THE UNIONS — PARTNERS IN EXPLORATION?

Abstract

Industrial relations has been a 'sleeping giant' in the petroleum drilling industry in Australia. This is changing. Spurred on by successful militancy in Bass Strait and a growing awareness of the strategic significance of oil and gas to Australia's balance of payments, the unions are becoming more active in the drilling industry.

The Northwest Shelf is representative of the oil and gas development projects which should provide long-term stability for the industry. The extent of their contribution to stability will depend on many factors, not the least of which is the industrial relations climate within which the developments take place. Unity among employers will be essential if important issues such as comparative wage justice, compulsory unionism and safety are to be successfully addressed. There is an urgent need for improved industrial relations planning at industry level.

At the forefront of free enterprise, the petroleum drilling industry has discouraged the involvement of unions at every opportunity. This approach, appropriate in many parts of the world, may no longer be viable in Australia. A majority of Labor Governments, whose policies are strongly influenced by trade union attitudes, will provide a political climate conducive to an expanded union profile in the industry. It is time for the industry to re-examine the role of the union movement in its project developments and to accept the unions as necessary and interested participants in the development of Australia's resources.