State of the union
Sep 20th, 2008 | By David Harper | Category: OpinionShaun Carney: Throughout most of the 20th century, Australia’s industrial relations system worked along relatively simple lines. There were unions and there were employers and there was a central tribunal with powers to conciliate and arbitrate in the middle.
Please note the last two words of the preceding sentence, “the middle”. Because more often than not, the tribunal would look at the claims of both sides, find the mid-point between them and that would form the basis of its decisions.