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65-458: The Australian Industry Group , also called Ai Group , is an employers' organisation , whose members employ over 750,000 people throughout Australia . The organisation covers a wide range of industries including manufacturing, engineering, construction, automotive, food, transport, information technology, telecommunications, call centres, labour hire, printing, defence, mining equipment and supplies, airlines, and other related service industries. It

130-648: A free market the rivalry between competing companies naturally tends to preclude combined action for the advancement of common interests. The emergence of trade unions and their efforts to establish collective bargaining agreements on a local or an industry-wide level ultimately paved the way for combined action by competitors employing such labor in common. The collective entities established by commercial enterprises acting in concert on such matters are known variously as employers' organizations or employers' associations. Historically, employers' associations were of two general types: those consisting only of employers in

195-567: A case involving the International Longshoremen's Association refusing to work with goods for export to the Soviet Union in protest against its invasion of Afghanistan , that a no-strike clause does not bar unions from refusing to work as a political protest (since that is not an "arbitrable" issue), although such activity may lead to damages for a secondary boycott . Whether a no-strike clause applies to sympathy strikes depends on

260-429: A form of political protest. Like student strikes, a hunger strike aims to worsen the public image of the target. A "sickout", or (especially by uniformed police officers) " blue flu ", is a type of strike action in which the strikers call in sick . This is used in cases where laws prohibit certain employees from declaring a strike. Police, firefighters, air traffic controllers, and teachers in some U.S. states are among

325-446: A fraction of a day per worker per annum, on average, exceeding one day only in a few exceptional years. Since the 1990s, strike actions have generally further declined, a phenomenon that might be attributable to lower information costs (and thus more readily available access to information on economic rents ) made possible by computerization and rising personal indebtedness, which increases the cost of job loss for striking workers. In

390-442: A last resort. The object of collective bargaining is for the employer and the union to come to an agreement over wages, benefits, and working conditions. A collective bargaining agreement may include a clause (a contractual "no-strike clause") which prohibits the union from striking during the term of the agreement. Under U.S. labor law, a strike in violation of a no-strike clause is not a protected concerted activity . The scope of

455-538: A member refuses to cross a picket line. Sympathy strikes may be undertaken by a union as an organization, or by individual union members choosing not to cross a picket line. A jurisdictional strike in United States labor law refers to a concerted refusal to work undertaken by a union to assert its members' right to particular job assignments and to protest the assignment of disputed work to members of another union or to unorganized workers. A rolling strike refers to

520-420: A minimum guarantee for these services and punish violations. Similar limitations are applied to workers in the private sector whose strike can affect public services. The employer is explicitly forbidden to apply sanctions to employees participating to the strikes, with the exception of the aforementioned essential services cases. The government , under exceptional circumstances, can impose the precettazione of

585-477: A no-strike clause varies; generally, the U.S. courts and National Labor Relations Board have determined that a collective bargaining agreement's no-strike clause has the same scope as the agreement's arbitration clauses, such that "the union cannot strike over an arbitrable issue." The U.S. Supreme Court held in Jacksonville Bulk Terminals Inc. v. International Longshoremen's Association (1982),

650-725: A number of those organisations. The organisation has formal and long standing links with more than 80 overseas employer organisations such as the Confederation of Indian Industry ; the Chinese Machinery Industry Federation; The Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry; the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers; the US National Association of Manufacturers ; the Confederation of British Industry and Business New Zealand . Employers%27 organization In

715-452: A penal action (for a maximum of 4 years of prison) if the illegal strike causes the suspension of an essential service. Precettazione has been rarely applied, usually after several days of strikes affecting transport or fuel services or extraordinary events. Recent cases include the cancellation of the 2015 strike of the company providing transportation services in Milan during Expo 2015 , and

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780-552: A range of industries. The Group itself employs more than 300 people and 550 apprentices and trainees through its training arm, Australian Industry Group Training Services. The Australian Industry Group traces its foundations back to 1873, with the creation of the Metal Trades Industry Association (MTIA). In 1998, MTIA merged with the Australian Chamber of Manufactures (ACM), forming Ai Group. Ai Group has

845-461: A single trade or industry, or those bringing together employers from across a broad spectrum of industries on a local, regional, or national basis. As was the case for unions, the first employers' organizations emerged in large industrial cities during the first half of the 19th century. Both unions and employers' organizations tended to be localized. As unions began to proliferate and to gain strength in negotiations over wages and conditions through

910-421: A strike where only some employees in key departments or locations go on strike. These strikes are performed in order to increase stakes as negotiations draw on and to be unpredictable to the employer. Rolling strikes also serve to conserve strike funds . A student strike involves students (sometimes supported by faculty) refusing to attend classes. In some cases, the strike is intended to draw media attention to

975-465: A strong media presence and is also on Twitter with the account @The_AiGroup. The organisation includes workplace relations advisers, lawyers and employment and business specialists who provide services to members in the areas of workplace relations, legal, human resource management, occupational health and safety, workers' compensation, the environment and energy, international trade and export, economics, tax , business growth and skills. Innes Willox

1040-445: A work stoppage each year on average, these strikes also contained more workers than ever recorded with an average of 20,000 workers participating in each major work stoppage in 2018 and 2019. For the period from 1996 to 2000, the ten countries with the most strike action (measured by average number of days not worked for every 1000 employees) were as follows: Most strikes are organized by labor unions during collective bargaining as

1105-454: Is work-to-rule (also known as an Italian strike , in Italian : Sciopero bianco ), in which workers perform their tasks exactly as they are required to but no better. For example, workers might follow all safety regulations in such a way that it impedes their productivity or they might refuse to work overtime . Such strikes may in some cases be a form of "partial strike" or "slowdown". During

1170-454: Is an interest group or advocacy group that through lobbying tries to influence government policy . In these countries, employers' organizations tend to be weaker, with many of their functions taken over by industry trade groups , which are basically public relations organizations. In countries with a social market economy , such as Austria , Sweden , Norway and the Netherlands ,

1235-724: Is one of the largest industry organisations in Australia. Ai Group actively collaborates with institutions such as the Housing Industry Association , the accountancy firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers , and the Commonwealth Bank to produce surveys of the various industries it represents, releasing both status reports on large sections of the Australian economy , and of specific industries like the Australian construction industry and

1300-538: The Chartist movement was at its peak in Britain, a true and widespread 'workers consciousness' was awakening. In 1838, a Statistical Society of London committee "used the first written questionnaire… The committee prepared and printed a list of questions 'designed to elicit the complete and impartial history of strikes.'" In 1842 the demands for fairer wages and conditions across many different industries finally exploded into

1365-597: The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights , which guaranteed the right to unions and striking, but Chinese officials declared that they had no interest in allowing these liberties. In June 2008, the municipal government in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone introduced draft labor regulations, which a labor rights advocacy group says would, if implemented and enforced, virtually restore Chinese workers' right to strike. In

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1430-479: The National Labor Relations Board permitting employers to establish separate or "reserved" gates for particular trades, making it an unlawful secondary boycott for a union to establish a picket line at any gate other than the one reserved for the employer it is picketing. Still, the practice continues to occur; for example, some Teamsters contracts often protect members from disciplinary action if

1495-701: The Preamble to the French Constitution of 27 October 1946 ever since the Constitutional Council 's 1971 decision on the freedom of association recognized that document as being invested with constitutional value. A "minimum service" during strikes in public transport was a promise of Nicolas Sarkozy during his campaign for the French presidential election. A law "on social dialogue and continuity of public service in regular terrestrial transports of passengers"

1560-523: The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that there is a constitutional right to strike. In this 5–2 majority decision, Justice Rosalie Abella ruled that "[a]long with their right to associate, speak through a bargaining representative of their choice, and bargain collectively with their employer through that representative, the right of employees to strike is vital to protecting the meaningful process of collective bargaining…" [paragraph 24]. This decision adopted

1625-675: The U.S. Steel recognition strike of 1901 , and the subsequent coal strike of 1902 . A 1936 study of strikes in the United States indicated that about one third of the total number of strikes between 1927 and 1928, and over 40 percent in 1929, were due to "demands for union recognition, closed shop, and protest against union discrimination and violation of union agreements". A 1988 study of strike activity and unionization in non-union municipal police departments between 1972 and 1978 found that recognition strikes were carried out "primarily where bargaining laws [provided] little or no protection of bargaining rights." In 1937, there were 4,740 strikes in

1690-409: The general strike may have been the secessio plebis in ancient Rome . In The Outline of History , H. G. Wells characterized this event as "the general strike of the plebeians ; the plebeians seem to have invented the strike, which now makes its first appearance in history." Their first strike occurred because they "saw with indignation their friends, who had often served the state bravely in

1755-874: The manufacturing sector . Deloitte sponsors Ai Group's premier annual event the National Forum and Annual National Dinner. The group maintains influences in a variety of public policy areas, weighing in on such issues as the response to the Fair Work Act 2009, minimum wage , skill shortages, environment and energy, occupational health and safety , trade, and defence. Ai Group provides information, advice and assistance to help members. Through policy leadership and research-based advocacy members are represented at all levels of government by representing and promoting their interests on current and emerging issues. Ai Group members operate small, medium and large businesses. They include many major Australian and global companies operating in

1820-603: The 2011 Canada Post lockout was ruled unconstitutional, with the judge specifically referencing the Supreme Court of Canada's 2015 decision in Saskatchewan Federation of Labour v Saskatchewan . In some Marxist–Leninist states, such as the People's Republic of China , striking was illegal and viewed as counter-revolutionary , and labor strikes are considered to be taboo in most East Asian cultures. In 1976, China signed

1885-541: The Royal Necropolis at Deir el-Medina walked off their jobs in protest at the failure of the government of Ramesses III to pay their wages on time and in full. The royal government ended the strike by raising the artisans' wages. The first Jewish source for the idea of a labor strike appears in the Talmud , which records that the bakers who prepared showbread for the altar went on strike. An early predecessor of

1950-501: The Soviet Union, strikes occurred throughout the existence of the USSR, most notably in the 1930s. After World War II, they diminished both in number and in scale. Trade unions in the Soviet Union served in part as a means to educate workers about the country's economic system. Vladimir Lenin referred to trade unions as "Schools of Communism". In France , the first law aimed at limiting

2015-460: The State or other authorities or may be a response to unsafe conditions in the workplace. A sympathy strike is a strike action in which one group of workers refuses to cross a picket line established by another as a means of supporting the striking workers. Sympathy strikes, once the norm in the construction industry in the United States, have been made much more difficult to conduct, due to decisions of

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2080-414: The United States, the number of workers involved in major work stoppages (including strikes and, less commonly, lockouts) that involved at least a thousand workers for at least one full shift generally declined from 1973 to 2017 (coinciding with a general decrease in overall union membership), before substantially increasing in 2018 and 2019. In the 2018 and 2019 period, 3.1% of union members were involved in

2145-577: The United States. This was the greatest strike wave in American labor history . The number of major strikes and lockouts in the U.S. fell by 97% from 381 in 1970 to 187 in 1980 to only 11 in 2010. Companies countered the threat of a strike by threatening to close or move a plant. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights , adopted in 1967, ensures the right to strike in Article 8. The European Social Charter , adopted in 1961, also ensures

2210-646: The ability of workers to take collective action was the Le Chapelier Law , passed by the National Assembly on 14 June 1791 and which introduced the "crime of coalition." In his speech in support of the law, the titular author Isaac René Guy le Chapelier explained that it "must be without a doubt permitted for all citizens to assemble," but he maintained that it "must not be permitted for citizens from certain professions to assemble for their so-called common interests." Strike actions were specifically banned with

2275-499: The collapse of the putsch. The use of the English word "strike" to describe a work protest was first seen in 1768, when sailors, in support of demonstrations in London , "struck" or removed the topgallant sails of merchant ships at port, thus crippling the ships. The first historically certain account of strike action was in ancient Egypt on 14 November in 1152 BCE, when artisans of

2340-467: The context. Some in the labor movement consider no-strike clauses to be an unnecessary detriment to unions in the collective bargaining process. Occasionally, workers decide to strike without the sanction of a labor union, either because the union refuses to endorse such a tactic, or because the workers involved are non-unionized. Strikes without formal union authorization are also known as wildcat strikes . In many countries, wildcat strikes do not enjoy

2405-464: The development boom of the 1970s in Australia, the Green ban was developed by certain unions described by some as more socially conscious. This is a form of strike action taken by a trade union or other organized labor group for environmentalist or conservationist purposes. This developed from the black ban, strike action taken against a particular job or employer in order to protect the economic interests of

2470-421: The dissent by Chief Justice Brian Dickson in a 1987 Supreme Court ruling on a reference case brought by the province of Alberta ( Reference Re Public Service Employee Relations Act (Alta) ). The exact scope of this right to strike remains unclear. Prior to this Supreme Court decision, the federal and provincial governments had the ability to introduce "back-to-work legislation", a special law that blocks

2535-504: The employers' organizations are part of a system of institutionalized deliberation, together with government and the trade unions. In tri-partite bargaining the so-called social partners strike agreements on issues like price levels , wage increases , tax rates and pension entitlements . In these countries collective bargaining is often done not between one corporation and one union, but between national employers' organizations and national trade unions. In countries like Switzerland ,

2600-507: The first modern general strike . After the second Chartist Petition was presented to Parliament in April 1842 and rejected, the strike began in the coal mines of Staffordshire , England , and soon spread through Britain affecting factories , cotton mills in Lancashire and coal mines from Dundee to South Wales and Cornwall . Instead of being a spontaneous uprising of the mutinous masses,

2665-410: The general strike ) about 9 workdays per worker were lost due to strikes. In 1979, the loss due to strikes was a little more than one day per worker. These are the extreme cases. In the 79 years following 1926, the number of workdays lost in Britain was less than 2 hours per year per worker. In the U.S., idleness due to strikes never exceeded one half of one percent of total working days in any year during

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2730-571: The groups commonly barred from striking usually by state and federal laws meant to ensure the safety or security of the general public. Newspaper writers may withhold their names from their stories as a way to protest actions of their employer. Activists may form " flying squad " groups for strikes or other actions, a form of picketing , to disrupt the workplace or another aspect of capitalist production: supporting other strikers or unemployed workers, participating in protests against globalization, or opposing abusive landlords. On 30 January 2015,

2795-453: The institution so that the grievances that are causing the students to strike can be aired before the public; this usually damages the institution's (or government's) public image. In other cases, especially in government-supported institutions, the student strike can cause a budgetary imbalance and have actual economic repercussions for the institution. A hunger strike is a deliberate refusal to eat. Hunger strikes are often used in prisons as

2860-646: The last forty years or more". One example cited was the successful formation of the United Auto Workers , which achieved recognition from General Motors through the Flint sit-down strike of 1936-37. They were more common prior to the advent of modern American labor law (including the National Labor Relations Act ), which introduced processes legally compelling an employer to recognize the legitimacy of properly certified unions. Two examples include

2925-451: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. Strikes are sometimes used to pressure governments to change policies. Occasionally, strikes destabilize the rule of a particular political party or ruler; in such cases, strikes are often part of a broader social movement taking the form of a campaign of civil resistance . Notable examples are the 1980 Gdańsk Shipyard and the 1981 Warning Strike led by Lech Wałęsa . These strikes were significant in

2990-465: The legions, thrown into chains and reduced to slavery at the demand of patrician creditors". The strike action only became a feature of the political landscape with the onset of the Industrial Revolution . For the first time in history, large numbers of people were members of the industrial working class; they lived in towns and cities, exchanging their labor for payment. By the 1830s, when

3055-754: The long campaign of civil resistance for political change in Poland , and were an important mobilizing effort that contributed to the fall of the Iron Curtain and the end of communist party rule in Eastern Europe. Another example is the general strike in Weimar Germany that followed the March 1920 Kapp Putsch . It was called by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and received such broad support that it resulted in

3120-698: The mass refusal of employees to work . A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances . Strikes became common during the Industrial Revolution , when mass labor became important in factories and mines. As striking became a more common practice, governments were often pushed to act (either by private business or by union workers). When government intervention occurred, it was rarely neutral or amicable. Early strikes were often deemed unlawful conspiracies or anti-competitive cartel action and many were subject to massive legal repression by state police, federal military power, and federal courts. Many Western nations legalized striking under certain conditions in

3185-461: The negotiations often take place at the cantonal level, branch by branch. The state is not involved in these negotiations, but can step in if the employers and the trade unions don't reach an agreement in a sector where salary dumping exists. Strike action Strike action , also called labor strike , labour strike in British English , or simply strike , is a work stoppage caused by

3250-477: The passage of Napoleon 's French Penal Code of 1810 . Article 415 of the Code declared that participants in an attempted strike action would be subject to an imprisonment of between one and three months and that the organizers of the attempted strike action would be subject to an imprisonment of between two and five years. The right to strike under the current French Fifth Republic has been recognized and guaranteed by

3315-514: The period 1948-2005; the average loss was 0.1% per year. Similarly, in Canada over the period 1980-2005, the annual number of work days lost due to strikes never exceeded one day per worker; on average over this period lost worktime due to strikes was about one-third of a day per worker. Although the data are not readily available for a broad sample of developed countries, the pattern described above seems quite general: days lost due to strikes amount to only

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3380-427: The postal service), and in more cases provincially. In addition, certain parts of the economy can be proclaimed " essential services " in which case all strikes are illegal. Examples include when the government of Canada passed back-to-work legislation during the 2011 Canada Post lockout and the 2012 CP Rail strike, thus effectively ending the strikes. In 2016, the government's use of back-to-work legislation during

3445-473: The right to strike in Article 6. The Farah Strike , 1972–1974, labeled the "strike of the century," was organized and led by Mexican American women predominantly in El Paso, Texas. Strikes are rare, in part because many workers are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement . Strikes that do occur are generally fairly short in duration. Labor economist John Kennan notes: In Britain in 1926 (the year of

3510-602: The same legal protections as recognized union strikes, and may result in penalties for the union members who participate, or for their union. The same often applies in the case of strikes conducted without an official ballot of the union membership, as is required in some countries such as the United Kingdom . A strike may consist of workers refusing to attend work or picketing outside the workplace to prevent or dissuade people from working in their place or conducting business with their employer. Less frequently, workers may occupy

3575-412: The strike action (or a lockout) from happening or continuing. Canadian governments could also have imposed binding arbitration or a new contract on the disputing parties. Back-to-work legislation was first used in 1950 during a railway strike, and as of 2012 had been used 33 times by the federal government for those parts of the economy that are regulated federally (grain handling, rail and air travel, and

3640-426: The strike was politically motivated and was driven by an agenda to win concessions. As much as half of the then industrial work force were on strike at its peak – over 500,000 men. The local leadership marshaled a growing working class tradition to politically organize their followers to mount an articulate challenge to the capitalist, political establishment. Friedrich Engels , an observer in London at

3705-412: The strike, i.e., can force the postponement, cancellation or duration reduction of a national-wide strike. The prime minister has to justify the decision of applying the precettazione in front of the parliament . For local strikes, precettazione can also be applied by a decision of the prefect . The employees refusing to work after the precettazione takes effect may be subject of a sanction or even

3770-525: The strikers. United States labor law also draws a distinction, in the case of private sector employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act , between "economic" and "unfair labor practice" strikes. An employer may not fire, but may permanently replace, workers who engage in a strike over economic issues. On the other hand, employers who commit unfair labor practices (ULPs) may not replace employees who strike over them, and must fire any strikebreakers they have hired as replacements in order to reinstate

3835-427: The striking workers. Strikes may be specific to a particular workplace, employer, or unit within a workplace, or they may encompass an entire industry, or every worker within a city or country. Strikes that involve all workers, or a number of large and important groups of workers, in a particular community or region are known as general strikes. Under some circumstances, strikes may take place in order to put pressure on

3900-431: The theory of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon criminalizing strike action in his work The Poverty of Philosophy . A recognition strike is an industrial strike implemented in order to force a particular employer or industry to recognize a trade union as the legitimate collective bargaining agent for a company's workers. In 1949, their use in the United States was described as "a weapon used with varying results by labor for

3965-603: The time, wrote: by its numbers, this class has become the most powerful in England, and woe betide the wealthy Englishmen when it becomes conscious of this fact … The English proletarian is only just becoming aware of his power, and the fruits of this awareness were the disturbances of last summer. As the 19th century progressed, strikes became a fixture of industrial relations across the industrialized world, as workers organized themselves to collectively bargain for better wages and standards with their employers. Karl Marx condemned

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4030-533: The use of strike actions , employers began to unite in order to restrict wage rates and otherwise fetter the emerging organized labor movement. The role and position of an employers' organization differs from country to country. In countries with an Anglo-Saxon economic system (such as the United Kingdom and the United States ), where there is no institutionalized cooperation between employers' organizations, trade unions and government, an employers' organization

4095-524: The workplace, but refuse to work. This is known as a sit-down strike . A similar tactic is the work-in , where employees occupy the workplace but still continue work, often without pay, which attempts to show they are still useful, or that worker self-management can be successful. For instance, this occurred with factory occupations in the Biennio Rosso strikes – the "two red years" of Italy from 1919 to 1920. Another unconventional tactic

4160-573: Was adopted on 12 August 2007, and it took effect on 1 January 2008. In Italy, the right to strike is guaranteed by the Constitution ( article 40 ). The law number 146 of 1990 and law number 83 of 2000 regulate the strike actions. In particular, they impose limitations for the strikes of workers in public essential services, i.e., the ones that "guarantee the personality rights of life, health, freedom and security, movements, assistance and welfare, education, and communications". These limitations provide

4225-637: Was appointed as the Chief Executive of Ai Group in 2012 and is their chief spokesperson. Heather Ridout previously held the role. Ai Group also operates the Ai Group Defence Council, which is the peak body representing the defence industry in Australia. Ai Group also manages the Australian Constructors Association. Ai Group is closely affiliated with more than 50 other employer groups in Australia alone and directly manages

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