Employer Associations: Assessing Plowman's Reactivity Thesis

Abstract

In developing the dominant theory of Australian employer associations, David Plowman has consistently argued that Australian employers developed permanent associations as a response to the introduction of compulsory arbitration. From this developed a history of reactive employer involvement within the arbitration sys tem. By linking association formation with the introduction of a unique system of compulsory arbitration, Plowman saw formal employer combination in Australia as exceptional as well as reactionary. This paper challenges the reactivity thesis by subjecting a number of Plowman's key assumptions to historiographic and comparative scrutiny. First. permanent associations, whether organized on a trade, industry or state basis. existed before the advent of arbitration. Second, the increase in employer association formation and activity that occurred around the turn of the century can only partly be attributed to the introduction of compulsory arbitration. Finally, the development of employer associations in Australia showed striking similarities with that of other countries in terms of both periodization and impetus for formation.