Silencing Dissent to Win Consent: National Training Reform in the Accord Years

Abstract

How doubt and dissent were handled within the union movement under the Accord is the central question addressed by this paper. It looks at examples of how individuals and individual unions who raised opposition to the prevailing line were treated, the interaction between unions, and the internal culture within the Australian Metal Workers' Union (AMWU) the most prominent union behind the Accord and training reform. A culture that inhibited discussion, questions, doubt and criticism is revealed. The costs to the labour movement in the years since the electoral defeat of the ALP are considered and are linked to a winding down of rank and file and delegate involvement in union decision-making and an increasingly passive and discontented membership. New methods of organising need to take into account the key question of internal democracy in revitalising the labour movement.