Australian Council Of Trade Unions Essay Research

Australian Council Of Trade Unions Essay, Research Paper

.Research the history, structure and activities of the Australian Council of Trade Unions as Australia.s peak union body. How is this body responding to the issues of declining membership and other changes in the workplace which have occurred within the last 10 years..

IntroductionThe Australian Council of Trade Unions or ACTU is Australia.s dominant association and governing body of the trade union movement in Australia. It is the only peak council and national centre which represents the Australian Workforce. The ACTU plays a substantial role in Australian politics. It is the representative of organised labour in wage negotiations with businesses and federal parliament. Although not officially affiliated with it, the ACTU maintains a strong association with the Australian Labor Party. The ACTU consists of 46 affiliated unions throughout Australia. Each state of Australia has a branch of the ACTU. Generally, these are called Labor Councils.

The ACTU speaks on behalf of most workers in most types of work including those in manufacturing, finance, government and the service sectors. Most of the ACTU.s policies and operational decisions are generally made through a democratic process, which takes place at a couple of gatherings:

An Executive of around 50 people who meet two or three times each year, this includes representatives from every union, ACTU officers, youth and indigenous representatives.

A Congress of around 800 delegates who represent all of ACTU.s affiliates which is held about every three years.

A Brief HistoryThe Australian Council of Trade Unions was established in May of 1927. On May 3rd, 1927 at the Interstate Trade Union Congress a motion was put forward by the Sydney Trades and Labour Council, the Melbourne Trades Hall Council and United Trades and the Labor Council of South Australia, saying that they wanted an, .all Australian Council of Trade Unions.. This resulted in the creation of the Australian Council of Trade Unions or ACTU.

A committee of seven was elected and their role was to set out the goals and structure of the Council. Issues that affected the whole trade union movement were dealt with by delegates from affiliated unions of the ACTU. The ACTU was a very small under-resourced organisation for many years after its initial creation.

StructureUp until recently the Australian Council of Trade Unions has had five elected full-time officers. Last year, the ACTU decided to reduce this number to four after the resignation of two officers. The ACTU now has a President, a Secretary and two Assistant Secretaries who are employed on a full-time basis.

PresidentThe current president for the ACTU is MS Sharon Burrow. She was elected to this position and joined the ACTU on May 1, 2000.

Roles of the President include being a chairman of the Executive, the Council and Congress. The President is also responsible for the general conduct of that ACTU. Another role of the President is that he/she is the official spokesperson of the ACTU. He/she must represent and argue for the ACTU.s views when in public forums and dealing with the media.

SecretaryThe current secretary for the ACTU is Mr Greg Combet. He was became this position in February of 2000.

The secretary of the ACTU is generally responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation, which can include both finance and staffing. The secretary must also implement the general policy directions of the ACTU.

Assistant SecretariesThere are currently two Assistant Secretaries of the ACTU. They are Bill Mansfield and Richard Marles.

Basically their job is to assist the Secretary. They are delegated specific polices and administrative responsibilities. Their responsibilities are clearly set out. Some of Bill Mansfield.s responsibilities include:

Vocational education and training

International representation of the ACTU to the International Labour Organisation (ILO)

Occupational Health and Safety

Youth Matters

Richard Marles also has his own responsibilities and some of these are:

Legal Issues (e.g. Workplace Relations Act)

Industrial Legislation

Living Wage

Social justice issues

Wage policy

Childcare

Other Staff of the ACTUApart from the four full-time workers that the ACTU has working for them, the ACTU also employs over 35 specialists who are experts in the field. These specialists are not needed all the time and thus are only employed on a full-time basis. They are called upon when the ACTU requires advice or professional help in a particular field. Some of these added employees include:

Economists

Researchers

Industrial Officers

Journalists

Administrative Employees

Priority IssuesThe ACTU lists eleven different issues, which are their top priorities at this stage. They are:

(i)To increase the effectiveness of unions and the number of union members.

(ii)To achieve better outcomes from the process of enterprise bargaining for wage increases. A special priority is being given to improving wage outcomes for women workers.

(iii)To find ways to help workers find a balance between their employment and family life.

(iv)To re

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