Australian Union Strategies in an Era of Radical Conservatism

Abstract

The 2005 “Work Choices” legislation presents many challenges for the Australian union movement. New restrictions represent considerable impediments to union activity. The right to take industrial action (to strike, for instance) has been curtailed; union officials’ right to enter workplaces has been restricted; and employers can now deny workers the right to collective bargaining (even when supported by most—or all—employees in a workplace). This article explores how unions have responded in an era of radical conservatism and a deeply antiunion legislative environment.