The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) launched the most recent information at present (March 12, 2025) on – Industrial Disputes, Australia – which covers the December-quarter 2024. The information exhibits that there was a slight decline within the variety of industrial disputes over the past 12 months, though the variety of working days misplaced rose considerably (by 15.4 per cent within the quarter). Nonetheless, disputation stays at file lows. That truth is without doubt one of the success tales of neoliberalism and the best way that the pursuits of Capital have co-opted authorities to make sure the revenue distribution was shifted again in favour of income on the expense of wages. There are all kinds of explanations given to clarify the low actual wages progress in Australia over the previous couple of many years and all attempt to sheet residence the blame to international components or demographic shifts. However the truth stays that there was concerted motion by authorities beneath strain from the employer teams to introduce laws and regulation that undermined the capability of the commerce unions to pursue motion within the pursuits of their members. That motion was very profitable from the angle of capital and devastating to employees. As we speak’s weblog publish is de facto only a set of notes in regards to the tendencies proven on this information.
Listed below are some graphs that body the dialogue.
There are numerous methods through which one can analyse the manifestations of sophistication warfare – variety of disputes, variety of working days misplaced, and the variety of workers concerned.
The present industrial disputes information collection from the ABS begin on the March-quarter 1985 and supply information on all three measures up till the December-quarter 2024 (at present’s launch).
The primary graph exhibits the three collection over that interval and whereas there may be numerous noise within the information, the tendencies are clear.
This decline in industrial disputation has been enormous and has been the results of deliberate public coverage to weaken unions and make it simpler for bosses to prosecute unions who interact in industrial motion.
The decline marked the start of the interval when authorities turned from being a mediator within the class wrestle between labour and capital and have become an agent for capital.
However we get an excellent higher thought of how the commercial relations terrain has shifted by patching collectively older annual information from 1950 to 1984 to the present quarterly information proven within the earlier graph.
The following two graphs present the variety of industrial disputes and the working days misplaced from 1950 to the December-quarter 2024 (the quarterly information collection from the ABS begins within the March-quarter 1985).
Additional, now we have constant wage share information from the September-quarter 1959 to the December-quarter 2022, which is proven within the subsequent graph.
The distribution of nationwide revenue when it comes to the wages share peaked at 62.7 per cent within the March-quarter 1975.
By the December-quarter 2024, the wage share had fallen to 53.8 per cent.
The decline is multi-varied however a significant driving pressure has been the declining capability of commerce unions to successfully signify their members’ pursuits.
Historic – Commerce Union Statistics, Australia, December 1975 – present that union membership was on the rise in that yr:
Whole membership elevated by 52,100 (1.9 per cent) – Whole membership elevated by 52,100 (1.9 per cent) over 1974 to 2,814,000 … Between 1970 and 1975 male membership elevated by 12 per cent and feminine membership by 5O per cent.
Scaling that by the dimensions of the labour pressure, we be taught that:
Commerce union members on the finish of 1975 represented 58 per cent of employed wage and wage earners. The 58 per cent of employed wage and wage earners. The share for males was 63 per cent and for females proportion per 48 per cent.
Quick observe into the current and the newest ABS launch of relevance – Commerce Union Membership – tells a bleak story for employees:
In August 2024:
– 13.1% of workers (1.6 million) have been commerce union members …
– Since 1992, the proportion of workers who have been commerce union members has fallen from 40%.
So in 1975, the protection was 58 per cent.
By 1992, it has fallen to 40 per cent.
And by August 2024, it was all the way down to 13.1 per cent.
However the newest information launch additionally contained some excellent news.
Between August 2022 and August 2024, commerce union members confirmed:
… a rise on the 12.5% recorded in August 2022.
Commerce unions protected employees through the Covid lockdowns and hopefully there was a tipping level in membership as employees realise that with out that safety the bosses are going to proceed to undermine working circumstances and suppress actual wages progress.
The opposite dimension of neoliberalism that bears on the working class is the speed of progress in actual wages.
The next graph exhibits the annual proportion change in actual wages from the March-quarter 1999 to the December-quarter 2024.
In historic phrases this pattern is displaying very modest charges of progress interspersed with prolonged intervals of contracting buying energy for employees.
This Desk attracts on a unique database (primarily based on Nationwide Account wage measures) to exhibits the typical annual actual wage compensation for the many years.
| Decade | Common Annual Progress (%) |
| Sixties | 5.66 |
| Seventies | 4.14 |
| Eighties | 2.56 |
| Nineties | 3.12 |
| 2000s | 2.66 |
| 2010s | 2.66 |
| 2020s | 2.23 |
The assault on the working class in Australia started after the primary OPEC oil disaster in October 1973 however accelerated within the second-half of the Eighties when the then Labor authorities (sure!) watered down the commercial relations system that protected industrial motion.
From then (aligning with the info tendencies proven) there have been a sequence of legislative modifications by each Labor and Conservative federal governments, which outlawed many previously accepted industrial methods by employees to place strain on bosses at hand over a justifiable share of the productiveness progress and shield wages from inflation.
No parallel constraints on value gouging by firms has been entertained by the federal government.
The information above data the victory of capital over the employees on this post-industrial period.
Hopefully, the most recent signal that commerce union member is rising once more is the tipping level.
Smith Household Manga continues this Friday – the final episode in Season 2
The ultimate episode in Season 2 (Episode 12) of the – Smith Household Manga – will seem this Friday and the neighborhood is shocked when a determined Prime Minister, who has intentionally pushed tens of millions into unemployment on the again of recommendation from economists that the general public debt ratio was too excessive, delivers an handle to the nation.
Mrs Boff makes a reappearance (The IMF Disaster: 40 Years On).
And Denis Healey is channelled.
The Manga will take a brief break (about 4 weeks) whereas we work out what occurs subsequent, which can be loads.
That’s sufficient for at present!
(c) Copyright 2025 William Mitchell. All Rights Reserved.