The Accord played the central role in union policy in the 1980s and 1990s. Consequently it has played a central role in popular explanations of union decline in that period. This chapter critically examines the impact of the Accord on union membership and the further changes that might be expected in the light of the Liberal–National Party Government's enactment of the Workplace Relations Act 1996. It identifies the propositions underpinning the argument that the Accord was a significant cause in the decline in union membership, considers ways of testing these propositions, and discusses the relationship between the Workplace Relations Act and union membership.

The Two Halves of the Accord and Their Impact on Union Membership

There are several ways in which the possible impact of the Accord could be tested. In order to do this, we first need to identify the plausible mechanisms by which the Accord could affect union membership. There are in effect three main mechanisms by which the Accord could influence the decline in union membership.

The first is a potential ‘real wage’ effect. The decline in real wages associated with the Accord could have led to employee dissatisfaction with unions and declining union propensity. Members may then have left unions since they no longer saw unions doing what they were meant to be doing – raising real wages.