By Gavin Beltov
Where are the unions going?
It is difficult to discuss the present direction of the trade union movement as it is not clear the movement is capable of determining any direction at all. The movement is simply responding to the prevailing climate the way a rudderless, motorless ship might drift with wind and tide.
From the time the industrial commission introduced centralised wage fixing, the system has served the interests of capital well. It served the big employers particularly well by holding down wages when there was a shortage of skilled labour.
The ruling class would now prefer the abolition of centralised wage fixing. Unemployment provides them with a labour surplus, and new technology frees them from some of their needs for skilled labour.
The New Right led the push for changes in the arbitration system, and the union movement cooperated completely in making these changes work, undertaking to "restructure" awards, increase productivity and reduce the price of labour in real terms.
The ruling class has determined that there are too many unions and that they are too difficult to control, and the leadership of the union movement has obliged by agreeing to eliminate smaller unions and arrange the remaining larger ones into industry-based bodies.
Members of unions that do not comply will simply be denied access to work sites. Unions that don't comply with orders of the commission may be deregistered and bankrupted by fines, and their members may be imprisoned. This situation is further complicated by some unions poaching members.
Meanwhile, the percentage of unionists in the workforce is decreasing because many workers are unable to perceive any advantage in joining. Cynics may suggest automatic payroll deductions as the answer. If they agree to make enough concessions, I am sure industry-based unions would be able to strike the necessary deals with big employers. The ultimate irony would be the development of workers' organisations struggling against union shops!
The arbitration system in this country does not deserve to survive, but its destruction should be at the hands of the working class — not the New Right and the ACTU. The New Right wants a type of industrial fascism, while the ACTU would replace the old system with an identical clone.
A workers' industrial court is what we really need. Its main charter would be to ensure a minimum weekly wage capable of sustaining workers with dignity. Full CPI indexation would be applied on a monthly basis. Responsibility for workers' safety would lie with the employer, and suitable penalties (including custodial sentences) would be imposed for breaches. Worker control would be the primary objective in all major industries. Union officials would be elected by their membership, from the rank and file. Officials would be subject to immediate recall on a plebiscite of members.
While such changes are unlikely in the near future, we need a real alternative to the New Right and ACTU approaches, which are merely different paths towards the same end.
["Gavin Beltov" is a Perth trade union functionary].