Do Union Voice and Worker Participation Coincide? A Study of Australian Managers’ Perceptions

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between employee, union delegate and union official influence over managerial decision-making, using survey responses from 249 workplace managers from large Australian firms. By applying indicators of influence at different levels of aggregation, a strong positive linkage between voice and participation is located. Further, it is found that employee participation is more closely linked to voice exerted by workplace union delegates as opposed to full-time union officials, and the areas where delegates and officials maintain influence are generally identical to the areas where employees exert influence.