Attitudes to Industrial Relations in Four New Zealand Industrial Groups

Abstract

While the attitudes of New Zealand trade unions and union officials to various aspects of industrial relations are consistently publicised, relatively little is known of the attitudes and opinions of rank-and file union members. The democratic structure of union organisations would lead one to expect a basic congruence between the policies and collective actions of unions, the public pronouncements of their elected officials, and the attitudes and wishes of their members. Yet public suspicion abounds that union off11cials are "unrepresentative", and do not genuinely reflect members' views: this suspicion is particularly strong when officials suggest that there are fundamental conflicts of interest between employers and employees, or when they take strong action in pursuit of demands. It is fanned by media coverage of industnal relations which stresses conflict and union militancy. The question of trade unionists' own attitudes is clearly important; these attitudes can both reflect and influence the conduct of bargaining process, and a knowledge of them can help both sides to pursue their objectives in a more realistic way.