Unions are very important because it is unlikely workers would win these kind of battles alone. Individual employees may not be able to do much, but bound together in a union, they have the strength of thousands to protect them.

The relevancy of clerical unions in Australia today is an important industrial relations issue. Such unions have been a significant aspect of working life in the clerical and administrative area over the years as they have put forward many processes that have successfully changed working conditions.

Unions today have however suffered a decline in membership. In some industries compulsory enrolment has been able to be used as an advantage, but in many workforces today, enrolment in unions is optional.

Therefore, in one workforce, a union may speak on behalf of all employees, while in other workforce it may speak on behalf of a limited number of workers. When considering a workforce with op

Over the years a key function of a union was that of collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is basically negotiations

The role of workplace agreements is another aspect as to why there is a continuance of decreasing numbers in unions today. Queensland Workplace Agreements (QWA) were developed so that the needs of an employer and an individual employee are met at a workplace level. Such an agreement provides a means of negotiation without the intervention of unions. Unions may assist but are not permitted to intervene in the approval of the QWA. Certified agreements are another example. These allow enterprise bargaining in workplaces directly with employees.

on wages, prices and other policies. It allowed unionists and non-unionists to share the benefits gained from bargaining and the increase in wages. Therefore union membership dropped, as it wasn't necessary to have to be joined in a union to experience its benefits. There was no reason for individuals to invest financially when unionists and non-unionists were under the same policies.

Some common words found in the essay are:
, Hawke Labor, QWA Certified, Agreements QWA, union membership, collective bargaining, union people, unionists non-unionists, speak behalf, decline membership, workplace agreements, conditions unions, increase led,
Approximate Word count = 762
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)