at an employee may join a union but three major factors are evident. They are; dissatisfaction with economic aspects of the job; a desire to influence those aspects of the work environment through union orientated means; and, a belief that the benefits of unionism outweigh the expected costs (Deery et al, 2000).With the benefits of the objectives of a union evident, why has Australian unions witnessed a decline in membership? There are many reasons to suggest a decline in membership, but three main factors stand out. They are; the changing composition of employment; the casual effects of the business cycle; and, the introduction of the Accord (Deery et al, 2000).The changing composition of employment relates to the change in the structure of the workforce. Job growth has become generally greater in those segments of the labour force with relatively low levels of trade union membership, and a contraction of employment among the more highly unionised segments of the labour force (Healey, 1995). Most of the employment growth that occurred in the 80s and 90s was confined to the private sector whose union density was considerably lower to that of the public sector. In addition to that, the constant decline in the manufacturing industries, where unionisation is high, compared to other sectors in the industry. Another point that falls under this factor of changing composition of employment is the failure of the unions to recruit casual and part time workers. Part time and casual employment has been growing rapidly in service industries, with women dominating this segment. Unions have not met any real inroads into organising casual employees (Carson, 2000).The factor of casual effects of the business cycle to declining union membership relates to the unemployment levels of the economy. In Australia there was a significant rise in unemployment in the 80s and 90s which had a negative effect. During periods of economic stagnation, unions have foun...
