Rough notes of a speech
Changing environment:
Affluence: “union movement has completed its mission – one of the most successful organisations of this century”. – Peter Drucker
diminishing of master/servant relationship
changing market:
– white collar, services
– different services/wants
More individualistic climate:
– decline in participation in social environment
– desire for “no more remote bureaucracies on my back”.
breakdown of the post war consensus that unionism is a social good & responsible unions should be encouraged:
– right to work
– deregulation
– relationship between union power & strength of the ALP
Challenges
1.
How to achieve interface of strong amalgamated unions with union free/human relations management areas?
2. Wages Outcomes
More deregulation under a centralised framework which limits aggregate wage increases.
Therefore dilemma facing unions today is how to arrest decline & market unionism more effectively.
In Scandinavian countries/Israel where unionism is strong, this is tied into
– union role in social welfare/medical entitlements.
– Union involvement in training of employees.
– strong consensus in society that unionism “good for society”.
– innovative recruitment/visionary strategies by unions.
Specific Priorities
Postscript (2015)
In the 1990s, for most of what I said before delivery, I preferred notes rather than a prepared speech.