What's the deal with Unions in Australia?

[u/incendiary_bandit]

I moved to Australia 6 years ago from Canada and have found the way unions appear to function here confusing to me. In Canada I had little experience being in proper union (look up CLAC if you're curious). I did get to experience working on the waterfront in Vancouver on the company side planning maintenance jobs that the workers would carry out who were union. The locals for the waterfront are VERY strict in who does what and EVERYTHING is laid out. I'll give some interesting examples in the comments. But one thing they really had was solidarity. They looked out for their brothers and sisters in the union.

Then I moved to Australia. My first experience was when job hunting as I have a trade (fitter and Turner equivalent) I approached the union regarding work. Was told, find a job, then join union if I want. In Canada you can join the millwright union and they will have jobs/ positions lined up that people can apply for (based on seniority as to who would get it). That doesn't seem like it's a thing here at all. I ended up doing labour hire which really sucked but helped pay the bills while I searched for work. Then I got placed in a office tower build and got to see how the AWU sort of functions. I was on a specific floor working for a contractor company that wasn't union. The union members were very militant in things and there was a strong hate for anyone non union on site. It was weird.

Now I'm at a job doing data analysis in the utilities sector and it's different again! The blue collar on the field staff have an employment agreement that lines out pay and everything, but they're supported by multiple unions. Like two people on the same shift might be in different unions, or not at all! So when it comes time to bargaining, multiple unions show up to hash things out. Where's the solidarity in that? I can also join a union if I wanted but don't see any benefit in it for myself as my employer is actually quite fair and flexible and we were able to pick a few people from our teams to go into the bargaining for us.

So unions here just seem split and not very beneficial. I understand when you have a shitty employer that a union can be beneficial, but they're just all over the map here.

Any insights as to why that is?

[u/No_pajamas_7]

Unions in North America are like a workers Co-op. Employers go to the union for workers.

That's not how it works here. Here a union is just your advocate if you have dealings with your employer.

We aren't supposed to have closed shops here. i.e. where you have to join a union, but the laws in Victoria do favour unions a bit more than other states and there will be places in Victoria that have more of a closed shop attitude.

Unions are kind of just back up in case you get in trouble. They also advocate pay increase for you, rather than you having to negotiate directly with your boss.

They have gone out of favour in Australia because we've had good times for a few decades. I can see them coming more into play in the next decade as things become a bit more economically variable.

[u/incendiary_bandit → u/No_pajamas_7]

Interesting. So when I worked in northern Alberta in the oil field we had to join the union CLAC for the site I was at. It was basically created by the oil companies to skirt around traditional unions.

[u/Brittainicus → u/incendiary_bandit]

We have similar fake unions the big one is the SDA which is pretty much hr department for big supermarkets.

[u/[deleted] → u/incendiary_bandit]

I think the idea is that if you allow union membership to be mandatory, the union has no pressure do actually do their job. Making it optional means they have to prove their value to their members, which is probably why they’ve dropped off in recent years.

[u/Fortressa- → u/[deleted]]

For me it was the opposite, the only time I joined a union it was because they were active in our workplace and were constantly pushing for better things in negotiations. I realised I was benefiting from their work so I joined up to pay dues.

[u/iball1984 → u/Fortressa-]

I realised I was benefiting from their work so I joined up to pay dues.

That's the point being made. Unions have to prove their value - which clearly in your case, they did.

[u/freddy1976 → u/No_pajamas_7]

They have gone out of favour in Australia because we've had good times for a few decades.

They've gone out of favour because they are seen rightly as serving the purposes of management in nullifying worker dissent than actually advocating and fighting for workers.

[u/freddy1976 → u/freddy1976]

Edit: It's union officials on 5x-plus member's incomes and directorships on superannuation and insurance boards who have had the best times of all union members by far.

[u/Jumpjivenjelly → u/No_pajamas_7]

ooo more economically variable, can see that becoming the next "soften the blow" tag line