(2024) John MacBean. Newcastle Man Who Rose to the Top of the Australian Unions
John MacBean was born with the battle for workers’ rights in his blood, secured a 38-hour working week for health workers and promoted women within the union movement.
(2022) The Union Leader Who Dared to Dream
Tom McDonald was a building union leader and building industry reformer, superannuation pioneer, pro-Moscow communist turned “broad left” warrior, and celebrated elder of the Australian labour movement.
(2007) Fairness and Individual Agreements
Labor’s policy on workplace reform, Forward With Fairness, spells out Labor’s approach to achieving fairer, more productive workplaces throughout Australia.
(1996) The Method in Kelty’s Madness
Sometimes the smartest industrial tactic is to appear crazy. That seems to be the most favourable explanation for the recent behavior of ACTU secretary Bill Kelty.
(1996) Industrial Relations Reform
It may be as early as next week that the Workplace Relations Bill, the Howard government’s proposed industrial legislation, will be presented to the Federal Parliament. The legislation is likely to be complex and subject to a hostile reaction on the Labor side and, potentially, the Democrats.
(1995) The Bud That Will Never Flower? East Asian Trade Unions
Ask an Australian trade union leader what they think about the labour scene in Asia and, more likely than not, you will hear a story of a nascent movement under the thumb of authoritarian regimes.
(1995) The Change at the Top of the AFL-CIO
The defeat of Tom Donahue as President of the AFL-CIO last week by John Joseph Sweeney is a tragedy. Far from heralding a new era for aggressive and innovative unionism under the new leadership, Mr Donahue’s defeat may be another milestone marking the slow decline of American organised labour.
(1995) CRA Dispute: A Tale of Clumsy Unions versus the New Ideology
In the welter of claim and counter-claim the industrial dispute involving CRA has been characterised by a high degree of confusion. It appears that over several years CRA has been extremely clever and successful in pursuing a strategy to undermine trade unions at its sites.
(1995) The Australian Impact of Clinton’s Labour Reforms
The ascension of Governor Clinton to President Clinton on 20 January 1993 raised a gulp of excited apprehension in progressive circles in Australia. President Clinton’s idealism and rhetoric about Americans working with each other was a familiar social democratic call.
(1994) The Value of Work for Human Community¹
In thinking about the value of work, it is difficult to know where to begin. The diversity of work, the varying significance it has for different individuals and communities is a basic and obvious point. Cole Porter playfully alludes to some of the meanings of work in a song he composed, ‘Her Heart Was In Her Work’