Unions and Youth: A Step in the Right Direction

Abstract

In recent years Australia has witnessed considerable community pressure for a closer link between "education and work". Employer organisations have been particularly vocal in demanding that new entrants to the workforce be more familiar with the functioning of the world of work. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), while perhaps less vocal on the subject, has recently produced a "Trade Union Information Kit" for distribution to secondary school students. This paper examines the ACTU's initiative and details the findings of a survey of senior students' knowledge of, and attitudes toward unionism which prompted the Council's action. In brief, it argues that the ACTU's "Schools Kit" is both long overdue and a step in the right direction to filling a demonstrable gap in the information that many students appear to receive on trade unionism.