Abstract
Strong barriers to the free selection of labour by employers have been one of the most significant characteristics of the waterfront closed shop in comparison with the majority of Australian closed shops. This paper analyses the development and operation of the closed shop in three waterfront occupations where trade unions play a role in the recruitment and allocation of labour. The closed shops for ship painters and dockers, seamen and waterside workers are accounted for as the result of par ticular institutional developments affecting these occupations within a framework of broadly similar labour market conditions and arbitral or government intervention.
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