Deterring Democracy? Australia's New Generation of Trade Union Officials

This article considers the continued relevance of two key arguments made by Callus (1986) in the mid-1980s as regards Australian trade union officials: first, that the labour market for trade union officials is clearly and sharply segmented; and second, that the growth of expert officer appointments...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of industrial relations 1995-09, Vol.37 (3), p.401-426
Main Author: Bramble, Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australia
Democracy
Labour relations
Officials
Trade unions
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article considers the continued relevance of two key arguments made by Callus (1986) in the mid-1980s as regards Australian trade union officials: first, that the labour market for trade union officials is clearly and sharply segmented; and second, that the growth of expert officer appointments has had a negligible impact on union democracy. Using census and union data, I conclude that the segmentation detected by Callus may be eroding, that union officials as a bloc are becoming increasingly differentiated from the rank-and-file membership, and that, although the growth of the expert officer class is secondary in its effect when compared to the main forces restricting the full play of union democracy, it may nonetheless be having an impact. The article concludes by considering the poten tial for a revival of union democracy.
ISSN:0022-1856
1472-9296
DOI:10.1177/002218569503700304