5. How have the trade unions in the industry responded to the changes in employment relations in the industry?

Since 1991, both Labor and Liberal-National governments have encouraged enterprise bargaining, marking a major shift away from a more centralized approach to employment relations. On the other hand, there is still an aspect of external regulation in the automotive sector and more generally, across the industrial relations system. The AIRC, a tribunal established by the Commonwealth Government at the turn of the twentieth century continues to have the power to settle disputes through conciliation and arbitration, to certify enterprise agreements and to establish minimum standards across the workforce. The ongoing role of the AIRC has meant that the legacy of external directive continues to have an influence in the automotive assembly division, as do other third parties such as trade unions (Lansbury, Wright and Bairdi, 2006).

Over the last two decades,...
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