Unions and Collective Bargaining in 2008

Abstract

For Australian unions, 2008 was the first year with a federal labour government in office after more than a decade of conservative government. Attention focused on the promised dismantling of the Work Choices legislation and the introduction of a new legislative framework, although it took until late November for the Fair Work Bill to be introduced into federal parliament. Confronting a disappointing decline in union membership levels, a number of union campaigns focused on recollectivizing workplaces. For other unions, collective bargaining with employers was a frustrating experience, as was the case with Qantas and Telstra. Public sector unions faced lengthy and hard-fought disputes with state labour governments, while an extraordinary dispute over electricity privatization unfolded between unions and the New South Wales Labor government. By the end of the year, the impact of the global financial crisis, and the consequences for jobs was the prevailing concern for many unions.