Unions Come to Campus

After more than two decades of rapid growth, the Australian universities have now entered a prolonged period of “steady state”. Apart from creating new kinds of organisational strain, the steady state has also contributed towards increased trade unionism amongst both the teaching and non‐teaching staff.

In the case of the former group, a unique question arises: if a university is truly a self‐governing collegium, does this mean that the academic staff are simultaneously employers as well as employees, in the context of industrial relations.

Active unionisation in the universities may have positive as well as negative consequences. After considering these individually, the paper concludes by briefly looking at the impact of strikes in an educational institution.