, Clothing and Footwear Union of AustraliaThe Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia is a trade union in Australia. It represents a wide range of workers from the textile, clothing, footwear and felt hatting industries....
- Transport Workers Union of AustraliaTransport Workers Union of AustraliaThe Transport Workers Union of Australia is a trade union with over 80,000 members throughout Australia. It has 5 main branches in Australia* Australian Capital Territory/New South Wales* Queensland* Victoria/Tasmania...
- Union of Christmas Island WorkersUnion of Christmas Island WorkersThe Union of Christmas Island Workers is a trade union in Christmas Island, the non self-governing territory of Australia. It represents workers on the island, and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions.-External links:...
- United Firefighters Union of AustraliaUnited Firefighters Union of AustraliaThe United Firefighters Union of Australia is the trade union which represents professional firefighters in Australia. Formed 1 August 1990, the union has branches in every state and the ACT and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions....
- United Voice
- Western Australian Prison Officers Union of WorkersWestern Australian Prison Officers Union of WorkersThe Western Australian Prison Officers Union of Workers is a trade union that represents prison officers in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the ALP...
- Woolclassers Association of Australia
See also
- 1998 Australian waterfront dispute1998 Australian waterfront disputeThe Australian waterfront dispute of 1998 was a watershed event in Australian Industrial Relations history, in which the Patrick Corporation undertook a restructuring of their operations for the purpose of increasing the productivity of their workforce...
- ArbitrationArbitrationArbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound...
- Australian Industrial Relations CommissionAustralian Industrial Relations CommissionThe Australian Industrial Relations Commission, or AIRC , was a tribunal with powers under the Workplace Relations Act 1996. It was the central institution of Australian labour law...
- Australian labour lawAustralian labour lawAustralian labour law has had a unique development that distinguishes it from other English speaking jurisdictions.In 1904 the Conciliation and Arbitration Act was passed mandating "Conciliation and Arbitration for the Prevention and Settlement of Industrial Disputes extending beyond the Limits of...
- Australian Workplace AgreementAustralian Workplace AgreementAustralian workplace agreements were formalized individual agreements negotiated by the boss and employee. Employers could offer "take it or leave it" AWAs as a condition of employment. They were registered by the employment advocate and did not require a dispute resolution procedure. These...
- Collective bargainingCollective bargainingCollective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
- Common law contract (industrial relations)
- Compulsory arbitrationCompulsory arbitrationCompulsory arbitration. In labor disputes, some laws of some communities force the two sides labor and management, to undergo arbitration. These laws mostly apply when the possibility of a strike seriously affects the public interest...
- Employers' organizationEmployers' organizationAn employers' organization, employers' association or employers' federation is an association of employers. A trade union, which organizes employees is the opposite of an employers' organization...
- Enterprise Bargaining AgreementEnterprise bargaining agreementEnterprise bargaining is wage and working conditions being negotiated at the level of the individual organisations. Once established, they are legally binding on employers and employees....
- Fair Pay Commission
- Federal award
- Industrial union
- Industry superannuationIndustry superannuationIndustry superannuation funds in Australia refer to the group of retirement superannuation funds managed by industry bodies and unions.These funds are almost all public-offer funds, although most had their genesis as closed shop funds only open to members employed in their particular industry...
- Picket line
- Protected industrial action
- StrikebreakerStrikebreakerA strikebreaker is a person who works despite an ongoing strike. Strikebreakers are usually individuals who are not employed by the company prior to the trade union dispute, but rather hired prior to or during the strike to keep the organisation running...
(Scab) - State award
- Trades HallTrades HallA Trades Hall is an English term for a building where trade unions meet together, or work from cooperatively, as a local representative organisation, known as a Labor Council or Trades Hall Council...
- Trade Practices Act
- Transport Workers Act 1928Transport Workers Act 1928The Transport Workers Act 1928 was passed by the Nationalist Commonwealth Government of Stanley Bruce. It stipulated that the engagement, service and discharge of stevedores required a licence....
- Unprotected industrial action
- Unions ACTUnions ACTUnions ACT is a representative body of trade union organisations in the Australian Capital Territory . The current Secretary is Kim Sattler, who sits on the Board of Directors of the National Museum of Labour.-See also:...
- List of unregistered Australian unions
- Workplace Relations Act 1996Workplace Relations Act 1996The Workplace Relations Act 1996 is an Australian law passed by the Howard Government after coming into power in 1996. It replaced the previous Labor Government's Industrial Relations Act 1988. It started operation on 1 January 1997 and provided for the continuation of the federal award system...
- Australian Industrial Relations Law Reform 2005