Managers' and Union Officials' Perception of the Australian Commonwealth Government's Policy on Employee Participation

Abstract

The attitudes of managers and union officials to employee participation appear to have mellowed over time, although it is possible that forces favouring participation have emerged that only produce an impression of mellowing. Recent studies do, however, seem to indicate that there is a growing acceptance of the broad concept of participation by both managers and union officials. The Commonwealth Government's Policy on Employee Participation is analysed in the light of the recent evidence and, while the Policy promises very little, it is possible that it could provide the basis for substantial change. The present study attempts to analyse the responses of managers and union officials to 22 state ments abstracted from the Policy. The results indicate a generally favourable response although there is substantial divergence between the two groups over a number of important issues. The area of most concern is in the practical application of employee participation programmes where managers appear to be in conflict with the Policy while union officials do not. The conclusion is that the overall acceptance of the Policy has been achieved at the expense of the role of the government and, because of this, rhetoric about employee par ticipation may, in the future, play a larger role than the implementation of definite programmes designed to put the concepts into practice.