Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- List of abbreviations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Dedication
- 1 Industrial legislation and the rise of permanent employer associations 1890–1906
- 2 The Higgins era 1907–1920
- 3 Rival shops 1921–1929
- 4 Depression and recovery 1930–1939
- 5 War and government executive action 1940–1949
- 6 Consolidation 1950–1959
- 7 The National Employers' Associations 1960–1972
- 8 Confederation 1973–1988
- 9 Models of national employer co-ordination
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Records of organisations
- Index
6 - Consolidation 1950–1959
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 November 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of tables and figures
- List of abbreviations
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Dedication
- 1 Industrial legislation and the rise of permanent employer associations 1890–1906
- 2 The Higgins era 1907–1920
- 3 Rival shops 1921–1929
- 4 Depression and recovery 1930–1939
- 5 War and government executive action 1940–1949
- 6 Consolidation 1950–1959
- 7 The National Employers' Associations 1960–1972
- 8 Confederation 1973–1988
- 9 Models of national employer co-ordination
- Appendices
- Bibliography
- Records of organisations
- Index
Summary
The previous chapter outlined developments in the decade 1940–1949. During this decade the CCEA was renamed the ‘Australian Council of Employers' Federations’ (ACEF). Labor was in office for much of this period. Its use of wartime powers was a major factor in promoting the growth of employer organisations. The same consideration gave rise to both the ACEF and the ACMA joining different Canberra-based joint secretariats, to expenditure on research and propaganda, and to lobbying activities reminiscent of the period when the Conciliation and Arbitration Act was first introduced. In the final result, three lasting elements emerged from this experience: better resourced employer bodies, a high degree of centralism in relation to wage determination, and a restructured Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration.
These factors conditioned national employer association developments in the 1950s, which are the subjects of this chapter. The first part reviews the operations of the Ministry of Labour Advisory Council. The activities of the Council provide a ready reference for the industrial context of the period. The chapter also reviews the important national test cases of the period, which induced a co-ordinated employer response. Its second part of the chapter reviews the organisational developments of the period.
Tripartism
A hallmark of the 1950s was the post-war economic boom that helped to increase the resources, both financial and human, of employer associations. The ACMA prospered during the manufacturing boom created by a protective environment.
- Type
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- Information
- Holding the LineCompulsory Arbitration and National Employer Co-ordination in Australia, pp. 125 - 149Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1989