Federal Collective Bargaining after Electrolux

Abstract

This paper discusses the impact of the High Court of Australia's Electrolux decision, which ruled that protected strike action could not be taken where parties to collective bargaining negotiations were seeking to include matters that did not pertain to the employment relationship (in this case, non-union bargaining fees). The paper argues against the Court's narrow, literal interpretation of the Workplace Relations Act, on the basis that the decision will have an adverse effect on employees and the power ratios involved in the collective bargaining process. The paper contains an overview of the role of strike action in collective bargaining, and comments on the more recent Workchoices reforms.