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Unions interrogating regions and regionalism in Australia: The challenges of experimentation

Version 2 2024-09-18, 23:47
Version 1 2023-05-22, 20:07
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posted on 2024-09-18, 23:47 authored by Peter FairbrotherPeter Fairbrother, B Barton

This chapter explores how unions can engage in experiments in relation to regional transition and change. Unions often appear to connect with questions about the specificities of regional economic and social development in uneven ways. The authors address this circumstance via a study of union representation and engagement in two sub-national regions in Australia, Gippsland in the State of Victoria and North West Tasmania in the State of Tasmania. The challenge for unions is that where institutional experimentation remains informal and disconnected from the furtherance of organisational capacities and resources, the experiments are likely to be unstable in the long run. Even where unions have formalised these arrangements organisationally, for example, via a hierarchical confederation structure, inclusive engagements in regional governance can be negated with changes in union leadership and composition. The conclusion is that without a strong and inclusive narrative of engagement in relation to regional governance, based on an inclusive organisational base, the outcome is likely to be ad hoc, often responsive and limited.

History

Publication title

Trade Unions and Regions: Better Work, Experimentation, and Regional Governance

Editors

C Levesque, P Fairbrother, B Emilien, MC Gonzalez, L Morissette

Pagination

184-204

ISBN

9780367370121

Department/School

Management

Publisher

Routledge

Publication status

  • Published

Place of publication

New York, USA

Extent

10

Rights statement

Copyright 2023 Taylor & Francis

Socio-economic Objectives

150301 Industrial relations

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