Unions and collective bargaining in Australia in 2020

Bibliographic Data

ID21349367
AuthorsMark Bray (0000-0002-5006-725X, University of Newcastle Australia, corresponding author), Johanna Macneil (0000-0001-8682-2002, University of Newcastle Australia), Leslee Spiess (University of Newcastle Australia)
Year2021
Volume63
Issue3
Pages338-356
Publication date2021-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Industrial Relations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-1856 • E-ISSN: 1472-9296
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00221856211003597
OpenAlexW3139712210
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited3

The sudden and dramatic lockdowns in Australia resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic brought great uncertainty and much change during 2020. This review concentrates on the impacts of these contextual changes on Australian unions and collective bargaining. Union efforts to cooperate with governments in policy-making and with employers at a workplace level were greeted with applause. But other arenas, as the crisis moderated, saw more traditional adversarialism. In particular, the failure of the parties to agree on legislative change meant that the government’s ‘omnibus’ bill, presented to parliament in December, would prove controversial and strongly contested in the new year. The structure and process of collective bargaining seemed to change remarkably little in 2020. A closer examination of the practice and outcomes of collective bargaining, however, suggests continued difficult times for workers and unions

Collective action · Collective bargaining · Economics · Government (linguistics) · Legislature · Parliament · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Employment and Welfare Studies · Labor Movements and Unions · Law · Public Administration · Regulation and Compliance Studies

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