What is the significance that the decline in union membership has for australian industrial relations?

Question

 What is the significance that the decline in union membership has for australian industrial relations? Please help!

Answer 1

The case study or the first part of the question will give some more information that you need in order to answer this question.  Perhaps there are particular conditions in Australia that should be mentioned.

 

However, if union membership declines (in percent of employees in the union), then the union will be less powerful since it includes fewer of the workers ("We all stand or fall together" is powerful).

 

It is very important that you highlight the very different goals of management and unions.  For example, management seeks a profit, lower costs, greater productivity, and not necessarily the best working conditions (unless that improves  productivity).  Unions want benefits (medical, days off, etc.) to take care of their workers, higher wages, and safer working conditions, ...   Negotiations sometimes get difficult (as when a strike is threatened -- even shootings during the coal strikes).