The role of employer associations: a survey of members in the Australian printing industry

Abstract

Significant changes in the structures and processes of Australian industrial relations in recent decades have been widely researched and documented. The changes that have occurred in the structures, policies and strategies of employer associations have also been subject to some academic inquiry. Much of this research has been focused upon either how employer bodies have influenced government policy and subsequent structural reform or upon how employer associations have sought to adapt to the implications of such change. Less attention has been directed in the academic literature to the expectations and needs of businesses with respect to their associations. This issue has significant implications for an understanding of the dynamics of Australian industrial relations, including, but not limited to, the dynamics of the relationship between businesses and employer associations. In this paper, the research findings of a survey conducted among members of the Printing Industry Association of Association (PIAA) are reported and analysed. The analysis suggests that efforts by employer associations to remain relevant to actual and prospective members by expanding their services into a range broader management services beyond their more traditional employment relations focus may not be what their members want.