Trade Unionism in Australia

A History from Flood to Ebb Tide

Tom Bramble (University of Queensland)

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English

Cambridge University Press
22 September 2008

History; Economics of industrial organisation; Labour economics; International economics; Economic history; Trade unions

In the late 1960s Australian unionism was on the flood tide: growing in strength, industrially confident and capable of shaping the overall political climate of the nation. Forty years on, union membership and power is ebbing away despite community support for trade unionism and the continuing need for strong unions. Even the unprecedented mobilisation against WorkChoices, which defeated a government and lost the prime minister his own seat, has done little to turn the tide. With compelling rigour, Tom Bramble explores the changing fortunes of what was once an entrenched institution. Trade Unionism in Australia charts the impact on unions of waves of economic restructuring, a succession of hostile governments and a wholesale shift in employer attitudes, as well as the failure of the unions' own efforts to boost membership and consolidate power. Indeed, Bramble demonstrates how the tactics employed by unions since the early 1980s may have paradoxically contributed to their decline.

By: Tom Bramble (University of Queensland)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 460g
ISBN: 9780521716123
ISBN 10: 0521716128
Pages: 312
Publication Date: 22 September 2008
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , General/trade , Undergraduate , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of figures and tables; List of acronyms; Preface; Introduction; 1. Trade unionism in the postwar boom, 1945–67; Part I. The Flood Tide: 2. The union upsurge, 1968–74; Part II. The Stand-Off, 1974–83: 3 Economic crisis and the halting of the flood tide, 1974–5; 4. Unionism in the Fraser years; Part III. The Ebb Tide, 1983–2007: 5. The accord, 1983–90; 6. Enterprise bargaining and a revived employer offensive 1990–6; 7. Unionism in a cold climate, 1996–2004; 8. WorkChoices and the defeat of the Howard Government; 9. Results and prospects; Index.

Tom Bramble is Senior Lecturer in Industrial Relations, School of Business, University of Queensland. He has lectured in Industrial Relations at tertiary level for more than twenty years.

Reviews for Trade Unionism in Australia: A History from Flood to Ebb Tide

Trade unions are far too often condemned to the leaden prose of institutional analysis. One of the great strengths of Tom Bramble's book is the way in which he conveys not just the arguments amid the changing fortunes of the union movement, but also the passions and allegiances that lay behind those arguments. This is not just a compelling analysis, but also a very human history, which starts from the strikes, bans and pickets of workers themselves.' Diane Fieldes, Lecturer in Industrial Relations, University of New South Wales