Industrial Agency in Regional Trades and Labour Councils

Abstract

The range of roles and activities undertaken by peak union bodies has recently been conceptualized by Ellem and Shields. This article uses their framework to discuss industrial agency in an Australian regional peak union council. An examination of two locally significant industrial campaigns using historical data specifically considers the impact of the industrial identity developed within the particular locale. These campaigns support the proposal that regional peak union council agency is determined by the geographic and social relationships resulting from local industrial history. In addition, in order to achieve successful outcomes for campaigns, even over local issues, forms of agency should be flexible and operate across scales. This article concludes that extending the Ellem and Shields framework to include more explicit consideration of locale and specific industrial identity as a mediating factor enables a greater understanding of not only the possible roles and functions of, but also those developed in practice by, regional peak union bodies.