State syndicalism? : some thoughts on the nature of the Australian industrial relations system / Peter Scherer.

Abstract

The Australian industrial relations system is one of the oldest in the world and has many unique features. This paper explores these features by discussing the Australian system in a comparative framework. Section 1 of the paper examines the meaning of "arbitration" in Australia, and observes that Australia has a system of "unilateral" rather than "imposed" arbitration. Section 2 discusses the economic role played by the Australian tribunals, and makes some suggestions as to why the system has survived so long. The third section analyses the ambivalent role of trade unions in Australia, emphasising how guaranteed recognition conferred by the State has been achieved at the cost of confining that recognition co a restricted range of industrial natters. It suggests that restricted recognition is a fundamental cause of much industrial conflict in Australia. The final section discusses the role of Australian unions vis-a vis the State, and suggests that Australia has a syston of "State Syndicalism", in which the State-sponsored arbitration system can be seen as an "Executive Committee of the Labour Aristocracy". Show more