Democracy in Trade Unions

SERIES INTRODUCTION n Government activity is now pervasive throughout society. Governmentnpolicies affect the way we live, the education we receive, the environmentnwithin which we operate, even the amount of earnings we takenhome. Its administrative machinery can be found everywhere, whethernin the guise of tax man, policeman, bureaucrat, or lawyer. Its impactnmay be direct, in determining the structures and laws within which wenlive, or indirect, by regulating the way corporations or other actors maynbehave.n n Politics is always noticeable too m in the press, in the media, and innthe daily arguments that occur with friends and neighbours about whatnshould be done, how it should be done, and when it should be done.nThe politics, the policies, and the administration of government arenimportant to us all.n n But how much do we really know about them? How far can wenunderstand, let alone anticipate, the effects of the policies that arenadopted? How well do we understand the impact of administration onnthe way policy is shaped and delivered? Often not much. And the costnof ignorance is high. Hopes can be ill-informed or misplaced; reformsnbased on incorrect assumptions will fail; plans for change may be frustrated.nDisillusionment can easily follow. Knowledge of the way policymakersnwork is therefore essential.n n In this series authors from a variety of disciplines m all complementarynm have set out to discover how the processes of politics andngovernment interact and how they affect decisions. Some studies willnlook at individual case studies or particular areas of policy; others willnlook at the mechanics, institutions, or actors of politics and administrationnand their impact on policy. Some studies will be theoretical, othersnempirical; some will concentrate on one country, others will bencomparative. But the objective will remain the same: to increase ournawareness and understanding of the problems and performances ofngovernments.n n Trade unions are playing an increasing influential role in Australiannlife. Yet the discussion of the way in which unions are run is seldomnbased on firm empirical knowledge. Democracy in Trade Unions is thenfirst analysis of union government in Australia. Although internal unionndemocracy is widely accepted as desirable it is of particular significancenin Australia where it has long been a goal of public policy. Successivengovernments have sought to impose this qdemocracyq through annincreasingly elaborate framework of statutory regulation, much ofnwhich is concerned with union elections. The book explains the majornlegislative provisions affecting union government in Australia and, onnthe basis of case study material, analyses the electoral processes andnother avenues through which members participate in union affairs.nIt shows that while the law may enable the conditions of democracy tonbe fulfilled, it cannot, of itself, bring them into existence. The emergencenof a legitimate opposition and electoral contests in which thenopposition has a realistic chance of winning office, and which providenmembers with a real and not just a formal choice of leaders cannot benachieved by legislative fiat. The book explores the conditions undernwhich unions are likely to have elections with an organized oppositionnpresenting the members with alternative candidates and policies. Itnshows that membership control through elections is not incompatiblenwith other forms of participation in running the union.n n While this is the first book to deal with the internal operations ofnAustralian trade unions it is, from another viewpoint, an importantncontribution to the continuing debate in Britain and America on unionngovernment. It provides an essential basis for a real understanding ofntrade union affairs in Australia and ought to provoke basic reassessmentsnon existing policy goals.n

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