Trade Unionism in 2004

It was a disappointing year for Australian trade unions. The Howard government was returned in the 2004 federal election with an increased majority in the House of Representatives and an outright majority in the Senate. In July 2005, the government will use this mandate to push through a raft of legislative changes, which will make for a bleak union future. A controversial High Court decision in 2004 threatened to limit the range of issues which could be included in enterprise agreements and the circumstances in which unions could take legal industrial action. Nevertheless, unions could claim victory in the most high-profile campaign of the year, which forced the James Hardie corporation to meet its financial obligations to victims of its asbestos products