Chris White Online

With Australian workers under the Howard regime not having any legal ability for workplace democracy rights, you would have thought Minister julia Gillard would be ensuring these basic rights at work. But not so. This is a book review I wrote in 2002 on the then Works Councils debate. Workplace democracy is worth reviving.

WORKS COUNCILS IN AUSTRALIA Future Prospects and Possibilities, edited by Paul Gollan, Ray Markey and Iain Ross (ACIRRT, Federation Press, 2002)

Chris White responds to the workplace democracy debate.

Works Councils as a new reform for workplace democracy is one of the most important debates for labour movement activists and the left. New forms of workplace collectivity are needed by the Australian workforce.

This book examines the European Works Councils experiences, particularly the German co-determination structures and their application in Australia.

In this review I have not gone into the details of Works Councils. In Europe the workers democratic voice is mandated by electing workplace representatives who participate in Works Councils. Employers in larger businesses are required to consult, provide information on and negotiate over management decisions. Worker representatives have resources, are trained and have paid time for consultation.

The European Works Council Directive is to be extended soon with new requirements to require consultative obligations to cover small and medium businesses in Europe.

In comparison, in Australia in 1986 the Howard Government abolished award rights for consultation. Except where organised by unions with some forms of joint consultative committees and with Occupational Health and Safety rights, Australian workers do not have legal workplace democracy rights. Australian citizens can vote but not at work. We have no legal rights to elect a workplace representative structure.

This book reports the research about the absence of worker representation particularly in non-union worksites. The essays from university researchers, union and industrial relations analysts argue why and how the European model of Works Councils could operate in Australia and how Australian labour law can be altered.

Minister for Workplace Relations Tony Abbott will not introduce Works Councils. His agenda is to ensure that workers do not have a voice, do not legally receive information and cannot have binding co-determination obligations with employers. The Howard Government’s neo-liberal agenda insists on subordination and exploitation, undermining union organisation and denying worker representation. The “new workplace” is where workers have little power.

Consequently there is a considerable challenge to develop the industrial and political momentum in the labour movement to reverse this neo-liberal ascendancy and to develop new forms of worker collectivity.

Information and consultation about change is a key workplace issue according to a recent ACTU survey of 8,000 workers with 70% of them being “very concerned or concerned” about the lack of consultation in their workplace.

New collective representation at the workplace level is on union agendas. There are supportive arguments in this book for Works Councils as a component of union renewal.

Greg Combet, ACTU Secretary, presented a powerful argument two years ago for Works Councils (see Options 27, November 2001.)

This argument was sustained in this year’s Let’s Get Real Organising Conference and the Future of Work seminar (for the full reports see the ACTU website www.actu.org.au).

The ACTU stresses the value of consultative structures such as Works Councils that may reinforce collective workplace culture and assist in organising non-union worksites that have no worker representation. However unions would not support any workplace consultative structures that undermine the rights and abilities of unions to organise and to collectively bargain on behalf of their members. (The ACTU Future Strategies document, May 03 is worth reading).

The Works Councils strategy is yet to get hold of all unions. It is contested by some left unions. Most unions are engaged in defensive strategies against severe attacks from employers and the Howard Government as well as survival and quite rightly busy organising the new labour force.

Works Councils are either not on the agenda or unions are sceptical about the timing arguing “not now” in this difficult labour market.

This argument is put by John Buchanan and Chris Briggs. They support the principles of Works Councils but are against them until unions are able to deal with work inequalities and improve bargaining structures and union collectivism. Quite rightly they do not want employers to dominate Works Councils. Inequality at work is the first priority. They show the weaknesses in the 1990’s consultative practices, the Best Practice programmes where left unions pushed a “productivist” model.

Decline in worker autonomy from management and union influence, redundancies, work intensification and casualisation accompanied the 1990’s Best Practice “empowerment” through consultation and team programmes.

But knowing these weaknesses provides useful lessons in developing improved reforms. Earlier industrial democracy weaknesses are not reasons for abandoning the debate.

I suggest the debate is not an either/or but an “and” debate. More broadly, my view is that the benefits of Works Councils outweigh the possible disadvantages. Benefits are that it gives a much greater opportunity for worker democracy than is possible without it.

It is essential that Australian unions campaign around the theme of a ‘voice at the workplace’ for workers and that union rights are seen in this context as a means to an end, not an increase in power for officials.

The context is important. Union struggle is to put in place strategies to resolve the difficulties of the current high level of precarious work, casualisation, unreasonable working hours, paid parental leave, organising non-unionists and the ACTU politically campaigning once more on social issues such as Medicare.

Yet this does not mean that new structures of workplace collectivity should not be considered. Strategies and resources can be developed for a new campaign for an Australian form of Works Councils.

Inequalities in the workplace show workers do not have any power. Workers want a say over their employment status, their unreasonable hours and working conditions and management prerogative. Works Councils can provide an important process to assist redressing such power inequalities.

Building workplace democracy is part of developing strategies to organise workers to challenge inequalities of power.

During current organising campaigns, reforms can be developed about the specifics of Works Councils.

Consideration for the precarious workforce to have a voice in Works Council structures is important. For workers, who outside of enterprise bargaining do not have many rights to have a say at work on a range of management decision making issues, Works Councils are a progressive idea.

Union organising strategies are one form of worker democracy establishing the ability of workers to exercise collective power and contest employers. Works Councils are themselves dependent on the industrial forces. Many advances won’t take hold unless through organising unions.

A key problem is that Australia’s unique industrial relations system is now almost embedded into the American system. Europe or America is indeed an important challenge identified by Greg Combet. This book argues clearly for greater European influence over the form of Australian industrial relations.

It is interesting that legislation for Works Councils although opposed by employers with a New Right political agenda, do secure support broadly in the industrial relations community. Many employers and human resource managers see a consultative environment as good for productivity.

In the political arena the National ALP has an industrial democracy policy. Industrial relations journalist Stephen Long considers the prospects under a Labor Government. The Democrats have pushed detailed forms of workplace democracy. The Greens support the principles. There is scope for State ALP Governments to amend their workplace laws and promote consultation and information.

Ideas for industrial democracy have had a long history of vigorous debate and struggle in the labour movement. The recent 1960’s and 1970’s history saw programmes with mainstream Government support for worker participation in management schemes.

Others promoted policies to widen the bargaining agenda to investment decisions with the extension of democratic involvement beyond the enterprise to industry and national planning.

There were alternative left militant workers control actions.

Many left writers promote a deeper historical understanding of the development of workers control movements being essential to the ideas for socialism. These debates are not in this book. They should be revisited.

A short comment is that one review of this book by a union organiser said it was too academic. He said it was difficult to read. Indeed, we are yet to have a contemporary exposition for workplace democracy written in the ordinary language of union delegates and activists.

Chris White was formerly Secretary of the UTLC.

your rights at work worth voting for