Collective bargaining and compulsory arbitration : the American and Australian experience and their impact on management rights.

Abstract

The opportunity for the present study was afforded when the writer was fortunate enough to be the recipient of an Australian- American Educational Foundation Grant to study the industrial arbitration system of Australia for a period of one year, commencing in August 1966. Attempts at comparative investigations and analyses of the American and Australian industrial relations systems have been successfully undertaken over recent years. Academics and practitioners from both countries have sought to study problems both of a general survey nature and of particular institutions and practices within each system. Having the benefit of their past studies and findings the present writer became aware of the scope of the problems yet to be explored. Starting from the assumption that one of the criteria for the successful functioning of any industrial relations system is the creation of delegation to and acceptance by the parties of functional responsibilities within the system, it was decided to study thoroughly one meaningful segment in the totality; namely, the impact of our respective systems on the concept of "management rights". In so doing, a careful examination of the legal, political and socio-economic institutions could be undertaken, thereby making possible an analysis of not only the general over-all structure of a system, but also the day-to-day operations which form the integral components. Having thus decided on the nature and scope of the research project, it was necessary to decide on the mode of presentation. It seemed that the detailed organization and structuring required by a university for the submission of a thesis would be the most systematic and academic way of regimenting this study. The carrying out of the field work in Australia provided both advantages and difficulties. Operating from the Sydney University Law School, full entrée was given to libraries, both public and private. Extensive interviews, both formal and informal, with representatives from trade unions, employer organizations and Government departments, and with members of the industrial tribunals, provided the writer with innumerable opportunities to clarify thinking and to gain valuable material for this study. On numerous occasions it was possible to sit in or and observe, first-hand, industrial conferences and dispute settlements. All of this practical experience, along with extensive readings of cases, agreements and awards, afforded substantial addition to the otherwise available source materials. Two problems which the writer encountered presented themselves regularly. First was the ever-present time factor. With the industrial climate being in a constant state of agitation and problems suddenly arising, one had to be aware of geographic restrictions and the accessibility of the relevant parties, and therefore the question of how much time and depth to devote to the various situations was constantly present. Secondly, having been schooled in the American collective bargaining system, it was necessary to adopt an objective attitude to many factors and situations, and detach subjective values when looking at the Australian system. I am indeed grateful to the numerous people who constantly served to remind me of this, and trust that this detachment, where appropriate, is duly reflected. The writer has elected to impose the cutoff date of August 1967, the date of the expiration of his grant, for the materials used in the development of this project. Finally, as this study is directed to both an American and an Australian audience, the writer, assuming that each audience may be relatively unfamiliar with the other's industrial relations system, has goen into greater detail in the introductory background and institutional framework chanters than would ordinarily have been warranted. It is in the hope of engendering better understanding and ease of comparison that this approach has been used. Space prohibits my thanking individually all of those who provided the necessary guidance and information that aided me in structuring the body of this project. I would extend special thanks to Professor D. C. Thomson of the Sydney University Law School who so kindly served as my supervisor during my stay in Australia, and to Dr. R. A. Bauman of the University of Sydney who provided the initial inspiration which resulted in this thesis being undertaken. However, any failing, explicit or implicit, in the pages that follow lie solely with the writer.