Trade Unionism and the Policing Accord': Control and Self-Regulation of Picketing During the 1998 Maritime Dispute

Abstract

The policing of the overt manifestations of industrial conflict such as pickets and lockouts is a largely neglected area of industrial research. In this article, the contemporary relationship between unionism and policing in controlling pickets is explored Although police do not cause industrial disputation, policing can influence the procedures and outcomes of disputes. It is argued that the union and police relationship, historically precarious and subject to hostility and confrontation, has evolved into a more sophisticated and accommodating model in the 1990s to the mutual advantage of both, although police maintain considerable powers to act coercively against any union challenge on the streets. In the case-study of the 1998 Australian maritime dispute, police were concerned to maintain public control and order while the unionists were determined to maintain pickets at Patrick's stevedoring terminals. Both generally sought a co-operative, negotiated and self-regulating strategy of maintaining the peace at the pickets.