Trade unions: growth, structure and policy in current scenario

Unions are important mechanisms by which employees represent their interests in the employment relationship, although the ways in which unions perform this function vary considerably. Unions come in many shapes, they differ in their forms of internal governance and the external alliances they form also vary. In this context, the Australian union movement has attempted to be strategic in recent years by consolidating the number of unions in order to generate economies of scale and provide better services to members; and by urgently encouraging the devotion of more resources to organizing and a greater use of technology to service the needs of existing members. Greater attention to the needs of women and workers in part-time and casual employment, many of whom are women, is also an important development.