Productivity and industrial relations in the Australian construction industry

Abstract

The global construction industry has a poor productivity record compared with other industries. While there have been many studies into the factors that influence construction productivity, the role of industrial relations (IR) in construction productivity has been neglected. This is despite countries with highly unionised workforces, such as Australia and Canada, often attributing the industry’s relatively low productivity to its confrontational IR environment. This paper explores how construction project managers and operatives in Australia interpret what has become a highly divisive IR debate and how this influences their IR behaviour. A survey of 92 construction project managers and operatives reveals multi-theoretical perceptions influenced by both pluralist and radical IR theories. While unions are seen as beneficial to project safety and work hours, they are perceived as detrimental to productivity, although there is uncertainty about how this relationship works. It is concluded that improvements in construction project productivity are unlikely to be achieved by IR legislation alone but through a more complex multidimensional bargaining lens where project managers and operatives develop mutually beneficial shared solutions.