Declining strike activity in Australia 1983-85 : an international phenomenon? / John J. Beggs and Bruce J. Chapman.

Abstract

It is widely accepted that, relative to previous periods, Australian strike activity fell markedly after the beginning of 1983. However, there is yet no concensus as to the underlying factors which contributed to this phenomenon. At the one extreme is the idea that the successful institution of the prices and incomes Accord led to increased industrial harmony which, by itself, delivered low levels of strikes. At the other is the view that decreases in work stoppages have been world-wide and, by implication, the Accord has not been relevant to falls in Australia. This paper contributes to the debate through the reporting of econometric analyses of the determinants of strike activity in four OECD countries, Australia, Canada, the US and the UK, for 1964-85 with a particular focus on the last three years of the period. Through a variety of econometric approaches it is demonstrated that decreases in strike activity in the 1983-85 period were idiosyncratic to Australia. While this does not constitute strong evidence that the Accord was instrumental in diminishing strikes, in part because of data limitations, it does imply a rejection of the view that the Australian experience was simply a reflection of world-wide forces. Show more