Union Security and the ‘Hiring Hall’

a note on the sanctioning of union labour supply arrangements in Australian labour law

By R Mitchell

Trade union security has been a major issue in Australian labour law. The emphasis has been on the protective goals of labour law.

One area that has been ignored in accounts of union security law has been the role unions have played in the provision of employment services through the so-called union 'hiring hall'. Through twentieth century Australia unions have been able, in some industries and in some circumstances, to act as a form of agency in the supply of labour. This has been formalised in some tribunals. Mitchell looks at, in a note that sums up an ongoing research project, the connection between the 'hiring hall' practice and trade union security laws in three jurisdictions - the federal system, and NSW and Qld.

(Australian Journal of Labour Law. vol. 16, no. 3 December 2003)