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Bargaining over Australian public service cuts: Do forcing strategies work?

Author

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  • Sue Williamson
  • Michael O’Donnell
  • Cameron Roles

Abstract

Although a Labor government fiscal stimulus had helped Australia weather the 2008 global financial crisis, budget deficits increased, and the public service was targeted for economies. The Liberal/National (Coalition) opposition won office in 2013, promising public sector cuts. In this context, the Walton et al. concept of a forcing strategy helps analyse the 2014–2016 bargaining round in the Australian Public Service. A forcing strategy involves three negotiating processes: distributive bargaining to achieve concessions in pay and working conditions, the structuring of attitudes to heighten animosity between the negotiating parties, and the management of internal differences to minimise intragroup conflicts. The Liberal/National (Coalition) government adopted elements of these approaches, requiring Australian Public Service agencies to reduce a range of employment conditions to justify pay increases. Interactions between Australian Public Service management and the principal Australian Public Service trade union, the Community and Public Sector Union became increasingly hostile over the course of the bargaining round. In addition, internal differences emerged between the Australian Public Service Commission, which oversaw the bargaining process, and individual Australian Public Service agencies. We consider the efficacy of this forcing strategy in light of the potential for the Community and Public Sector Union to mobilise its membership to resist such an approach to pay negotiations.

Suggested Citation

  • Sue Williamson & Michael O’Donnell & Cameron Roles, 2016. "Bargaining over Australian public service cuts: Do forcing strategies work?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 27(1), pages 46-63, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:27:y:2016:i:1:p:46-63
    DOI: 10.1177/1035304616629291
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Stephen Bach, 2016. "Deprivileging the public sector workforce: Austerity, fragmentation and service withdrawal in Britain," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 27(1), pages 11-28, March.
    2. Williamson, Sue & O'Donnell, Michael Edward & Shingles, Joshua, 2015. "Can collective enterprise bargaining affect the psychological contract? An analysis of the 2011 Australian Public Service negotiations," Australian Bulletin of Labour, National Institute of Labour Studies, vol. 41(1), pages 1-19.
    3. Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld & Thomas Kochan, 2004. "Taking Stock: Collective Bargaining at the Turn of the Century," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 58(1), pages 3-26, October.
    4. Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld & Patrick McHugh & Donald Power, 1996. "Collective Bargaining in Small Firms: Preliminary Evidence of Fundamental Change," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 49(2), pages 195-212, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Cameron Roles & Sukanya Ananth & Michael O’Donnell, 2022. "Reinforcing managerial prerogative in the Australian Public Service during the COVID-19 pandemic," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 33(1), pages 18-36, March.
    2. Linda Colley & Shelley Woods & Brian Head, 2022. "Pandemic effects on public service employment in Australia," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 33(1), pages 56-79, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Distributive bargaining; collective bargaining; employment conditions; forcing strategy; industrial action; public sector; trade unions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L88 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Government Policy
    • H83 - Public Economics - - Miscellaneous Issues - - - Public Administration
    • J45 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Public Sector Labor Markets

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