Strike ballots and the law in comparative perspective

Abstract

The articles which comprise this special issue of the Journal were originally presented at a Strike Ballots Workshop held at the University of Sydney in August 2015. The idea for the workshop originated in an ARC-funded project on the operation of the protected industrial action ballot provisions in Div 8 of Part 3-3 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) which we are currently undertaking together with Richard Johnstone from Queensland University of Technology and Catrina Denvir from Sydney University (Ballots Project). The Ballots Project consists of two principal elements: first, a quantitative review of all applications for protected industrial action ballot orders (PABO) for the period 1 July 2015-30 June 2016; and second, a qualitative study of a sample of total applications for that period. The purpose of the second element is to try to obtain a deeper understanding of the ways in which the ballot provisions operate in practice, and in particular of their impact upon the attitudes and behaviours of participants in the bargaining process. This phase of the Project includes conducting interviews with representatives of ballot applicants and employer respondents, and also with key stakeholders such as representatives of worker and employer organisations. Consideration of the substantive content of Div 8, and the contentious circumstances in which the provisions now set out therein were originally introduced, inevitably raises questions as to the approach to this issue which has been adopted in other jurisdictions - especially those where workers who organise or participate in industrial action would, in the absence of some form of legislative protection, be exposed to legal penalty for doing so.