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TRADE UNIONS, NEW TECHNOLOGY, AND INDUSTRIAL DEMOCRACY IN AUSTRALIA
Abstract
Internationally, two basic strategies have been adopted for the macro-management of the industrial relations issues arising from recent technological change. The first has been one of tripartite consultative planning, whereas the second has allowed ‘market forces’ a free hand in determining the nature of technological change in industry. Since 1983 Australia has begun to shift from the second to the first approach, because of changes in the political and legal climate, and in the strategy of the ACTU and some important unions. Nevertheless, the impact of these changes is gradual.
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NOTES AND REFERENCES
See, for example, many of the contributions in S. Hill and R. Johnston, Future Tense? Technology in Australia, University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, 1983.
A large and growing body of literature in this area includes: G.J. Bamber and R.D. Lansbury (eds), Technological Change and Industrial Relations. An International Symposium, Special Issue of Bulletin of Comparative Labour Relations, 12, 1983; I. Benson and J. Lloyd, New Technology and Industrial Change, Kogan Page, London, 1983; M. Duncan, ‘Micro-electronics: Five Areas of Subordination’, in L. Levidow and B. Young (eds), Science, Technology and the Labour Process, CSE Books, London, 1981, pp.172–207; C. Gill, Work, Unemployment and the New Technology, Polity, Cambridge, 1985; L.C. Hunter, G.L. Reid and D. Boddy, Labour Problems of Technological Change, London, 1970; B. Wilkinson, The Shopfloor Politics of New Technology, Heineman, London, 1983. Sources specific to other countries appear in notes 4, 5 and 7.
J. Anderson, ‘Some impacts of computer technology upon management and organisations’, in Hill and Johnston, op. cit., pp.115–136.
J. Axelsson, ‘A platform for employee influence — About the law on employee participation in decision-making’, in A. Larsson (ed.), Labour Market Reforms in Sweden, Facts and Employee Views, Department of Labour, Stockholm, 1979, pp.26–34; S. Gustafsson, ‘Industrial democracy in Sweden’, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Industrial Democracy (hereafter, Proceedings), CCH, Sydney, 1978, pp.48–56; LO, Computers on Human Terms, Stockholm, 1983; ‘Workers and New Technology’, European Industrial Relations Review (EIRR), 134, March 1985, pp.23–30. See also the SAF-LO-PTK (PTK is the Federation of Salaried Employees), Agreement on Efficiency and Participation (‘Development Agreement’), 1982.
O. Shard, ‘Industrial democracy in Norway’, in Proceedings, pp.30–42; K. I. Grue (Director, Norwegian Employers’ Federation, NAF), ‘The 1982 revision of the Basic Agreement in Norway: Aims and achievements so far’, paper delivered to Conference on ‘Preparing the Future for Quality of Working Life’, Copenhagen, September 1984; K. Nygaard, ‘Trade unions and computer technology’, unpublished paper delivered to seminar of Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Wollongong, November 1980. See also the LO/NAF, Basic Agreement of 1982.
R. Thusing, ‘Industrial democracy in West Germany…an employers’ view’, and B. Otto, ‘Industrial democracy in West Germany…a union view’, in Proceedings, pp.64–96; Federal Ministry for Research and Technology, Programme Research on Humanisation of Work. Interaction Between Humanisation of Work and Innovation’, Bonn, August 1984; Report on the Implementation of the Programme, Bonn, August 1984; and Forderschwerpunkt Arbeisbedingungen und Gesundbeit, Bonn, March 1985; EIRR, op. cit.
See Ministry of International Trade & Industry, The Vision of MITI Policies in the 1980s, Tokyo, March 1980; K. Dohse, U. Jurgens and T. Malsch, From “Fordism” to “Toyotism”? The Social Organisation of the Labour Process in the Japanese Automobile Industry, Discussion Paper, International Institute for Comparative Social Research/Labor Policy, Wissenschaftszentrum, Berlin, 1984; Y. Kuwahara, ‘Technological change & industrial relations in Japan’, in G.J. Bamber and R.D. Lansbury, op. cit., pp.35–54.
R. Markey, ‘New technology, the economy and the unions in Britain’. Journal of Industrial Relations (Australia), December 1982, pp.57–60; Gill, op. cit., Chs 1–4, and 7; and National Institute Economic Review, 1981–85. For Australia, see R. Johnston, The Real Story of Technological Change in Australia, University of Wollongong, 1981.
See J. Hagan and R. Markey, ‘Technological change and the unions’, in Hill and Johnston, op. cit., pp. 168–9.
See S. Deery, ‘Technological change and redundancy protection in Australia’, Journal of Industrial Relations, 24, 2, June 1982, pp. 155–75; D. Hull, ‘Queensland sugar ports: labour and technological change’, Journal of Australian Political Economy, 6, 1979, pp.60–73; and (for the US) H. Mills, ‘The San Francisco waterfront: the social consequences of industrial modernization’, in A. Zimbalist (ed.), Case Studies in the Labor Process, Monthly Review Press, New York, 1979, pp. 127–55.
R. Markey, The Trade Union Reponse to Technological Change in Australia, University of NSW, 1983, pp.11–12; P.A. Riach and W.A. Howard, Productivity Agreements and Australian Wage Determination, Wiley, Adelaide, 1973, Appendix 2; Waterside Workers’ Federation of Australia, ‘Submission to Committee of Inquiry into Technological Change in Australia’, (CITCA), 34, 1979.
Committee of Inquiry into Technological Change in Australia, Technological Change in Australia (hereafter CITCA) Vol.2, AGPS, Canberra, 1980, pp.283–312.
See ACTU Congress Minutes, 1979, 7th Session, 13 September, 1979, Technological Change Debate, pp. 138–47; ACTU POLICY, 1980.
CITCA, Vol.1, pp.173, 177–8, 188–94, 198–9.
National Employee Participation Steering Committee, Employee Participation: Ways and Means, AGPS, Canberra, 1980; Department of Productivity, Commonwealth Government's Policy in Employee Participation, AGPS, Canberra, June 1978.
Department of Employment and Industrial Relations, Working Environment Branch, Industrial Democracy and Employee Participation. A Policy Discussion Paper, AGPS, Canberra, 1986. Quotations, p.iii.
Department of Science and Technology, National Technology Strategy: Discussion Draft, Canberra, 1984, pp.20–1. The ‘Technology’ half of this Department has since been transferred to the Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce.
National Technology Strategy: ACTU Comments’, Executive Document, 18 July 1984.
Hagan and Markey, op. cit., p.169.
See Markey, The Trade Union Response to Technological Change in Australia, pp.6–11, 15–16.
Report of ACTU Federal Unions Conference on Technological Change Melbourne, 5–6 March 1981.
Technological Change and Employment, A Report to the Prime Minister by the Australian Science and Technology Council (ASTEC), AGPS, Canberra, 1983, pp.156–7, 160.
Personal Interview of the then Federal Secretary, Mr. Simon Crean, 23 October 1983.
Technological Change and Employment, ASTEC, p. 160.
Except where otherwise indicated, the following account of the ATEA response is based upon Markey, The Trade Union Response to Technological Change in Australia, pp.21–34 and I. Reinecke, and J. Schultz, The Phone Book. The Future of Australia's Communications on the Line, Penguin, Ringwood, 1983.
CITCA, Vol.2, p.393.
Consideration of the Introduction of Technological Change. Agreement Renewed, Melbourne, 1983.
Telephone interview, Mr. Ian McCarthy, Industrial Officer, ATEA, 25 March 1982.
Telecom Australia, Metropolitan Exchange Maintenance Organization Arrangements, Melbourne, November 1982. See Reinecke & Schultz, op. cit., pp.156–78; Communications Australia, various issues, 1981–3.
Report of Committee of Inquiry into Telecommunications, AGPS, October 1982.
AFR, 29 February 1984.
CITCA, Vol.2, pp.394–5.
Reinecke and Schultz, op. cit., pp.136–55.
Agreement between the Australian Telephone and Phonogram Officers’ Association (ATPOA) and the Australian Telecommunications Commission (Telecom Australia), Telecom Australia, February 1984.
Telephone Echo, 2/1982, p.14; Reinecke and Schultza, op. cit., pp.150–2; I. Reinecke, “On the Line”, Communications Australia, November 1982, p.4.
See Markey, The Trade Union Response to Technological Change in Australia, p.56; CITCA, Vol.2, pp.308–11.
ACOA National Executive, Current Association Policies, 12th edition, March 1983, pp.86–9.
Employee Participation News, 1, 1984, p.5 (hereafter EPN).
ACOA, Current Association Policies, p.89.
PSA Technological Change Committee, Annual Conference Report, 1981, pp.6–15.
Ibid, pp.2–5, 27–30.
Technological Change. Guide to the Agreement: Consultation on the Introduction of Technological Change, PSA, 1984.
R. Markey, Preliminary Report on Employee Attitudes to Technological Change in the NSW Public Service Association, University of Wollongong, 1986.
Except where otherwise indicated, the following account of the banking industry is based upon Markey, The Trade Union Response to Technological Change in Australia, pp.35–45 and G. Crough, Money, Work and Social Responsibility, Sydney, 1980.
Policy Co-ordinating Council of ABEU & CBOA, Submission No. 28 to CITCA.
ABEU Newsbrief, 16 September, 1983; SMH, 22 September, 28 October 1983; Workforce, Nos.471-3, 30 November, 7 & 14 December 1983.
Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, Transcript of Proceedings in Australian Bankers’ Association and Australian Bank Employees’ Union, 15 December 1982.
G. Griffin, ‘Managing technological change. Industrial relations in the banking and insurance industries’, Journal of Industrial Relations, 24, 1, March 1982, pp.53–68; R. Markey, Trade Unions & Technological Change in Australia, Sydney, 1987, Chapter 4, (forthcoming).
CBOA Bulletin, No.3: 79, 22 February 1979, and No.26: 79, 29 August 1979; I. Leeson, (CBOA Senior Research Officer), 1980 Annual Federal Conference. General Business Item (c) — Automation and Technological Change. Current Association Policies, Circular to all Divisional Secretaries, 12 September 1980.
E.g., On Line, (Journal of the CBOA), 2, 3, August 1979, p.2; 2, 4, pp.1–2; 3, 1, p.2.
Australian Industrial Law Review, 26, 15, 8 August 1984, pp.228–44. For union comment prior to the decision, see for example, Australian Textile Workers’ Union, Textile Topics, March 1983, p.9; also EPN, 3, 1984, p. 13.
AFR, 21 August 1984; EPN, 3, 1984, p. 14.
Australian Industrial Relations Law and Systems. Report of the Committee of Review (hereafter Hancock Report), Canberra, 1985, Vol.3, Appendix 3, pp.35–44.
J.H. Goldthorpe, D. Lockwood, F. Bechhofer and J. Platt, The Affluent Worker: Political Attitudes & Behaviour, Cambridge University Press Cambridge, 1971; E.S. Vaughan, ‘Theories of participation: an analysis of core assertions’ in W. Howard (ed.), Perspectives on Australian Industrial Relations, Macmillan Melbourne, 1984, pp.172–74.
R. Markey, Labour & Politics in NSW, 1880–1900, NSW University Press Sydney, 1987, Chapter 9 (forthcoming).