Directory UMM :Data Elmu:jurnal:I:International Journal of Educational Management:Vol13.Issue1.1999:
School enterprise bargaining and the need for
qualitative research: some reflections from Australia
Thomas A. O’Donoghue
The Graduate Sc ho o l o f Educ atio n, The Unive rsity o f We ste rn Australia,
Ne dlands, We ste rn Australia
Simon Clarke
The Graduate Sc ho o l o f Educ atio n, The Unive rsity o f We ste rn Australia,
Ne dlands, We ste rn Australia
Keywords
Bargaining, Educ atio n, Quality,
Sc ho o ls, We ste rn Australia
Abstract
The traditio nal syste m o f industrial re latio ns in Australia has
e mphasise d arbitrate d de c isio ns
by c e ntral tribunals in o rde r to
ac hie ve unifo rm wage inc re ase s
witho ut any c o nside ratio n be ing
give n to pro duc tivity. Sinc e the
late 1 9 8 0 s, the re has be e n a
mo ve to wards ne go tiatio n at the
e nte rprise le ve l. Le gislative
re fo rms have o c c urre d at bo th
fe de ral and state le ve ls whic h
pre se nt o ppo rtunitie s fo r individual e nte rprise s to ne go tiate agre e me nts de fining te rms and c o nditio ns c o nside re d to be mo st
appro priate fo r the ir c irc umstanc e s. One majo r are na whe re
this de ve lo pme nt, po pularly
kno wn as e nte rprise bargaining, is
impac ting, is that o f e duc atio n.
Fo c use s o n the phe no me no n by:
c o nside ring so me o f the lite rature
o n the the o re tic al and c o nc e ptual
dime nsio ns o f the unde rlying
no tio n o f “ bargaining” ; o utlining
the ge ne ral po lic y c o nte xt within
whic h e nte rprise bargaining has
be e n taking plac e in Australia;
pre se nting an o ve rvie w o f the
e me rging re se arc h base o n award
re struc turing and e nte rprise -base d
bargaining; o utlining the ne e d fo r
re se arc h aime d at unde rstanding
partic ipants’ pe rc e ptio ns o f
e nte rprise bargaining and o f the ir
e xpe rie nc e s o f the bargaining
pro c e ss; e xamining a majo r
appro ac h to e ngaging in suc h
re se arc h, name ly, the mic ro po litic al appro ac h.
Introduction
Th e developm en t of th e en ter pr ise-ba r ga in in g a ppr oa ch to in du str ia l r ela tion s w ith in
edu ca tion in Au str a lia sh ou ld be of in ter est
n ot on ly to th e edu ca tion a l com m u n ity in
th a t cou n tr y bu t in ter n a tion a lly. It is possible, for exa m ple, th a t th e a ppr oa ch w ill a llow
edu ca tion system s a n d in dividu a l sch ools to
r e-exa m in e con ven tion a l idea s a bou t th e
n a tu r e of tea ch er s’ wor k a n d con dition s. In
pa r ticu la r, oppor tu n ities cou ld be cr ea ted n ot
on ly for th e r eth in k in g of su bsta n tive issu es
su ch a s th e ca r eer str u ctu r e of tea ch in g, pr ofession a l developm en t a n d tea ch er eva lu a tion , bu t a lso for en a blin g tea ch er s to con tr ibu te to th e sh a pin g of r ela ted policy
th r ou gh m or e pa r ticipa tor y fr a m ewor k s in
sch ools. At th e sa m e tim e, h owever, if en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g is to even tu a te in a n edu ca tion a l com m u n ity wh ich is positively disposed tow a r ds im pr ovin g th e qu a lity of tea ch in g a n d lea r n in g, it is vita l th a t th e pr ocess be
u n der ta k en in a m a n n er th a t is sen sitive to
th e n eeds a n d per ception s of th e va r iou s
sta k eh older s. Th is in vites th e developm en t of
a com pr eh en sive r esea r ch a gen da wh ich
seek s to en h a n ce ou r pr esen t r u dim en ta r y
u n der sta n din g of th e ph en om en on of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g. Th e follow in g pa per is
offer ed a s on e con tr ibu tion to th e gr ou n dwor k wh ich n eeds to be u n der ta k en in or der
to fa cilita te th e developm en t of su ch a
r esea r ch a gen da in Au str a lia . In pa r ticu la r, it
em ph a sises th e n eed for r esea r ch a im ed a t
u n der sta n din g pa r ticipa n ts’ per ception s of
en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g a n d of th eir exper ien ces of th e ba r ga in in g pr ocess a t th e sch oolsite level.
An outline of the theoretical and
conceptual dimensions of
bargaining
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [ 1999] 4 5 –5 6
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]
Th eor ies of “ba r ga in in g” h ave ten ded to con cen tr a te on or ga n isa tion s wh er e exch a n ges
h ave been for m a lised by explicit pr ocedu r es
(Hoyle, 1986, p. 131). As su ch , sch ools h ave
r eceived little a tten tion beca u se th ey h ave n ot
tr a dition a lly pr ovided a con text wh er e th is
a ctivity occu r s so open ly. N ever th eless, th e
liter a tu r e on la bou r -m a n a gem en t collective
ba r ga in in g h a s gen er a ted th eor etica l in sigh ts
wh ich cou ld be u sefu l in edu ca tion a l r esea r ch
(McKer sie a n d Hu n ter, 1973; Wa lton a n d McKer sie, 1965). In pa r ticu la r, Wa lton a n d McKer sie (1965) m a k e th e distin ction between “distr ibu tive” ba r ga in in g a n d “in te gr a tive” ba r ga in in g. As th ey see it, com petitive beh aviou r
wh ich is in ten ded to in flu en ce th e division of
lim ited r esou r ces lea ds to pu r e con fl ict a n d
ch a r a cter ises distr ibu tive ba r ga in in g. In
oth er wor ds, on e per son ’s ga in is a loss to
a n oth er. In con tr a st, a ctivities su ch a s pr oblem solvin g, th a t in cr ea se th e join t ga in ava ila ble to th e n e gotia tin g pa r ties, is ter m ed
in te gr a tive ba r ga in in g.
Wa lton a n d McKer sie (1965) con cede th a t
th e distin ction between distr ibu tive a n d
in te gr a tive ba r ga in in g is, in pr a ctice, a loose
on e. With in m ost ba r ga in in g situ a tion s th er e
w ill be a spects of both distr ibu tive a n d in tegr a tive a ppr oa ch es, a n d a ttem pts to cla ssify
ba r ga in in g situ a tion s ca n on ly be m a de
a ccor din g to de gr ee. Wa lton a n d McKer sie
(1965) a lso r efer to “in tr a -or ga n isa tion a l ba r ga in in g”. Accor din g to th is n otion , differ en t
pa r ties w ith in a ba r ga in in g or ga n isa tion m ay
disa gr ee on pr ior ities a ssign ed to va r iou s
objectives, ta ctics a n d str a te gies a dopted a n d
th e r ela tion sh ip wh ich sh ou ld be esta blish ed
w ith th e oth er pa r ty. Th er efor e, ch ief n e gotia tor s n ot on ly en cou n ter pr essu r e fr om th eir
“oppon en ts” bu t a lso fr om sou r ces w ith in
th eir ow n or ga n isa tion or con stitu en cy. Th e
n ecessity for ch ief n e gotia tor s to r econ cile
in ter ests w ith in th e gr ou p in or der to a ch ieve
con sen su s often cr ea tes a n oth er dim en sion to
th e dyn a m ics of in ter a ction .
In a ddition to Wa lton a n d McKer sie’s sem in a l th eor y of la bou r n egotia tion s, F ish er a n d
Ur y (1981a ) h ave offer ed a pr escr iptive fr a m ewor k for th e con sider a tion of ba r ga in in g
con cepts or igin a lly developed by th e “Ha r va r d Negotia tion P r oject” in 1981. Ba r ga in in g
over position s, th ey con ten d, ten ds to lock
n egotia tor s in to th ose position s a n d th e exer cise deter ior a tes in to a con test of w ills.
In stea d, th ey a dvoca te a n a ppr oa ch r efer r ed to
a s “pr in cipled n egotia tion ” wh ich is ba sed on
fou r poin ts: “people”, or sepa r a tin g th e people
fr om th e pr oblem ; “in ter ests”, m ea n in g th at
th e focu s sh ou ld be pla ced on in ter ests a n d
[ 45 ]
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
[ 46 ]
n ot position s; “option s”, r ela tin g to th e va r iety of possibilities th at a r e r equ ir ed befor e
m a k in g decision s; a n d fin a lly, “cr iter ia ”, or
th e in sisten ce th at th e r esu lt be pr edica ted on
som e objective sta n da r d (F ish er et a l., 1991,
p. 11). Th e a doption of th ese poin ts, it is con ten ded, pr esen ts n egotia tor s w ith th e m a in
m ech a n ism for pu r su in g colla bor a tive ba r ga in in g, a gen er ic ter m for th e “w in -w in ”
a ppr oa ch wh ich h a s been em ployed by a n
expa n din g n u m ber of edu cation a l distr icts
a n d u n ion s in th e USA (Ker ch n er a n d Koppich , 1993, p. 19).
Th e typology of ba r ga in in g defin ed by th e
r esea r ch u n der ta k en in th e fi eld of la bou r
m a n a gem en t collective ba r ga in in g, a s well a s
th e m odel for n e gotia tion developed by F ish er
a n d Ur y (1981a ), ca n h elp to illu m in a te a n d
cla r ify pr a ctice. However, th ey a r e lim ited a s
a th eor etica l ba sis for r esea r ch on th e pr ocess
of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g a t th e sch ool level
for th r ee pr in cipa l r ea son s. F ir st, th ey a r e
deficien t beca u se of th eir exclu sive focu s on
th e for m a l, explicit m a n ifesta tion of ba r ga in in g a n d th eir fa ilu r e to r ecogn ise th e m or e
ta cit dim en sion s of th e in ter a ction . Secon dly,
a s a cor olla r y of th e em ph a sis pu t on explicit
ba r ga in in g, th er e h a s been a n e glect of th e
sch ool con text beca u se it h a s n ot tr a dition a lly been th e loca tion of su ch a ctivity (Hoyle,
1986). F in a lly, th er e is n o con sider a tion of th e
politica l in ter a ction a ssocia ted w ith th e ba r ga in in g pr ocess.
In a n effor t to fill th e void in th e con ven tion a l liter a tu r e, th e th eor etica l wor k of
Ba ch a r a ch a n d Law ler (1980) a ttem pted to
develop a closer con n ection between th e fields
of collective ba r ga in in g a n d or ga n isa tion s.
Accor din g to Ba ch a r a ch a n d Law ler (1980),
th e m a jor defi cien cy of per spectives wh ich
h ave em er ged fr om th e str u ctu r a l a n a lysis of
or ga n isa tion s is th eir fa ilu r e to a ck n ow ledge
th e power politics in volved in coa lition a l
ba r ga in in g. In pa r ticu la r, th ey r e ga r d Wa lton
a n d McKer sie’s (1965) a ppr oa ch a s in a dequ a te
on th e gr ou n ds th a t th er e is ver y little m en tion of power. F u r th er m or e, th e a ppr oa ch
focu ses exclu sively on la bou r m a n a gem en t
ba r ga in in g a n d is, th u s, too specific in its
a n a lysis. Con sequ en tly, Ba ch a r a ch a n d
Law ler (1980) for m u la ted a th eor y of ba r ga in in g r ela tion sh ips a n d ba r ga in in g ta ctics
wh ich is r eleva n t to th e power str u ggle a n d
con flict wh ich , th ey a r gu e, for m th e ba sis of
r ela tion s w ith in a n y or ga n isa tion . Mor e
specifica lly, “power, coa lition s, a n d ba r ga in in g con stitu te th e th r ee ba sic th em es of th eir
th eor etica l tr ea tise on or ga n isa tion a l politics” (Ba ch a r a ch a n d Law ler, 1980, p. xi). Th ey
defin e ba r ga in in g a s “th e give a n d ta k e th a t
occu r s wh en two or m or e in depen den t pa r ties
exper ien ce a con fl ict of in ter est” (p. 108). It is
th er eby con sider ed to r epr esen t th e a ction
com pon en t of con flict.
Ba ch a r a ch a n d Law ler ’s (1980) iden tifi ca tion of wh a t th ey descr ibe a s th e m ode of
ba r ga in in g, or th e ta cit-explicit dim en sion of
th e ba r ga in in g r ela tion sh ip is a lso in str u ctive. E xplicit ba r ga in in g is specified a s “th e
con sciou s m a n ifesta tion of ba r ga in in g”
(p.112) a n d is con ceptu a lised by th e exch a n ge
of offer s a n d cou n ter -offer s wh ich is design ed
to fin d a m u tu a lly a ccepta ble solu tion to th e
con flict. An explicit ba r ga in in g con text is
ch a r a cter ised by r ela tively open lin es of com m u n ica tion , a r ecogn ition th a t th e r ela tion sh ip is a ba r ga in in g on e, a n d con sen t to con sider com pr om ise. In con tr a st, ta cit ba r ga in in g occu r s wh en com m u n ica tion lin es h ave
been obstr u cted by th e pa r ties a n d th e ba r ga in in g r ela tion sh ip m ay n ot even be r ecogn ised for wh a t it is. Un der th ese cir cu m sta n ces th er e a r e few explicit offer s a n d
cou n ter -offer s, bu t r a th er a m or e su btle
em ploym en t of ta ctics a im ed to ou tm a n oeu vr e a n d m a n ipu la te. Ta cit ba r ga in in g, a ccor din g to Ba ch a r a ch a n d Law ler (1980), often
pr ecedes, a n d is tr a n sfor m ed in to, explicit
ba r ga in in g. F u r th er m or e, th e essen ce of
ba r ga in in g is r e ga r ded a s ta ctica l a ction a n d
is depicted a s a n in for m a tion m a n ipu la tion
ga m e in wh ich deception a n d blu ff a r e cr itica l in gr edien ts.
So fa r, con sider a tion s h ave cen tr ed on th e
th eor etica l a n d con ceptu a l liter a tu r e on ba r ga in in g. However, th er e is a lso a n em er gin g
em pir ica l r esea r ch ba se on th e va lu e of a doptin g a ba r ga in in g a ppr oa ch in in du str ia l r ela tion s. Befor e con sider in g th is r esea r ch ba se,
h owever, a br ief ou tlin e of th e policy con text
is a pposite. Th e con cen tr a tion is on th e Au str a lia n policy con text sin ce th is is th e on ly
cou n tr y in wh ich a n en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g
a ppr oa ch h a s been a dopted for deter m in in g
tea ch er s’ ter m s a n d con dition s a n d wor k .
However, som e com pa r a tive poin ts of r efer en ce a r e m a de th r ou gh ou t.
The policy context
Th e n a tu r e of tea ch er s’ wor k is ch a n gin g
th r ou gh ou t m u ch of th e wor ld. Con cu r r en tly,
th e n a tu r e of th e con tr a ctu a l a gr eem en ts
between tea ch er s a n d th eir em ployer s a r e
a lso ch a n gin g. Mu ch of th e im petu s for
ch a n ges in th ese con tr a ctu a l a gr eem en ts is
r ela ted to a desir e to en su r e gr ea ter a ccou n ta bility, gr ea ter efficien cy a n d effectiven ess on
th e pa r t of tea ch er s, a n d a m or e pr odu ctive
system of sch oolin g over a ll. In th e UK, va r iou s developm en ts, in clu din g th e in tr odu ction
of loca lly m a n a ged sch ools, h ave h a d a bea r in g on tea ch er s’ wor k a n d con dition s. In th e
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
USA, a s th e n ext section of th is pa per dem on str a tes, cer ta in edu ca tion a l distr icts, m ost
n ota bly in Ca lifor n ia , h ave in tr odu ced “edu ca tion a l tr u st a gr eem en ts” wh ich a llow for
a n expa n ded a n d m or e com plex view of tea ch er s’ wor k in g con dition s. Au str a lia r efl ects
th ese gen er a l tr en ds bu t in a u n iqu e m a n n er
th r ou gh th e in tr odu ction of wh a t is k n ow n a s
“en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g”. Th is is ba sed on a
decen tr a lised system of in du str ia l r ela tion s
wh ich pr esen ts oppor tu n ities for em ployer s
a n d em ployees to n e gotia te ter m s a n d con dition s of wor k a ccor din g to per ceived con textu a l n eeds
On e w ay of m a k in g sen se of th e m ove
tow a r ds en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g in th e edu ca tion a l dom a in in Au str a lia is to see it a s pa r t
of th e gr ea ter m ovem en t tow a r ds th e r estr u ctu r in g of edu ca tion in ter n a tion a lly. On th is,
Ha r m a n (1991) cla im s th a t, a t lea st in OE CD
cou n tr ies, it is possible to iden tify br oa d
dir ection s in wh ich th e r estr u ctu r in g effor ts
a r e h ea din g:
Restr u ctu r in g effor ts a ppea r to be pa r t of a n
a ttem pt to m a k e th e m a n a gem en t of edu ca tion m or e efficien t, m or e a ccou n ta ble, a n d
m or e r espon sive to gover n m en t policies, to
in tr odu ce cor por a te m a n a gem en t
a ppr oa ch es fr om th e bu sin ess sector, to
devolve r espon sibility to r e gion s a n d
sch ools, a n d to pla ce m u ch gr ea ter em ph a sis
on edu ca tion a l ou tpu ts (p. 3).
He con clu des by sayin g th a t th e m a r k et
m eta ph or h a s been in cr ea sin gly a dopted.
Th is m eta ph or em br a ces th e n otion of edu ca tion a s a ser vice to be deliver ed or a s a com m odity to be pu r ch a sed, a s opposed to edu ca tion bein g viewed a s a “pu blic good”.
At th e sa m e tim e, it wou ld be m islea din g to
a r gu e th a t econ om ic for ces, n o m a tter h ow
gr ea t, a r e th e on ly on es u n der pin n in g cu r r en t r estr u ctu r in g in Au str a lia . For exa m ple,
th e focu s on im pr ovin g th e qu a lity of tea ch er s a n d tea ch in g (Daw k in s, 1988) is a lso sign ifica n t. Feder a l r epor ts su ch a s T ea ch er
Qu a lity: A n Issu es Pa per (Sch ools Cou n cil,
1989), a n d A u stra lia ’s T ea ch ers – a n A gen d a
for th e N ex t Deca d e (Sch ools Cou n cil, 1990),
a r ticu la ted th e con cer n s wh ich h a d su r fa ced
du r in g th e 1980s a bou t tea ch in g a s a n occu pa tion a n d com m en ted on th e w idespr ea d view
th a t th e m or a le a n d sta n din g of th e tea ch in g
pr ofession wer e declin in g. Th is developm en t
w a s a ttr ibu ted to th e qu a lity of en tr a n ts, th e
u n a ttr a ctiven ess of tea ch in g a s a ca r eer, th e
wor k life a n d pr a ctice of tea ch er s, a n d th e
in a dequ a cy of existin g m ech a n ism s for r ecogn isin g a n d r ew a r din g th e qu a lity of tea ch in g
in ter m s of ca r eer pa th s a n d sta tu s (In gva r son , 1994, p. 161). Th ese, of cou r se, a r e con cer n s n ot u n iqu e to Au str a lia ; r a th er th ey
h ave been r a ised th r ou gh ou t a gr ea t n u m ber
of OE CD cou n tr ies over th e la st deca de.
Tr a dition a lly, in Au str a lia , tea ch er s’ ter m s
a n d con dition s of wor k wer e set ou t a ccor din g
to a n in du str ia l aw a r d issu ed by a n in du str ia l
tr ibu n a l a n d a pplyin g to a ll em ployees w ith in
a pa r ticu la r sector of th e edu ca tion system .
Aw a r ds wer e a lso bin din g on a ll em ployer s
a n d wer e le ga lly en for cea ble. N e gotia tion s
dea lin g w ith aw a r d cla im s wer e con du cted
between th e r eleva n t u n ion a n d th e em ployer.
Wh er e n o a gr eem en t w a s r ea ch ed between
th e pa r ties th e ca se w a s pu t befor e th e in du str ia l tr ibu n a l for con cilia tion a n d a r bitr a tion .
As An gu s (1991, p. 78) h a s obser ved, a ccor din g
to th is a r r a n gem en t tea ch er s expected th a t
sa la r y in cr ea ses wou ld be lin k ed to r ises in
th e cost of livin g a n d th a t r ela tivities w ith
oth er occu pa tion s wou ld be obser ved.
Th e m ove aw ay fr om th is pr ocedu r e h a s to
be seen in th e ligh t of th e Feder a l La bor Gover n m en t’s com m itm en t to m icr o-econ om ic
ch a n ge a n d th e in itia tion of aw a r d r estr u ctu r in g a s a m ea n s of im pr ovin g pr odu ctivity
by u pgr a din g th e sk ills of th e Au str a lia n
wor k for ce a s a wh ole. Aga in st th is ba ck gr ou n d, edu ca tion beca m e a ssocia ted m or e
a n d m or e w ith th e n eed to develop a society
w ith a h igh ly com peten t wor k for ce r espon sive to th e dem a n ds m a de by ch a n gin g pa tter n s of wor k a n d to th e n eed for Au str a lia to
be econ om ica lly com petitive in th e in ter n a tion a l m a r k et. In th e ca se of sch ools, th is
involves im pr ovin g th e sk ills of th eir m a jor
r esou r ce, tea ch er s, a n d pr ovidin g th em w ith
a better wor k en vir on m en t. Th is r eflects th e
in ter n a tion a l tr en d em ph a sisin g th e im por ta n ce of tea ch er pr ofession a lism a n d em pow er m en t. Ca ldwell a n d Spin k s (1988), for exa m ple, n oted th a t in th e USA, r epor ts by th e
Ca r n e gie For u m on E du ca tion a n d th e E con om y (1986) a n d th e Holm es Gr ou p (1986) a dvoca ted th e goa l of m a k in g sch ools better pla ces
for tea ch er s in wh ich to wor k a n d to lea r n .
Wh en aw a r d r estr u ctu r in g w a s con sider ed
in itia lly in Au str a lia , it w a s viewed a s h avin g
th e poten tia l to h ave a power fu l im pa ct on th e
w ay in wh ich sch ool system s wou ld im plem en t edu ca tion a l r efor m (An gu s, 1991, p. 81).
In J a n u a r y 1989, a n a tion a l ben ch m a r k r a te
w a s esta blish ed wh ich a sser ted th a t tea ch er s’
wor k a n d qu a lifica tion s wer e su bsta n tia lly
th e sa m e th r ou gh ou t Au str a lia a n d so, th er efor e, sh ou ld be sa la r ies (Du r br idge, 1991). Th e
follow in g yea r th e Feder a l In du str ia l Rela tion s Com m ission , th e n a tion ’s in du str ia l
r ela tion s cou r t, r a tified th e in tr odu ction of
th e Adva n ced Sk ills Tea ch er cla ssifi ca tion
(AST) to r ecogn ise exem pla r y tea ch in g a n d
pr ovide a n ew cla ssr oom -ba sed ca r eer str u ctu r e wh ich wou ld pr ogr ess fr om level on e to
level th r ee (Ch a dbou r n e a n d In gva r son , 1991).
[ 47 ]
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
Th is n ew cla ssifica tion bea r s str on g r esem bla n ce to th e n otion of “Su per Tea ch er ” cu r r en tly bein g m ooted in th e UK.
E a r ly in 1991, th e Feder a l Gover n m en t a lso
in itia ted a N a tion a l P r oject on th e Qu a lity of
Tea ch in g a n d Lea r n in g. Its m a in pu r pose w a s
to pr ovide a for u m for co-oper a tive wor k
involvin g gover n m en t a n d pr iva te em ployer s,
edu ca tion u n ion s, th e Au str a lia n Cou n cil of
Tr a de Un ion s (ACTU), a n d th e Feder a l Gover n m en t (Du r br idge, 1991, p. 89). In fu r th er
pu r su it of oppor tu n ities for flexibility,
in cr ea sed pr odu ctivity, a n d wor k qu a lity
en h a n cem en t, th e ACTU a n d th e Feder a l
Gover n m en t a gr eed th a t th e n ext logica l step
w a s tow a r ds en ter pr ise-ba sed ba r ga in in g.
Alth ou gh th e In du str ia l Rela tion s Com m ission w a s in itia lly con cer n ed th a t th e pa r ties
wer e n ot su fficien tly m a tu r e to h a n dle gen u in e en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g (N ila n d, 1994,
p. 14), it en dor sed th e con cept in th e October
1991 Wa ge Ca se decision . As a r esu lt, a cen tr a l a gr eem en t en titled Th e Accor d Ma r k V1,
n e gotia ted pr ior to th e Ma r ch 1993 feder a l
election , con tin u ed th e decen tr a lisa tion of
w a ges a n d wor k con dition s. Sh aw (1995, p.3)
h a s poin ted ou t th a t th is per iod w itn essed a
dr a m a tic ch a n ge in th e focu s of in du str ia l
r ela tion s le gisla tion wh ich cu lm in a ted in th e
In du str ia l Rela tion s Refor m Act of 1993. P r eviou sly, th e focu s of in du str ia l r ela tion s w a s
exclu sively on aw a r ds, bu t n ow th e le gisla tion em ph a sised a gr eem en ts. Th e r a tion a le
beh in d th e n ew Act w a s expr essed clea r ly by
th e th en Feder a l Min ister of In du str ia l Rela tion s, La u r ie Br er eton :
Un der th is system of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g,
th e pa r ties in volved w ill h ave a gr ea ter
r espon sibility for deter m in in g th e ou tcom e
of th eir a gr eem en ts. Th e ch a n ges in in du str ia l r ela tion s w ill open th e w ay for Au str a lia n wor k pla ces to m eet th e ch a llen ge of
bein g m or e pr odu ctive a n d in ter n a tion a lly
com petitive (N ila n d, 1994, p. 17).
Th is developm en t, th e Min ister cla im ed,
r epr esen ted a fu r th er step in th e con tin u in g
r efor m s th a t th e Feder a l La bor Gover n m en t
h a d in tr odu ced over th e pa st deca de.
With th e en cou r a gem en t of th e Feder a l
In du str ia l Rela tion s Com m ission , th e pr in ciples of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g a n d en ter pr ise
a gr eem en ts h ave a lso been en dor sed by sta te
ju r isdiction s wh er e pr ovision s h ave been
m a de to pr ovide for m a l fr a m ewor k s deta ilin g
th e pr oper pr ocesses a n d str u ctu r es r equ ir ed.
For exa m ple, in Wester n Au str a lia , th is developm en t m a n ifested itself in th e Wor k pla ce
Agr eem en ts Bill, 1993. P u t sim ply, th e le gisla tion pr ovided for th e cr ea tion of com pr eh en sive wor k pla ce a gr eem en ts en com pa ssin g a ll
a spects of th e em ploym en t r ela tion sh ip n e gotia ted between in dividu a l em ployees a n d th e
[ 48 ]
em ployer. Its over r idin g im por ta n ce h a s been
th e in jection of “pr odu ctivity th in k in g” in to
th e “edu ca tion in du str y” a n d th e en dor sem en t of th e n otion of a n a ssocia tion between
r efor m , pr odu ctivity, a n d pay (An gu s, 1991,
p. 84). Th is per spective h a s been fu r th er r ein for ced by m ea n s of le gisla tion su ppor tin g th e
pr in ciple of a gr eem en ts n e gotia ted a t th e
wor k pla ce eith er in con ju n ction w ith or com pletely r epla cin g th e r eleva n t aw a r d.
Th e existen ce of legisla tion , h owever, is n ot
su fficien t to over com e th e fea r of th e
u n k n ow n th a t m ay be felt by sch ools em ba r k in g on th e pr ocess of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g.
F u r th er m or e, th is fea r is likely to be a ccen tu a ted by th e a bsen ce of a k n ow ledge ba se to
pr ovide pr a ctition er s w ith th eor etica l
in sigh ts. Un for tu n a tely, in th is r ega r d, th e
en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g liter a tu r e per ta in in g
specifica lly to th e edu cation sector is a t a
for m a tive sta ge a n d, a s yet, n o th eor etica l or
a n a lytica l fr a m ewor k h a s em er ged. Th er e is,
h owever, va lu e in con sider in g th e types of
a ppr oa ch es wh ich h ave been a dopted tow a r ds
ba r ga in in g in oth er con texts. Th e n ext section
of th is pa per a ddr esses th is by ou tlin in g som e
of th e th eor etica l a n d con ceptu a l dim en sion s
of ba r ga in in g. It is th en followed by a section
wh ich con sider s th e sm a ll bu t em er gin g
em pir ica l r esea r ch ba se on aw a r d r estr u ctu r in g a n d en ter pr ise-ba sed ba r ga in in g.
So fa r, con sider a tion s h ave cen tr ed on th e
th eor etica l a n d con ceptu a l liter a tu r e on ba r ga in in g, a n d on th e policy con text. However,
th er e is a lso a n em er gin g em pir ica l r esea r ch
ba se on th e va lu e of a doptin g a ba r ga in in g
a ppr oa ch in in du str ia l r ela tion s. Wh ile, a s
th e n ext section dem on str a tes, ver y little of
th e r esea r ch wh ich h a s been u n der ta k en h a s
been w ith in th e edu ca tion sector, th er e is
gr ea t scope for a ddr essin g th is deficit.
The emerging literature on award
restructuring and enterprise-based
bargaining
Sh aw (1995, p. 11) h a s con clu ded th a t th er e is
w idespr ea d su ppor t for th e view th a t en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g offer s oppor tu n ities for
“fl exibility, in cr ea sed pr odu ctivity a n d wor k
qu a lity en h a n cem en t”. He a lso a sser ts th a t
th er e m ay be fu r th er ben efits su ch a s
“gr ea ter con su lta tion between m a n a gem en t
a n d em ployees, a n d a cooper a tive cu ltu r e a t
th e wor k pla ce, in volvin g w ider scope for
em ployee pa r ticipa tion in decision -m a k in g
pr ocesses”. Sim ila r ly, N ila n d (1994, p. 17)
a r gu es th a t wh ile en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g is
n ot yet th e n or m , th ose wh o a r e seek in g to
esta blish gen u in e en ter pr ise a gr eem en ts a r e
br ea k in g “n ew gr ou n d” a n d w ill en joy th e
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
An e duc atio nal trust
agre e me nt re pre se nts a
le gally binding bilate ral
ac c o rd e xisting o utside the
c o lle c tive ly bargaine d
c o ntrac t and is ne go tiate d
be twe e n the unio n and
manage me nt.
ben efits soon er th a n th ose wh o delay. He
con sider s th a t th e u n der ta k in g to im plem en t
m or e efficien t a n d fl exible a r r a n gem en ts a t
th e wor k pla ce is ir r ever sible beca u se of econ om ic pr essu r es, bu t it is a lso in th e in ter ests
of m a n a gem en t a n d sta ff w ith in a pa r ticu la r
en ter pr ise.
At th e sa m e tim e, ser iou s dou bts h ave been
expr essed a bou t cer ta in elem en ts of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g. On th is, Sh aw (1995, p. 11)
h igh ligh ts th e vu ln er a bility of cer ta in section s of th e wor k for ce, especia lly a t tim es of
h igh u n em ploym en t, to r edu ced ea r n in gs a n d
r edu ced con dition s of em ploym en t. Th e da n ger of th is occu r r in g, it is a lle ged, is h eigh ten ed by th e su per ior ba r ga in in g power of
em ployer s. Focu sin g on th e h ea lth in du str y,
Ga r dn er (1994) h a s pr esen ted a sa lu ta r y
w a r n in g to n u r ses a bou t th e r elu cta n ce of
h ea lth m a n a ger s to su r r en der th eir “m a n a gem en t pr er oga tive” in th e pu r su it of a n en ter pr ise a gr eem en t. In oth er wor ds, m a n a ger s
h ave been slow to a ccept th a t gen u in e ba r ga in in g depen ds on a n open a n d colla bor a tive
r ela tion sh ip w ith em ployees a n d en ta ils a
w illin gn ess to sh a r e in for m a tion r eleva n t to
m a tter s of n e gotia tion wh ich m ay tr a dition a lly h ave been th e exclu sive pr oper ty of m a n a gem en t. Br a m ble (1993, p. 3) ta k es a m or e
extr em e position , sta tin g th a t en ter pr ise
ba r ga in in g “is a m a ssive fr a u d, per petr a ted
a ga in st Au str a lia n wor k er s. It m ea n s sa cr ifice, lower w a ges, fewer jobs a n d wor se wor k in g con dition s”.
It wou ld seem , th er efor e, th a t pr eva ilin g
a ttitu des tow a r ds en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g a s a
wh ole a r e som ewh a t equ ivoca l. Alth ou gh it is
a ck n ow ledged th a t ben efits m ay be der ived
fr om a m or e co-oper a tive wor k pla ce cu ltu r e,
ser iou s dou bts exist a s to wh eth er ba r ga in in g
ca n ever ta k e pla ce fr om equ a l position s of
power. Th er e is a lso con sider a ble u n cer ta in ty
a bou t th e fin a l ou tcom e of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g in th e edu ca tion sector. On th is, it is
in str u ctive to dr aw a tten tion to th e n otion of
th e “edu ca tion a l tr u st a gr eem en t” (Ker ch n er
a n d Koppich , 1993, 1996; Str esh ly a n d
DeMitch ell, 1994). Su ch a gr eem en ts h ave
been evolvin g in a n u m ber of sch ool distr icts
th r ou gh ou t Ca lifor n ia a n d a llow for a n
expa n ded a n d m or e com plex view of wor k in g
con dition s in edu ca tion (Str esh ly a n d
DeMitch ell, 1994, p. 96). P u t sim ply, a n edu ca tion a l tr u st a gr eem en t r epr esen ts a le ga lly
bin din g bila ter a l a ccor d existin g ou tside th e
collectively ba r ga in ed con tr a ct a n d is n e gotia ted between th e u n ion a n d m a n a gem en t.
Wh er ea s collective ba r ga in in g con tin u es to
dea l w ith th e su bsta n tive issu es of con dition s
of em ploym en t, th e tr u st a gr eem en t r evolves
to a gr ea ter exten t a r ou n d su ch pr ofession a l
a r ea s of con cer n a s peer r eview, pr ofession a l
developm en t, a n d sch ool site colla bor a tive
m a n a gem en t a n d decision m a k in g (Ker ch n er
a n d Koppich , 1993, p. 20).
Ker ch n er a n d Ca u fm a n (1993, p. 18) h ave
iden tifi ed th r ee m a in effects of tr u st a gr eem en ts in Ca lifor n ia . F ir st, tr u st a gr eem en ts
involve n ew a ssu m ption s a bou t wh o ben efits
fr om la bou r m a n a gem en t in ter a ction s; th e
for m u la tion of tr u st a gr eem en ts is con sequ en tly ch a r a cter ised by a n a bsen ce of selfin ter est on th e pa r t of tea ch er s. Secon dly,
tr u st a gr eem en ts in volve differ en t n otion s of
ba r ga in in g fr om th ose tr a dition a lly pr eva ilin g; r a th er th a n ba r ga in in g fr om position s,
pa r ticipa n ts in n e gotia tion s for a tr u st a gr eem en t r epr esen t a pr in ciple or a pr oblem a n d
a dopt a m or e open a ppr oa ch . Th is m odel w a s
or igin a lly developed by th e Ha r va r d N e gotia tion P r oject (F ish er a n d Ur y, 1981b), th e pu r pose bein g to r esh a pe ba r ga in in g fr om a
“w in -lose” pr oposition to a pr ocess of m u tu a l
a dva n ta ge in wh ich ea ch side “w in s” by
m ea n s of pr in cipled com pr om ise (Ker ch n er
a n d Koppich , 1993). Th ir d, n e gotia tion s in
pu r su it of tr u st a gr eem en ts a r e n ot
con cer n ed a bou t a “w in -lose” distr ibu tion of
fixed r esou r ces, bu t a ttem pt to u se ba r ga in in g
for m u tu a l ga in .
Th e effica cy of tr u st a gr eem en ts, h owever,
depen ds h eavily u pon th e em er gen ce of “pr ofession a l u n ion ism ” wh ich is r equ ir ed “to
ba la n ce tea ch er s’ le gitim a te self-in ter ests
w ith th e la r ger in ter ests of tea ch in g a s a n
occu pa tion a n d edu ca tion a s a n in stitu tion ”
(Ker ch n er a n d Ca u fm a n , 1993, p. 19). Th e
ba sic ten ets of em er gin g pr ofession a l u n ion ism h ave been stipu la ted by Koppich (1993,
p. 194) a s bein g com posed of join t cu stody of
r efor m , u n ion m a n a gem en t colla bor a tion ,
a n d con cer n for th e pu blic in ter est. J oin t
cu stody of r efor m en ta ils a n a ccepta n ce on
th e pa r t of both m a n a gem en t a n d u n ion of
sh a r ed r espon sibility for th e ch a n ge pr ocess;
u n ion m a n a gem en t colla bor a tion r efer s to
th e m a in im petu s pr opellin g n e gotia tion s
fr om th e a dver sa r ia l to th e co-oper a tive
a ttem pt to r esolve m u tu a lly iden tifi ed edu ca tion a l issu es; a n d con cer n for th e pu blic
in ter est in volves a r ecogn ition by th e u n ion
of th e im por ta n ce of ba la n cin g pu blic good
w ith tea ch er self-in ter est.
Th e n otion of pr ofession a l u n ion ism is
con tr a sted w ith th e m or e tr a dition a l ver sion
of “in du str ia l u n ion ism ” wh ich a ssu m es th a t
a division exists between la bou r a n d m a n a gem en t. Accor din g to th is m odel, th e u n ion
pu r su es “th e econ om ic a n d day-to-day wor k
con cer n s of th e em ployees”, wh ile “m a n a gem en t esta blish es policy a n d m a k es oper a tion a l decision s” (Ker ch n er a n d Koppich ,
1993, p. 17). It is th is im plicit sepa r a tion of
in ter ests, so it is cla im ed, th a t pr ovides th e
[ 49 ]
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
[ 50 ]
fou n da tion of a dver sa r ia l la bou r m a n a gem en t r ela tion s a n d lim its th e scope of n e gotia ted a gr eem en ts. In deed, Ayer s (1992, p. 18)
con ten ds th a t th e in du str ia l style of u n ion ism
h a s “con str a in ed tea ch er s w ith in a blu e colla r fr a m ewor k w ith its exclu sive focu s on
w a ges a n d ben efits r a th er th a n issu es of cu r r icu lu m , in str u ction a n d eva lu a tion ”. Con sequ en tly, it is deem ed a xiom a tic th a t th is
m odel ca n n ot su ppor t th e expa n sion of tea ch er s’ pr ofession a l r oles.
It w ill be som e tim e yet befor e we get a clea r
pictu r e a s to wh eth er or n ot en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g in Au str a lia w ill even tu a te in a n
expa n sion of tea ch er s’ pr ofession a l r oles.
Wh a t does seem clea r, h owever, is th a t th e
tr en d tow a r ds th is m ode of in du str ia l r ela tion s w ith in edu ca tion w ill con tin u e th r ou gh ou t th e cou n tr y. Wh ile a ck n ow ledgin g th e fa ct
th a t developm en ts in edu ca tion in Au str a lia
va r y fr om sta te to sta te, th e situ a tion in Wester n Au str a lia goes som e w ay tow a r ds illu str a tin g th e exper ien ce of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g th r ou gh ou t th e cou n tr y. In 1997, sever a l
n on -gover n m en t sch ools in Wester n Au str a lia h a d en ter pr ise a gr eem en ts r e gister ed
by th e Wester n Au str a lia n In du str ia l Com m ission . Th e a gr eem en ts wer e of two types.
Th e fir st type r efer s to th e collective en ter pr ise a gr eem en t con clu ded by th e Wester n
Au str a lia n Ca th olic Sch ools’ sector. Th e secon d type r efer s to th e sin gle en ter pr ise a gr eem en t a dopted by a ll oth er in depen den t
sch ools in th e sta te.
Wester n Au str a lia n sch ools, h avin g m a de
th e decision to seek a sin gle en ter pr ise a gr eem en t, h a d a t th eir disposa l som e su ggestion s
r ela tin g to th e for m a l m ech a n ism s of th e
pr ocess of n e gotia tion . Th is in for m a tion w a s
pr ovided by th e Mem or a n du m of Agr eem en t
co-sign ed by th e em ployer s’ or ga n isa tion , th e
Associa tion of In depen den t Sch ools of Wester n Au str a lia (AISWA) a n d th e In depen den t
Sch ooltea ch er s’ Un ion , th e In depen den t
Sch ools Sa la r ied Officer s’ Associa tion
(ISSOA) in May 1994. Th e Mem or a n du m com m itted both or ga n isa tion s to th e pr ocess of
en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g a t th e in dividu a l
sch ool level w ith ou t obligin g eith er pa r ty to
for m a n en ter pr ise a gr eem en t. In or der to
a ch ieve desir ed ou tcom es th e Mem or a n du m
a dvoca ted th e esta blish m en t of a com m ittee
com pr isin g equ a l r epr esen ta tion of em ployer s a n d em ployees a s deter m in ed by a gr eem en t between th e sta ff a n d th e em ployer. It
w a s a dvised th a t th e em ployee r epr esen ta tion
sh ou ld in clu de a u n ion sch ool r epr esen ta tive
(wh er e on e exists) a n d th e oth er s sh ou ld be
elected by a ba llot of em ployees. Th e pr ocess
of n e gotia tion sh ou ld a llow in du str ia l r epr esen ta tion of both AISWA a n d th e ISSOA if
r equ ested by eith er pa r ty. Th er e wer e a lso
r ecom m en da tion s r ela tin g to pr elim in a r y
tr a in in g, tim e r elea se to en a ble th e h oldin g of
m eetin gs, a n d th e r epor tin g pr ocedu r e.
Alth ou gh th is fr a m ewor k esta blish ed a
pr a ctica l ba sis for u n der ta k in g en ter pr ise
ba r ga in in g, it did n ot, in itself, pr epa r e th e
sch ool for dea lin g w ith th e h igh ly com plex
pr ocesses of in ter a ction wh ich n ecessa r ily
con stitu te a n e gotia tin g situ a tion . In deed, it
m ay even be con ten ded th a t it is th e ver y
com plexity of th e ph en om en on , a s en cou n ter ed for th e fir st tim e, wh ich m a k es it im possible for a sch ool to k n ow in a dva n ce wh a t to
expect a n d h ow to dea l w ith it. Hen ce, a ccor din g to th is per spective, n o m odel of a pr escr iptive a n d n or m a tive n a tu r e ca n be a pplied to
th e situ a tion beca u se of th e con dition s of
dyn a m ic com plexity th a t ch a r a cter ise en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g. Th er e is, con sequ en tly, a
n eed for pa r ticipa n ts to r ecogn ise th a t u n pr edicta bility is a n in te gr a l pa r t of th e pr ocess
a n d w ill r equ ir e a con sta n t a dju stm en t a n d
r evision of pr a ctice. As Sta cey h a s pu t it
(1992, p. 1), “Rou te a n d destin a tion m u st be
discover ed th r ou gh th e jou r n ey itself in or der
to tr avel to n ew la n ds … th e k ey to su ccess
lies in th e cr ea tive a ctivity of m a k in g n ew
m a ps”. Th er efor e, if Wester n Au str a lia n
in depen den t sch ools, lik e sch ools elsewh er e,
a r e to r espon d to th e ch a llen ge of en ter pr ise
ba r ga in in g w ith con fiden ce a n d com peten ce,
th er e is a n ecessity for r esea r ch to illu m in a te
th e a ctu a l exper ien ces wh ich a r e occu r r in g a t
th e sch ool-site level to a ssist in th e ch a r tin g
of n ew ter r itor y. Th is poin t w ill n ow be ta k en
u p in th e n ext section in m or e deta il, w ith
pa r ticu la r r efer en ce to th e n eed to u n der sta n d pa r ticipa n ts’ per ception s of en ter pr ise
ba r ga in in g a n d of th eir exper ien ces of th e
ba r ga in in g pr ocess.
The need to understand
participants’ perceptions of
enterprise bargaining and of their
experiences of the bargaining
process
Th e em ph a sis th a t r esea r ch h a s pla ced on
explicit pr ocedu r es of ba r ga in in g a n d n e gotia tion h a s m ea n t th a t sch ools h ave r eceived
sca n t a tten tion beca u se th ey h ave n ot tr a dition a lly pr ovided a con text wh er e th is k in d of
a ctivity h a s occu r r ed open ly (Hoyle, 1986,
p. 131). Rela ted r esea r ch wh ich h a s been
a pplied to a r ea s oth er th a n th e edu ca tion
sector is a lso deficien t in pr ovidin g a n a dequ a te fou n da tion for u n der sta n din g th e ph en om en on . Th e r esea r ch u n der ta k en in to
n e gotia tion s, for exa m ple, h a s ten ded n ot to
r evea l wh a t Fells (1995a , p. 268) h a s descr ibed
a s “th e cu t a n d th r u st of th e ‘r ea l wor ld’ of
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
n e gotia tion s”; a cr itiqu e wh ich com plem en ts
Str a u ss’s r ecom m en da tion (1978, p. 11) th a t
th er e is a n eed for r esea r ch to con sider th e
view s of “a ctor s” a s th ey en ter a n d a ffect th e
n e gotia tion s.
T h e n eed for r esea r ch t o u n cover t h e
b eliefs, va lu es, p er sp ect ives a n d m ot iva t ion s
of t h e p a r t icip a n t s in t h e b a r ga in in g p r ocess
a t t h e sch ool level, is m a d e m or e a p p a r en t
w h en t h e p a r t icu la r cir cu m st a n ces w h ich
su r r ou n d en t er p r ise b a r ga in in g a r e con sid er ed . F ir st , t h e com p let e n ovelt y of t h e p h en om en on a s it a p p lies t o sch ools, p r om p t s a n
in vest iga t ion of p a r t icip a n t s’ p er sp ect ives
w it h in a con t ext of ch a n ge a n d u n cer t a in t y.
In d eed , a s F u lla n h a s p ost u la t ed (1993), n ew
w ay s of d oin g t h in gs in sch ools cr ea t e a n
in it ia l p er iod of a m b igu it y wh ich w ill
in ev it a b ly a ffect t h e in t er p r et a t ion s t h a t a r e
m a d e of t h e p h en om en on by t h e p a r t icip a n t s. A secon d cir cu m st a n ce is t h e n ot ion
of co-op er a t ion b et w een em p loyer a n d
em p loyee w h ich u n d er p in s t h e p r ocess of
en t er p r ise b a r ga in in g in or d er t o r ea ch
a gr eem en t . T h e d esir a b ilit y of t h is r ela t ion sh ip is oft en ev id en t in t h e r h et or ic of t h e
le gisla t ion w h ich em p h a sises t h e ca p a cit y of
n ew wor k p la ce con d it ion s “t o en a ble b et t er
coop er a t ion a n d com m u n ica t ion , b et w een
t h e t wo p a r t ies” (West er n Au st r a lia . P a r lia m en t , 1993). N ot w it h st a n d in g su ch r h et or ic,
h ow ever, t h e co-op er a t ive d im en sion of t h e
b a r ga in in g p r ocess w ill u lt im a t ely b e
d efin ed by t h e in t er p r et a t ion s of t h e in d iv id u a ls in volved . Cir cu m st a n ces a t t h e sch ool
level cou ld b e su ch t h a t a n im p ed im en t is
p la ced in t h e p a t h of a ch iev in g en h a n ced coop er a t ion .
T h e ed u ca t ion sect or h a s, in fa ct , b een
slow t o a cce p t t h e n ew cu lt u r e of in d u st r ia l
r ela t ion s. As An gu s h a s a r gu ed (1991, p p. 789), t ea ch er s in Au st r a lia h ave fou n d t h e
n ot ion of im p r ov in g p r od u ct iv it y w it h in a n
“in d u st r y ” d ifficu lt t o gr a sp a s it a p p lies t o
ed u ca t ion . In d eed , m a n y h ave r e ga r d ed t h e
econ om ic ob ject ives of wor k p la ce r efor m a s
a n a ffr on t t o t h eir p r ofession a lism (An gu s,
1991). In t h is r e ga r d , t ea ch er s a r e p a r t icu la r ly su sp iciou s of t h e in st r u m en t a l n ot ion s
of sch oolin g w h ich h ave b een em b r a ced by
t h e ch a n ges in t r od u ced in t o t h e in d u st r ia l
r ela t ion s for u m , a s w ell a s t h e r eq u ir em en t
t h a t ed u ca t ion sh ou ld b ecom e m or e p r od u ct ive (An gu s, 1991). Set a ga in st a b a ck gr ou n d
of sce p t icism , if n ot ou t r igh t h ost ilit y, it m ay
b e t h e ca se t h a t en t er p r ise-b a sed b a r ga in in g
is n ot r ea d ily cou n t en a n ced , wh ich m ea n s
t h a t a sch ool em b a r k in g on t h e p r ocess is
lik ely t o en cou n t er d ifficu lt ies fr om t h e
ou t set . T h is fa ct or in it self in v it es sp ecu la t ion a s t o h ow a gr eem en t ca n b e r ea ch ed
a ccor d in g t o a sy st em of en t er p r ise-b a s ed
b a r ga in in g.
An oth er fa ctor wh ich cou ld pr esen t a n
im pedim en t to th e co-oper a tive ba sis of a n
a gr eem en t is a r elu cta n ce on th e pa r t of
em ployer s to r ea ssess th eir position w ith in
a n in du str ia l r ela tion s en vir on m en t pr edica ted on a n eed for “good fa ith ” ba r ga in in g
w ith em ployees. It seem s lik ely th a t th e effica cy of th e ba r ga in in g pr ocess a t th e sch ool
w ill h in ge, to som e exten t, on th e w illin gn ess
of m a n a gem en t to a ccept m or e open a n d colla bor a tive r ela tion sh ips w ith tea ch er s th a n
m igh t h ave pr eviou sly existed. If, h owever, a n
em ployin g a u th or ity seek s to pr eser ve its
tr a dition a l “m a n a gem en t pr er oga tive” to
m a n a ge a sch ool’s a ffa ir s w ith ou t in ter fer en ce, th is a ttitu de is lik ely to cr ea te a ba r r ier
to th e k in d of co-oper a tion wh ich is en visa ged
in th e pr ocess of r ea ch in g a n a gr eem en t.
Sim ila r ly, a r efu sa l to disclose cr u cia l fin a n cia l or oth er in for m a tion m ay n ot fu r th er th e
ca u se of co-oper a tion a s espou sed by th e
r h etor ic (Ga r dn er, 1994).
A t h ir d d im en sion of en t er p r ise b a r ga in in g in sch ools w h ich m ay b e st r on gly in flu en ced by p a r t icip a n t s’ in t er p r et a t ion s is t h e
r a t ion a le t h a t is a d op t ed for seek in g a n
a gr eem en t . T h is ob ser va t ion r ela t es t o
w h et h er b a r ga in in g for a n en t er p r is e a gr eem en t w it h in a sch ool is m ot iva t ed by a gen u in e d esir e t o im p r ove t h e q u a lit y of wor k
life for t ea ch er s a s a m ea n s of in cr ea s in g t h e
p r od u ct iv it y of t ea ch in g a n d lea r n in g, or
w h et h er u t ilit a r ia n a n d econ om ic con s id er a t ion s t a k e p r eced en ce. In t h is r e ga r d , t h e
r ole of t h e u n ion a lso n eed s t o b e t a k en in t o
a ccou n t . Ker ch n er a n d Ca u fm a n (1993, p. 19)
u se t h e t er m “p r ofession a l u n ion ism ” t o
d escr ib e a t ea ch in g a ssocia t ion w h ich “b a la n ces t ea ch er s’ le git im a t e self-in t er es t s w it h
t h e la r ger in t er est s of t ea ch in g a s a n occu p a t ion a n d ed u ca t ion a s a n in st it u t ion ”. Th is
m od el con t r a st s w it h “in d u st r ia l u n ion is m ”
w h ich is d esign ed t o “p r ot ect t ea ch er s fr om
t h e w h im s of m a n a ger ia l a n d p olit ica l
b eh av iou r a n d t o a dva n ce t ea ch er s’ in t er est s”. P r ofession a l u n ion ism , Ker ch n er a n d
Ca u fm a n (1993, p. 19) cla im , p r ov id es a m or e
p r om isin g b a sis for colla b or a t ive sch ool
r efor m .
In essen ce, th ese con sider a tion s r ela te to
wh eth er per son n el in sch ools h ave th e
“in du str ia l m a tu r ity” (N ila n d, 1994, p. 23) to
n e gotia te a gr eem en ts a t th e wor k pla ce. In
con tr a st to th e tr a dition a l tr ibu n a l pr ocess in
wh ich r espon sibility for deter m in in g wor k
con dition s r ests w ith a th ir d pa r ty, en ter pr ise
ba r ga in in g oper a tes on th e pr em ise th a t both
th e em ployer a n d em ployee w a n t to n e gotia te
beca u se th er e is a per ception th a t th is is th e
best r ou te to follow. Both pa r ties, th er efor e,
[ 51 ]
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
[ 52 ]
h ave, a t lea st in th eor y, th e in du str ia l m a tu r ity to com m u n ica te on a volu n ta r y ba sis in
or der to n e gotia te th e best con dition s for ea ch
gr ou p so th a t a wor k a ble dea l ca n be secu r ed
th a t is r espected a n d a dh er ed to by em ployer
a n d em ployee.
N ila n d (1994) does n ot ela bor a te on th e
defin ition s of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g h eld by
pa r ticipa n ts th a t a r e n ecessa r y in or der to
a ccom plish in du str ia l m a tu r ity. N ever th eless, it is eviden t th a t in dividu a ls w ill em ba r k
on ba r ga in in g for a n en ter pr ise a gr eem en t
w ith differ en t per spectives of th e situ a tion .
Th ese per spectives m ay h ave been in flu en ced
by su ch fa ctor s a s va lu es, ideologies, ch oices,
goa ls, in ter ests, exper tise, h istor y, m otiva tion , a n d in ter pr eta tion (Bla se, 1991, p. 3). Th e
a ffir m a tion of a n a gr eem en t w ill, th er efor e,
be depen den t on th e socia l pr ocess of in ter a ction by wh ich com petin g defin ition s of th e
situ a tion a r e con tin u ou sly bein g exch a n ged.
Con tigu ou s w ith th is view is th e belief th a t
en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g is too com plex a ph en om en on to be con sider ed a s con sistin g sim ply of a str u ctu r e of r u les, r e gu la tion s a n d
pr ocedu r es.
It is eviden t, th er efor e, th a t th e cir cu m sta n ces su r r ou n din g en ter pr ise-ba sed n e gotia tion s a r e lik ely to in flu en ce th e per ception s
th a t pa r ticipa n ts a dopt tow a r ds th e ph en om en on . If en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g is to be
r e ga r ded a s a pr a ctica ble m eth od of ch a n gin g
tea ch er s’ wor k for th e ben efi t o
qualitative research: some reflections from Australia
Thomas A. O’Donoghue
The Graduate Sc ho o l o f Educ atio n, The Unive rsity o f We ste rn Australia,
Ne dlands, We ste rn Australia
Simon Clarke
The Graduate Sc ho o l o f Educ atio n, The Unive rsity o f We ste rn Australia,
Ne dlands, We ste rn Australia
Keywords
Bargaining, Educ atio n, Quality,
Sc ho o ls, We ste rn Australia
Abstract
The traditio nal syste m o f industrial re latio ns in Australia has
e mphasise d arbitrate d de c isio ns
by c e ntral tribunals in o rde r to
ac hie ve unifo rm wage inc re ase s
witho ut any c o nside ratio n be ing
give n to pro duc tivity. Sinc e the
late 1 9 8 0 s, the re has be e n a
mo ve to wards ne go tiatio n at the
e nte rprise le ve l. Le gislative
re fo rms have o c c urre d at bo th
fe de ral and state le ve ls whic h
pre se nt o ppo rtunitie s fo r individual e nte rprise s to ne go tiate agre e me nts de fining te rms and c o nditio ns c o nside re d to be mo st
appro priate fo r the ir c irc umstanc e s. One majo r are na whe re
this de ve lo pme nt, po pularly
kno wn as e nte rprise bargaining, is
impac ting, is that o f e duc atio n.
Fo c use s o n the phe no me no n by:
c o nside ring so me o f the lite rature
o n the the o re tic al and c o nc e ptual
dime nsio ns o f the unde rlying
no tio n o f “ bargaining” ; o utlining
the ge ne ral po lic y c o nte xt within
whic h e nte rprise bargaining has
be e n taking plac e in Australia;
pre se nting an o ve rvie w o f the
e me rging re se arc h base o n award
re struc turing and e nte rprise -base d
bargaining; o utlining the ne e d fo r
re se arc h aime d at unde rstanding
partic ipants’ pe rc e ptio ns o f
e nte rprise bargaining and o f the ir
e xpe rie nc e s o f the bargaining
pro c e ss; e xamining a majo r
appro ac h to e ngaging in suc h
re se arc h, name ly, the mic ro po litic al appro ac h.
Introduction
Th e developm en t of th e en ter pr ise-ba r ga in in g a ppr oa ch to in du str ia l r ela tion s w ith in
edu ca tion in Au str a lia sh ou ld be of in ter est
n ot on ly to th e edu ca tion a l com m u n ity in
th a t cou n tr y bu t in ter n a tion a lly. It is possible, for exa m ple, th a t th e a ppr oa ch w ill a llow
edu ca tion system s a n d in dividu a l sch ools to
r e-exa m in e con ven tion a l idea s a bou t th e
n a tu r e of tea ch er s’ wor k a n d con dition s. In
pa r ticu la r, oppor tu n ities cou ld be cr ea ted n ot
on ly for th e r eth in k in g of su bsta n tive issu es
su ch a s th e ca r eer str u ctu r e of tea ch in g, pr ofession a l developm en t a n d tea ch er eva lu a tion , bu t a lso for en a blin g tea ch er s to con tr ibu te to th e sh a pin g of r ela ted policy
th r ou gh m or e pa r ticipa tor y fr a m ewor k s in
sch ools. At th e sa m e tim e, h owever, if en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g is to even tu a te in a n edu ca tion a l com m u n ity wh ich is positively disposed tow a r ds im pr ovin g th e qu a lity of tea ch in g a n d lea r n in g, it is vita l th a t th e pr ocess be
u n der ta k en in a m a n n er th a t is sen sitive to
th e n eeds a n d per ception s of th e va r iou s
sta k eh older s. Th is in vites th e developm en t of
a com pr eh en sive r esea r ch a gen da wh ich
seek s to en h a n ce ou r pr esen t r u dim en ta r y
u n der sta n din g of th e ph en om en on of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g. Th e follow in g pa per is
offer ed a s on e con tr ibu tion to th e gr ou n dwor k wh ich n eeds to be u n der ta k en in or der
to fa cilita te th e developm en t of su ch a
r esea r ch a gen da in Au str a lia . In pa r ticu la r, it
em ph a sises th e n eed for r esea r ch a im ed a t
u n der sta n din g pa r ticipa n ts’ per ception s of
en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g a n d of th eir exper ien ces of th e ba r ga in in g pr ocess a t th e sch oolsite level.
An outline of the theoretical and
conceptual dimensions of
bargaining
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [ 1999] 4 5 –5 6
© MCB Unive rsity Pre ss
[ ISSN 0951-354X]
Th eor ies of “ba r ga in in g” h ave ten ded to con cen tr a te on or ga n isa tion s wh er e exch a n ges
h ave been for m a lised by explicit pr ocedu r es
(Hoyle, 1986, p. 131). As su ch , sch ools h ave
r eceived little a tten tion beca u se th ey h ave n ot
tr a dition a lly pr ovided a con text wh er e th is
a ctivity occu r s so open ly. N ever th eless, th e
liter a tu r e on la bou r -m a n a gem en t collective
ba r ga in in g h a s gen er a ted th eor etica l in sigh ts
wh ich cou ld be u sefu l in edu ca tion a l r esea r ch
(McKer sie a n d Hu n ter, 1973; Wa lton a n d McKer sie, 1965). In pa r ticu la r, Wa lton a n d McKer sie (1965) m a k e th e distin ction between “distr ibu tive” ba r ga in in g a n d “in te gr a tive” ba r ga in in g. As th ey see it, com petitive beh aviou r
wh ich is in ten ded to in flu en ce th e division of
lim ited r esou r ces lea ds to pu r e con fl ict a n d
ch a r a cter ises distr ibu tive ba r ga in in g. In
oth er wor ds, on e per son ’s ga in is a loss to
a n oth er. In con tr a st, a ctivities su ch a s pr oblem solvin g, th a t in cr ea se th e join t ga in ava ila ble to th e n e gotia tin g pa r ties, is ter m ed
in te gr a tive ba r ga in in g.
Wa lton a n d McKer sie (1965) con cede th a t
th e distin ction between distr ibu tive a n d
in te gr a tive ba r ga in in g is, in pr a ctice, a loose
on e. With in m ost ba r ga in in g situ a tion s th er e
w ill be a spects of both distr ibu tive a n d in tegr a tive a ppr oa ch es, a n d a ttem pts to cla ssify
ba r ga in in g situ a tion s ca n on ly be m a de
a ccor din g to de gr ee. Wa lton a n d McKer sie
(1965) a lso r efer to “in tr a -or ga n isa tion a l ba r ga in in g”. Accor din g to th is n otion , differ en t
pa r ties w ith in a ba r ga in in g or ga n isa tion m ay
disa gr ee on pr ior ities a ssign ed to va r iou s
objectives, ta ctics a n d str a te gies a dopted a n d
th e r ela tion sh ip wh ich sh ou ld be esta blish ed
w ith th e oth er pa r ty. Th er efor e, ch ief n e gotia tor s n ot on ly en cou n ter pr essu r e fr om th eir
“oppon en ts” bu t a lso fr om sou r ces w ith in
th eir ow n or ga n isa tion or con stitu en cy. Th e
n ecessity for ch ief n e gotia tor s to r econ cile
in ter ests w ith in th e gr ou p in or der to a ch ieve
con sen su s often cr ea tes a n oth er dim en sion to
th e dyn a m ics of in ter a ction .
In a ddition to Wa lton a n d McKer sie’s sem in a l th eor y of la bou r n egotia tion s, F ish er a n d
Ur y (1981a ) h ave offer ed a pr escr iptive fr a m ewor k for th e con sider a tion of ba r ga in in g
con cepts or igin a lly developed by th e “Ha r va r d Negotia tion P r oject” in 1981. Ba r ga in in g
over position s, th ey con ten d, ten ds to lock
n egotia tor s in to th ose position s a n d th e exer cise deter ior a tes in to a con test of w ills.
In stea d, th ey a dvoca te a n a ppr oa ch r efer r ed to
a s “pr in cipled n egotia tion ” wh ich is ba sed on
fou r poin ts: “people”, or sepa r a tin g th e people
fr om th e pr oblem ; “in ter ests”, m ea n in g th at
th e focu s sh ou ld be pla ced on in ter ests a n d
[ 45 ]
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
[ 46 ]
n ot position s; “option s”, r ela tin g to th e va r iety of possibilities th at a r e r equ ir ed befor e
m a k in g decision s; a n d fin a lly, “cr iter ia ”, or
th e in sisten ce th at th e r esu lt be pr edica ted on
som e objective sta n da r d (F ish er et a l., 1991,
p. 11). Th e a doption of th ese poin ts, it is con ten ded, pr esen ts n egotia tor s w ith th e m a in
m ech a n ism for pu r su in g colla bor a tive ba r ga in in g, a gen er ic ter m for th e “w in -w in ”
a ppr oa ch wh ich h a s been em ployed by a n
expa n din g n u m ber of edu cation a l distr icts
a n d u n ion s in th e USA (Ker ch n er a n d Koppich , 1993, p. 19).
Th e typology of ba r ga in in g defin ed by th e
r esea r ch u n der ta k en in th e fi eld of la bou r
m a n a gem en t collective ba r ga in in g, a s well a s
th e m odel for n e gotia tion developed by F ish er
a n d Ur y (1981a ), ca n h elp to illu m in a te a n d
cla r ify pr a ctice. However, th ey a r e lim ited a s
a th eor etica l ba sis for r esea r ch on th e pr ocess
of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g a t th e sch ool level
for th r ee pr in cipa l r ea son s. F ir st, th ey a r e
deficien t beca u se of th eir exclu sive focu s on
th e for m a l, explicit m a n ifesta tion of ba r ga in in g a n d th eir fa ilu r e to r ecogn ise th e m or e
ta cit dim en sion s of th e in ter a ction . Secon dly,
a s a cor olla r y of th e em ph a sis pu t on explicit
ba r ga in in g, th er e h a s been a n e glect of th e
sch ool con text beca u se it h a s n ot tr a dition a lly been th e loca tion of su ch a ctivity (Hoyle,
1986). F in a lly, th er e is n o con sider a tion of th e
politica l in ter a ction a ssocia ted w ith th e ba r ga in in g pr ocess.
In a n effor t to fill th e void in th e con ven tion a l liter a tu r e, th e th eor etica l wor k of
Ba ch a r a ch a n d Law ler (1980) a ttem pted to
develop a closer con n ection between th e fields
of collective ba r ga in in g a n d or ga n isa tion s.
Accor din g to Ba ch a r a ch a n d Law ler (1980),
th e m a jor defi cien cy of per spectives wh ich
h ave em er ged fr om th e str u ctu r a l a n a lysis of
or ga n isa tion s is th eir fa ilu r e to a ck n ow ledge
th e power politics in volved in coa lition a l
ba r ga in in g. In pa r ticu la r, th ey r e ga r d Wa lton
a n d McKer sie’s (1965) a ppr oa ch a s in a dequ a te
on th e gr ou n ds th a t th er e is ver y little m en tion of power. F u r th er m or e, th e a ppr oa ch
focu ses exclu sively on la bou r m a n a gem en t
ba r ga in in g a n d is, th u s, too specific in its
a n a lysis. Con sequ en tly, Ba ch a r a ch a n d
Law ler (1980) for m u la ted a th eor y of ba r ga in in g r ela tion sh ips a n d ba r ga in in g ta ctics
wh ich is r eleva n t to th e power str u ggle a n d
con flict wh ich , th ey a r gu e, for m th e ba sis of
r ela tion s w ith in a n y or ga n isa tion . Mor e
specifica lly, “power, coa lition s, a n d ba r ga in in g con stitu te th e th r ee ba sic th em es of th eir
th eor etica l tr ea tise on or ga n isa tion a l politics” (Ba ch a r a ch a n d Law ler, 1980, p. xi). Th ey
defin e ba r ga in in g a s “th e give a n d ta k e th a t
occu r s wh en two or m or e in depen den t pa r ties
exper ien ce a con fl ict of in ter est” (p. 108). It is
th er eby con sider ed to r epr esen t th e a ction
com pon en t of con flict.
Ba ch a r a ch a n d Law ler ’s (1980) iden tifi ca tion of wh a t th ey descr ibe a s th e m ode of
ba r ga in in g, or th e ta cit-explicit dim en sion of
th e ba r ga in in g r ela tion sh ip is a lso in str u ctive. E xplicit ba r ga in in g is specified a s “th e
con sciou s m a n ifesta tion of ba r ga in in g”
(p.112) a n d is con ceptu a lised by th e exch a n ge
of offer s a n d cou n ter -offer s wh ich is design ed
to fin d a m u tu a lly a ccepta ble solu tion to th e
con flict. An explicit ba r ga in in g con text is
ch a r a cter ised by r ela tively open lin es of com m u n ica tion , a r ecogn ition th a t th e r ela tion sh ip is a ba r ga in in g on e, a n d con sen t to con sider com pr om ise. In con tr a st, ta cit ba r ga in in g occu r s wh en com m u n ica tion lin es h ave
been obstr u cted by th e pa r ties a n d th e ba r ga in in g r ela tion sh ip m ay n ot even be r ecogn ised for wh a t it is. Un der th ese cir cu m sta n ces th er e a r e few explicit offer s a n d
cou n ter -offer s, bu t r a th er a m or e su btle
em ploym en t of ta ctics a im ed to ou tm a n oeu vr e a n d m a n ipu la te. Ta cit ba r ga in in g, a ccor din g to Ba ch a r a ch a n d Law ler (1980), often
pr ecedes, a n d is tr a n sfor m ed in to, explicit
ba r ga in in g. F u r th er m or e, th e essen ce of
ba r ga in in g is r e ga r ded a s ta ctica l a ction a n d
is depicted a s a n in for m a tion m a n ipu la tion
ga m e in wh ich deception a n d blu ff a r e cr itica l in gr edien ts.
So fa r, con sider a tion s h ave cen tr ed on th e
th eor etica l a n d con ceptu a l liter a tu r e on ba r ga in in g. However, th er e is a lso a n em er gin g
em pir ica l r esea r ch ba se on th e va lu e of a doptin g a ba r ga in in g a ppr oa ch in in du str ia l r ela tion s. Befor e con sider in g th is r esea r ch ba se,
h owever, a br ief ou tlin e of th e policy con text
is a pposite. Th e con cen tr a tion is on th e Au str a lia n policy con text sin ce th is is th e on ly
cou n tr y in wh ich a n en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g
a ppr oa ch h a s been a dopted for deter m in in g
tea ch er s’ ter m s a n d con dition s a n d wor k .
However, som e com pa r a tive poin ts of r efer en ce a r e m a de th r ou gh ou t.
The policy context
Th e n a tu r e of tea ch er s’ wor k is ch a n gin g
th r ou gh ou t m u ch of th e wor ld. Con cu r r en tly,
th e n a tu r e of th e con tr a ctu a l a gr eem en ts
between tea ch er s a n d th eir em ployer s a r e
a lso ch a n gin g. Mu ch of th e im petu s for
ch a n ges in th ese con tr a ctu a l a gr eem en ts is
r ela ted to a desir e to en su r e gr ea ter a ccou n ta bility, gr ea ter efficien cy a n d effectiven ess on
th e pa r t of tea ch er s, a n d a m or e pr odu ctive
system of sch oolin g over a ll. In th e UK, va r iou s developm en ts, in clu din g th e in tr odu ction
of loca lly m a n a ged sch ools, h ave h a d a bea r in g on tea ch er s’ wor k a n d con dition s. In th e
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
USA, a s th e n ext section of th is pa per dem on str a tes, cer ta in edu ca tion a l distr icts, m ost
n ota bly in Ca lifor n ia , h ave in tr odu ced “edu ca tion a l tr u st a gr eem en ts” wh ich a llow for
a n expa n ded a n d m or e com plex view of tea ch er s’ wor k in g con dition s. Au str a lia r efl ects
th ese gen er a l tr en ds bu t in a u n iqu e m a n n er
th r ou gh th e in tr odu ction of wh a t is k n ow n a s
“en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g”. Th is is ba sed on a
decen tr a lised system of in du str ia l r ela tion s
wh ich pr esen ts oppor tu n ities for em ployer s
a n d em ployees to n e gotia te ter m s a n d con dition s of wor k a ccor din g to per ceived con textu a l n eeds
On e w ay of m a k in g sen se of th e m ove
tow a r ds en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g in th e edu ca tion a l dom a in in Au str a lia is to see it a s pa r t
of th e gr ea ter m ovem en t tow a r ds th e r estr u ctu r in g of edu ca tion in ter n a tion a lly. On th is,
Ha r m a n (1991) cla im s th a t, a t lea st in OE CD
cou n tr ies, it is possible to iden tify br oa d
dir ection s in wh ich th e r estr u ctu r in g effor ts
a r e h ea din g:
Restr u ctu r in g effor ts a ppea r to be pa r t of a n
a ttem pt to m a k e th e m a n a gem en t of edu ca tion m or e efficien t, m or e a ccou n ta ble, a n d
m or e r espon sive to gover n m en t policies, to
in tr odu ce cor por a te m a n a gem en t
a ppr oa ch es fr om th e bu sin ess sector, to
devolve r espon sibility to r e gion s a n d
sch ools, a n d to pla ce m u ch gr ea ter em ph a sis
on edu ca tion a l ou tpu ts (p. 3).
He con clu des by sayin g th a t th e m a r k et
m eta ph or h a s been in cr ea sin gly a dopted.
Th is m eta ph or em br a ces th e n otion of edu ca tion a s a ser vice to be deliver ed or a s a com m odity to be pu r ch a sed, a s opposed to edu ca tion bein g viewed a s a “pu blic good”.
At th e sa m e tim e, it wou ld be m islea din g to
a r gu e th a t econ om ic for ces, n o m a tter h ow
gr ea t, a r e th e on ly on es u n der pin n in g cu r r en t r estr u ctu r in g in Au str a lia . For exa m ple,
th e focu s on im pr ovin g th e qu a lity of tea ch er s a n d tea ch in g (Daw k in s, 1988) is a lso sign ifica n t. Feder a l r epor ts su ch a s T ea ch er
Qu a lity: A n Issu es Pa per (Sch ools Cou n cil,
1989), a n d A u stra lia ’s T ea ch ers – a n A gen d a
for th e N ex t Deca d e (Sch ools Cou n cil, 1990),
a r ticu la ted th e con cer n s wh ich h a d su r fa ced
du r in g th e 1980s a bou t tea ch in g a s a n occu pa tion a n d com m en ted on th e w idespr ea d view
th a t th e m or a le a n d sta n din g of th e tea ch in g
pr ofession wer e declin in g. Th is developm en t
w a s a ttr ibu ted to th e qu a lity of en tr a n ts, th e
u n a ttr a ctiven ess of tea ch in g a s a ca r eer, th e
wor k life a n d pr a ctice of tea ch er s, a n d th e
in a dequ a cy of existin g m ech a n ism s for r ecogn isin g a n d r ew a r din g th e qu a lity of tea ch in g
in ter m s of ca r eer pa th s a n d sta tu s (In gva r son , 1994, p. 161). Th ese, of cou r se, a r e con cer n s n ot u n iqu e to Au str a lia ; r a th er th ey
h ave been r a ised th r ou gh ou t a gr ea t n u m ber
of OE CD cou n tr ies over th e la st deca de.
Tr a dition a lly, in Au str a lia , tea ch er s’ ter m s
a n d con dition s of wor k wer e set ou t a ccor din g
to a n in du str ia l aw a r d issu ed by a n in du str ia l
tr ibu n a l a n d a pplyin g to a ll em ployees w ith in
a pa r ticu la r sector of th e edu ca tion system .
Aw a r ds wer e a lso bin din g on a ll em ployer s
a n d wer e le ga lly en for cea ble. N e gotia tion s
dea lin g w ith aw a r d cla im s wer e con du cted
between th e r eleva n t u n ion a n d th e em ployer.
Wh er e n o a gr eem en t w a s r ea ch ed between
th e pa r ties th e ca se w a s pu t befor e th e in du str ia l tr ibu n a l for con cilia tion a n d a r bitr a tion .
As An gu s (1991, p. 78) h a s obser ved, a ccor din g
to th is a r r a n gem en t tea ch er s expected th a t
sa la r y in cr ea ses wou ld be lin k ed to r ises in
th e cost of livin g a n d th a t r ela tivities w ith
oth er occu pa tion s wou ld be obser ved.
Th e m ove aw ay fr om th is pr ocedu r e h a s to
be seen in th e ligh t of th e Feder a l La bor Gover n m en t’s com m itm en t to m icr o-econ om ic
ch a n ge a n d th e in itia tion of aw a r d r estr u ctu r in g a s a m ea n s of im pr ovin g pr odu ctivity
by u pgr a din g th e sk ills of th e Au str a lia n
wor k for ce a s a wh ole. Aga in st th is ba ck gr ou n d, edu ca tion beca m e a ssocia ted m or e
a n d m or e w ith th e n eed to develop a society
w ith a h igh ly com peten t wor k for ce r espon sive to th e dem a n ds m a de by ch a n gin g pa tter n s of wor k a n d to th e n eed for Au str a lia to
be econ om ica lly com petitive in th e in ter n a tion a l m a r k et. In th e ca se of sch ools, th is
involves im pr ovin g th e sk ills of th eir m a jor
r esou r ce, tea ch er s, a n d pr ovidin g th em w ith
a better wor k en vir on m en t. Th is r eflects th e
in ter n a tion a l tr en d em ph a sisin g th e im por ta n ce of tea ch er pr ofession a lism a n d em pow er m en t. Ca ldwell a n d Spin k s (1988), for exa m ple, n oted th a t in th e USA, r epor ts by th e
Ca r n e gie For u m on E du ca tion a n d th e E con om y (1986) a n d th e Holm es Gr ou p (1986) a dvoca ted th e goa l of m a k in g sch ools better pla ces
for tea ch er s in wh ich to wor k a n d to lea r n .
Wh en aw a r d r estr u ctu r in g w a s con sider ed
in itia lly in Au str a lia , it w a s viewed a s h avin g
th e poten tia l to h ave a power fu l im pa ct on th e
w ay in wh ich sch ool system s wou ld im plem en t edu ca tion a l r efor m (An gu s, 1991, p. 81).
In J a n u a r y 1989, a n a tion a l ben ch m a r k r a te
w a s esta blish ed wh ich a sser ted th a t tea ch er s’
wor k a n d qu a lifica tion s wer e su bsta n tia lly
th e sa m e th r ou gh ou t Au str a lia a n d so, th er efor e, sh ou ld be sa la r ies (Du r br idge, 1991). Th e
follow in g yea r th e Feder a l In du str ia l Rela tion s Com m ission , th e n a tion ’s in du str ia l
r ela tion s cou r t, r a tified th e in tr odu ction of
th e Adva n ced Sk ills Tea ch er cla ssifi ca tion
(AST) to r ecogn ise exem pla r y tea ch in g a n d
pr ovide a n ew cla ssr oom -ba sed ca r eer str u ctu r e wh ich wou ld pr ogr ess fr om level on e to
level th r ee (Ch a dbou r n e a n d In gva r son , 1991).
[ 47 ]
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
Th is n ew cla ssifica tion bea r s str on g r esem bla n ce to th e n otion of “Su per Tea ch er ” cu r r en tly bein g m ooted in th e UK.
E a r ly in 1991, th e Feder a l Gover n m en t a lso
in itia ted a N a tion a l P r oject on th e Qu a lity of
Tea ch in g a n d Lea r n in g. Its m a in pu r pose w a s
to pr ovide a for u m for co-oper a tive wor k
involvin g gover n m en t a n d pr iva te em ployer s,
edu ca tion u n ion s, th e Au str a lia n Cou n cil of
Tr a de Un ion s (ACTU), a n d th e Feder a l Gover n m en t (Du r br idge, 1991, p. 89). In fu r th er
pu r su it of oppor tu n ities for flexibility,
in cr ea sed pr odu ctivity, a n d wor k qu a lity
en h a n cem en t, th e ACTU a n d th e Feder a l
Gover n m en t a gr eed th a t th e n ext logica l step
w a s tow a r ds en ter pr ise-ba sed ba r ga in in g.
Alth ou gh th e In du str ia l Rela tion s Com m ission w a s in itia lly con cer n ed th a t th e pa r ties
wer e n ot su fficien tly m a tu r e to h a n dle gen u in e en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g (N ila n d, 1994,
p. 14), it en dor sed th e con cept in th e October
1991 Wa ge Ca se decision . As a r esu lt, a cen tr a l a gr eem en t en titled Th e Accor d Ma r k V1,
n e gotia ted pr ior to th e Ma r ch 1993 feder a l
election , con tin u ed th e decen tr a lisa tion of
w a ges a n d wor k con dition s. Sh aw (1995, p.3)
h a s poin ted ou t th a t th is per iod w itn essed a
dr a m a tic ch a n ge in th e focu s of in du str ia l
r ela tion s le gisla tion wh ich cu lm in a ted in th e
In du str ia l Rela tion s Refor m Act of 1993. P r eviou sly, th e focu s of in du str ia l r ela tion s w a s
exclu sively on aw a r ds, bu t n ow th e le gisla tion em ph a sised a gr eem en ts. Th e r a tion a le
beh in d th e n ew Act w a s expr essed clea r ly by
th e th en Feder a l Min ister of In du str ia l Rela tion s, La u r ie Br er eton :
Un der th is system of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g,
th e pa r ties in volved w ill h ave a gr ea ter
r espon sibility for deter m in in g th e ou tcom e
of th eir a gr eem en ts. Th e ch a n ges in in du str ia l r ela tion s w ill open th e w ay for Au str a lia n wor k pla ces to m eet th e ch a llen ge of
bein g m or e pr odu ctive a n d in ter n a tion a lly
com petitive (N ila n d, 1994, p. 17).
Th is developm en t, th e Min ister cla im ed,
r epr esen ted a fu r th er step in th e con tin u in g
r efor m s th a t th e Feder a l La bor Gover n m en t
h a d in tr odu ced over th e pa st deca de.
With th e en cou r a gem en t of th e Feder a l
In du str ia l Rela tion s Com m ission , th e pr in ciples of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g a n d en ter pr ise
a gr eem en ts h ave a lso been en dor sed by sta te
ju r isdiction s wh er e pr ovision s h ave been
m a de to pr ovide for m a l fr a m ewor k s deta ilin g
th e pr oper pr ocesses a n d str u ctu r es r equ ir ed.
For exa m ple, in Wester n Au str a lia , th is developm en t m a n ifested itself in th e Wor k pla ce
Agr eem en ts Bill, 1993. P u t sim ply, th e le gisla tion pr ovided for th e cr ea tion of com pr eh en sive wor k pla ce a gr eem en ts en com pa ssin g a ll
a spects of th e em ploym en t r ela tion sh ip n e gotia ted between in dividu a l em ployees a n d th e
[ 48 ]
em ployer. Its over r idin g im por ta n ce h a s been
th e in jection of “pr odu ctivity th in k in g” in to
th e “edu ca tion in du str y” a n d th e en dor sem en t of th e n otion of a n a ssocia tion between
r efor m , pr odu ctivity, a n d pay (An gu s, 1991,
p. 84). Th is per spective h a s been fu r th er r ein for ced by m ea n s of le gisla tion su ppor tin g th e
pr in ciple of a gr eem en ts n e gotia ted a t th e
wor k pla ce eith er in con ju n ction w ith or com pletely r epla cin g th e r eleva n t aw a r d.
Th e existen ce of legisla tion , h owever, is n ot
su fficien t to over com e th e fea r of th e
u n k n ow n th a t m ay be felt by sch ools em ba r k in g on th e pr ocess of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g.
F u r th er m or e, th is fea r is likely to be a ccen tu a ted by th e a bsen ce of a k n ow ledge ba se to
pr ovide pr a ctition er s w ith th eor etica l
in sigh ts. Un for tu n a tely, in th is r ega r d, th e
en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g liter a tu r e per ta in in g
specifica lly to th e edu cation sector is a t a
for m a tive sta ge a n d, a s yet, n o th eor etica l or
a n a lytica l fr a m ewor k h a s em er ged. Th er e is,
h owever, va lu e in con sider in g th e types of
a ppr oa ch es wh ich h ave been a dopted tow a r ds
ba r ga in in g in oth er con texts. Th e n ext section
of th is pa per a ddr esses th is by ou tlin in g som e
of th e th eor etica l a n d con ceptu a l dim en sion s
of ba r ga in in g. It is th en followed by a section
wh ich con sider s th e sm a ll bu t em er gin g
em pir ica l r esea r ch ba se on aw a r d r estr u ctu r in g a n d en ter pr ise-ba sed ba r ga in in g.
So fa r, con sider a tion s h ave cen tr ed on th e
th eor etica l a n d con ceptu a l liter a tu r e on ba r ga in in g, a n d on th e policy con text. However,
th er e is a lso a n em er gin g em pir ica l r esea r ch
ba se on th e va lu e of a doptin g a ba r ga in in g
a ppr oa ch in in du str ia l r ela tion s. Wh ile, a s
th e n ext section dem on str a tes, ver y little of
th e r esea r ch wh ich h a s been u n der ta k en h a s
been w ith in th e edu ca tion sector, th er e is
gr ea t scope for a ddr essin g th is deficit.
The emerging literature on award
restructuring and enterprise-based
bargaining
Sh aw (1995, p. 11) h a s con clu ded th a t th er e is
w idespr ea d su ppor t for th e view th a t en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g offer s oppor tu n ities for
“fl exibility, in cr ea sed pr odu ctivity a n d wor k
qu a lity en h a n cem en t”. He a lso a sser ts th a t
th er e m ay be fu r th er ben efits su ch a s
“gr ea ter con su lta tion between m a n a gem en t
a n d em ployees, a n d a cooper a tive cu ltu r e a t
th e wor k pla ce, in volvin g w ider scope for
em ployee pa r ticipa tion in decision -m a k in g
pr ocesses”. Sim ila r ly, N ila n d (1994, p. 17)
a r gu es th a t wh ile en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g is
n ot yet th e n or m , th ose wh o a r e seek in g to
esta blish gen u in e en ter pr ise a gr eem en ts a r e
br ea k in g “n ew gr ou n d” a n d w ill en joy th e
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
An e duc atio nal trust
agre e me nt re pre se nts a
le gally binding bilate ral
ac c o rd e xisting o utside the
c o lle c tive ly bargaine d
c o ntrac t and is ne go tiate d
be twe e n the unio n and
manage me nt.
ben efits soon er th a n th ose wh o delay. He
con sider s th a t th e u n der ta k in g to im plem en t
m or e efficien t a n d fl exible a r r a n gem en ts a t
th e wor k pla ce is ir r ever sible beca u se of econ om ic pr essu r es, bu t it is a lso in th e in ter ests
of m a n a gem en t a n d sta ff w ith in a pa r ticu la r
en ter pr ise.
At th e sa m e tim e, ser iou s dou bts h ave been
expr essed a bou t cer ta in elem en ts of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g. On th is, Sh aw (1995, p. 11)
h igh ligh ts th e vu ln er a bility of cer ta in section s of th e wor k for ce, especia lly a t tim es of
h igh u n em ploym en t, to r edu ced ea r n in gs a n d
r edu ced con dition s of em ploym en t. Th e da n ger of th is occu r r in g, it is a lle ged, is h eigh ten ed by th e su per ior ba r ga in in g power of
em ployer s. Focu sin g on th e h ea lth in du str y,
Ga r dn er (1994) h a s pr esen ted a sa lu ta r y
w a r n in g to n u r ses a bou t th e r elu cta n ce of
h ea lth m a n a ger s to su r r en der th eir “m a n a gem en t pr er oga tive” in th e pu r su it of a n en ter pr ise a gr eem en t. In oth er wor ds, m a n a ger s
h ave been slow to a ccept th a t gen u in e ba r ga in in g depen ds on a n open a n d colla bor a tive
r ela tion sh ip w ith em ployees a n d en ta ils a
w illin gn ess to sh a r e in for m a tion r eleva n t to
m a tter s of n e gotia tion wh ich m ay tr a dition a lly h ave been th e exclu sive pr oper ty of m a n a gem en t. Br a m ble (1993, p. 3) ta k es a m or e
extr em e position , sta tin g th a t en ter pr ise
ba r ga in in g “is a m a ssive fr a u d, per petr a ted
a ga in st Au str a lia n wor k er s. It m ea n s sa cr ifice, lower w a ges, fewer jobs a n d wor se wor k in g con dition s”.
It wou ld seem , th er efor e, th a t pr eva ilin g
a ttitu des tow a r ds en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g a s a
wh ole a r e som ewh a t equ ivoca l. Alth ou gh it is
a ck n ow ledged th a t ben efits m ay be der ived
fr om a m or e co-oper a tive wor k pla ce cu ltu r e,
ser iou s dou bts exist a s to wh eth er ba r ga in in g
ca n ever ta k e pla ce fr om equ a l position s of
power. Th er e is a lso con sider a ble u n cer ta in ty
a bou t th e fin a l ou tcom e of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g in th e edu ca tion sector. On th is, it is
in str u ctive to dr aw a tten tion to th e n otion of
th e “edu ca tion a l tr u st a gr eem en t” (Ker ch n er
a n d Koppich , 1993, 1996; Str esh ly a n d
DeMitch ell, 1994). Su ch a gr eem en ts h ave
been evolvin g in a n u m ber of sch ool distr icts
th r ou gh ou t Ca lifor n ia a n d a llow for a n
expa n ded a n d m or e com plex view of wor k in g
con dition s in edu ca tion (Str esh ly a n d
DeMitch ell, 1994, p. 96). P u t sim ply, a n edu ca tion a l tr u st a gr eem en t r epr esen ts a le ga lly
bin din g bila ter a l a ccor d existin g ou tside th e
collectively ba r ga in ed con tr a ct a n d is n e gotia ted between th e u n ion a n d m a n a gem en t.
Wh er ea s collective ba r ga in in g con tin u es to
dea l w ith th e su bsta n tive issu es of con dition s
of em ploym en t, th e tr u st a gr eem en t r evolves
to a gr ea ter exten t a r ou n d su ch pr ofession a l
a r ea s of con cer n a s peer r eview, pr ofession a l
developm en t, a n d sch ool site colla bor a tive
m a n a gem en t a n d decision m a k in g (Ker ch n er
a n d Koppich , 1993, p. 20).
Ker ch n er a n d Ca u fm a n (1993, p. 18) h ave
iden tifi ed th r ee m a in effects of tr u st a gr eem en ts in Ca lifor n ia . F ir st, tr u st a gr eem en ts
involve n ew a ssu m ption s a bou t wh o ben efits
fr om la bou r m a n a gem en t in ter a ction s; th e
for m u la tion of tr u st a gr eem en ts is con sequ en tly ch a r a cter ised by a n a bsen ce of selfin ter est on th e pa r t of tea ch er s. Secon dly,
tr u st a gr eem en ts in volve differ en t n otion s of
ba r ga in in g fr om th ose tr a dition a lly pr eva ilin g; r a th er th a n ba r ga in in g fr om position s,
pa r ticipa n ts in n e gotia tion s for a tr u st a gr eem en t r epr esen t a pr in ciple or a pr oblem a n d
a dopt a m or e open a ppr oa ch . Th is m odel w a s
or igin a lly developed by th e Ha r va r d N e gotia tion P r oject (F ish er a n d Ur y, 1981b), th e pu r pose bein g to r esh a pe ba r ga in in g fr om a
“w in -lose” pr oposition to a pr ocess of m u tu a l
a dva n ta ge in wh ich ea ch side “w in s” by
m ea n s of pr in cipled com pr om ise (Ker ch n er
a n d Koppich , 1993). Th ir d, n e gotia tion s in
pu r su it of tr u st a gr eem en ts a r e n ot
con cer n ed a bou t a “w in -lose” distr ibu tion of
fixed r esou r ces, bu t a ttem pt to u se ba r ga in in g
for m u tu a l ga in .
Th e effica cy of tr u st a gr eem en ts, h owever,
depen ds h eavily u pon th e em er gen ce of “pr ofession a l u n ion ism ” wh ich is r equ ir ed “to
ba la n ce tea ch er s’ le gitim a te self-in ter ests
w ith th e la r ger in ter ests of tea ch in g a s a n
occu pa tion a n d edu ca tion a s a n in stitu tion ”
(Ker ch n er a n d Ca u fm a n , 1993, p. 19). Th e
ba sic ten ets of em er gin g pr ofession a l u n ion ism h ave been stipu la ted by Koppich (1993,
p. 194) a s bein g com posed of join t cu stody of
r efor m , u n ion m a n a gem en t colla bor a tion ,
a n d con cer n for th e pu blic in ter est. J oin t
cu stody of r efor m en ta ils a n a ccepta n ce on
th e pa r t of both m a n a gem en t a n d u n ion of
sh a r ed r espon sibility for th e ch a n ge pr ocess;
u n ion m a n a gem en t colla bor a tion r efer s to
th e m a in im petu s pr opellin g n e gotia tion s
fr om th e a dver sa r ia l to th e co-oper a tive
a ttem pt to r esolve m u tu a lly iden tifi ed edu ca tion a l issu es; a n d con cer n for th e pu blic
in ter est in volves a r ecogn ition by th e u n ion
of th e im por ta n ce of ba la n cin g pu blic good
w ith tea ch er self-in ter est.
Th e n otion of pr ofession a l u n ion ism is
con tr a sted w ith th e m or e tr a dition a l ver sion
of “in du str ia l u n ion ism ” wh ich a ssu m es th a t
a division exists between la bou r a n d m a n a gem en t. Accor din g to th is m odel, th e u n ion
pu r su es “th e econ om ic a n d day-to-day wor k
con cer n s of th e em ployees”, wh ile “m a n a gem en t esta blish es policy a n d m a k es oper a tion a l decision s” (Ker ch n er a n d Koppich ,
1993, p. 17). It is th is im plicit sepa r a tion of
in ter ests, so it is cla im ed, th a t pr ovides th e
[ 49 ]
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
[ 50 ]
fou n da tion of a dver sa r ia l la bou r m a n a gem en t r ela tion s a n d lim its th e scope of n e gotia ted a gr eem en ts. In deed, Ayer s (1992, p. 18)
con ten ds th a t th e in du str ia l style of u n ion ism
h a s “con str a in ed tea ch er s w ith in a blu e colla r fr a m ewor k w ith its exclu sive focu s on
w a ges a n d ben efits r a th er th a n issu es of cu r r icu lu m , in str u ction a n d eva lu a tion ”. Con sequ en tly, it is deem ed a xiom a tic th a t th is
m odel ca n n ot su ppor t th e expa n sion of tea ch er s’ pr ofession a l r oles.
It w ill be som e tim e yet befor e we get a clea r
pictu r e a s to wh eth er or n ot en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g in Au str a lia w ill even tu a te in a n
expa n sion of tea ch er s’ pr ofession a l r oles.
Wh a t does seem clea r, h owever, is th a t th e
tr en d tow a r ds th is m ode of in du str ia l r ela tion s w ith in edu ca tion w ill con tin u e th r ou gh ou t th e cou n tr y. Wh ile a ck n ow ledgin g th e fa ct
th a t developm en ts in edu ca tion in Au str a lia
va r y fr om sta te to sta te, th e situ a tion in Wester n Au str a lia goes som e w ay tow a r ds illu str a tin g th e exper ien ce of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g th r ou gh ou t th e cou n tr y. In 1997, sever a l
n on -gover n m en t sch ools in Wester n Au str a lia h a d en ter pr ise a gr eem en ts r e gister ed
by th e Wester n Au str a lia n In du str ia l Com m ission . Th e a gr eem en ts wer e of two types.
Th e fir st type r efer s to th e collective en ter pr ise a gr eem en t con clu ded by th e Wester n
Au str a lia n Ca th olic Sch ools’ sector. Th e secon d type r efer s to th e sin gle en ter pr ise a gr eem en t a dopted by a ll oth er in depen den t
sch ools in th e sta te.
Wester n Au str a lia n sch ools, h avin g m a de
th e decision to seek a sin gle en ter pr ise a gr eem en t, h a d a t th eir disposa l som e su ggestion s
r ela tin g to th e for m a l m ech a n ism s of th e
pr ocess of n e gotia tion . Th is in for m a tion w a s
pr ovided by th e Mem or a n du m of Agr eem en t
co-sign ed by th e em ployer s’ or ga n isa tion , th e
Associa tion of In depen den t Sch ools of Wester n Au str a lia (AISWA) a n d th e In depen den t
Sch ooltea ch er s’ Un ion , th e In depen den t
Sch ools Sa la r ied Officer s’ Associa tion
(ISSOA) in May 1994. Th e Mem or a n du m com m itted both or ga n isa tion s to th e pr ocess of
en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g a t th e in dividu a l
sch ool level w ith ou t obligin g eith er pa r ty to
for m a n en ter pr ise a gr eem en t. In or der to
a ch ieve desir ed ou tcom es th e Mem or a n du m
a dvoca ted th e esta blish m en t of a com m ittee
com pr isin g equ a l r epr esen ta tion of em ployer s a n d em ployees a s deter m in ed by a gr eem en t between th e sta ff a n d th e em ployer. It
w a s a dvised th a t th e em ployee r epr esen ta tion
sh ou ld in clu de a u n ion sch ool r epr esen ta tive
(wh er e on e exists) a n d th e oth er s sh ou ld be
elected by a ba llot of em ployees. Th e pr ocess
of n e gotia tion sh ou ld a llow in du str ia l r epr esen ta tion of both AISWA a n d th e ISSOA if
r equ ested by eith er pa r ty. Th er e wer e a lso
r ecom m en da tion s r ela tin g to pr elim in a r y
tr a in in g, tim e r elea se to en a ble th e h oldin g of
m eetin gs, a n d th e r epor tin g pr ocedu r e.
Alth ou gh th is fr a m ewor k esta blish ed a
pr a ctica l ba sis for u n der ta k in g en ter pr ise
ba r ga in in g, it did n ot, in itself, pr epa r e th e
sch ool for dea lin g w ith th e h igh ly com plex
pr ocesses of in ter a ction wh ich n ecessa r ily
con stitu te a n e gotia tin g situ a tion . In deed, it
m ay even be con ten ded th a t it is th e ver y
com plexity of th e ph en om en on , a s en cou n ter ed for th e fir st tim e, wh ich m a k es it im possible for a sch ool to k n ow in a dva n ce wh a t to
expect a n d h ow to dea l w ith it. Hen ce, a ccor din g to th is per spective, n o m odel of a pr escr iptive a n d n or m a tive n a tu r e ca n be a pplied to
th e situ a tion beca u se of th e con dition s of
dyn a m ic com plexity th a t ch a r a cter ise en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g. Th er e is, con sequ en tly, a
n eed for pa r ticipa n ts to r ecogn ise th a t u n pr edicta bility is a n in te gr a l pa r t of th e pr ocess
a n d w ill r equ ir e a con sta n t a dju stm en t a n d
r evision of pr a ctice. As Sta cey h a s pu t it
(1992, p. 1), “Rou te a n d destin a tion m u st be
discover ed th r ou gh th e jou r n ey itself in or der
to tr avel to n ew la n ds … th e k ey to su ccess
lies in th e cr ea tive a ctivity of m a k in g n ew
m a ps”. Th er efor e, if Wester n Au str a lia n
in depen den t sch ools, lik e sch ools elsewh er e,
a r e to r espon d to th e ch a llen ge of en ter pr ise
ba r ga in in g w ith con fiden ce a n d com peten ce,
th er e is a n ecessity for r esea r ch to illu m in a te
th e a ctu a l exper ien ces wh ich a r e occu r r in g a t
th e sch ool-site level to a ssist in th e ch a r tin g
of n ew ter r itor y. Th is poin t w ill n ow be ta k en
u p in th e n ext section in m or e deta il, w ith
pa r ticu la r r efer en ce to th e n eed to u n der sta n d pa r ticipa n ts’ per ception s of en ter pr ise
ba r ga in in g a n d of th eir exper ien ces of th e
ba r ga in in g pr ocess.
The need to understand
participants’ perceptions of
enterprise bargaining and of their
experiences of the bargaining
process
Th e em ph a sis th a t r esea r ch h a s pla ced on
explicit pr ocedu r es of ba r ga in in g a n d n e gotia tion h a s m ea n t th a t sch ools h ave r eceived
sca n t a tten tion beca u se th ey h ave n ot tr a dition a lly pr ovided a con text wh er e th is k in d of
a ctivity h a s occu r r ed open ly (Hoyle, 1986,
p. 131). Rela ted r esea r ch wh ich h a s been
a pplied to a r ea s oth er th a n th e edu ca tion
sector is a lso deficien t in pr ovidin g a n a dequ a te fou n da tion for u n der sta n din g th e ph en om en on . Th e r esea r ch u n der ta k en in to
n e gotia tion s, for exa m ple, h a s ten ded n ot to
r evea l wh a t Fells (1995a , p. 268) h a s descr ibed
a s “th e cu t a n d th r u st of th e ‘r ea l wor ld’ of
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
n e gotia tion s”; a cr itiqu e wh ich com plem en ts
Str a u ss’s r ecom m en da tion (1978, p. 11) th a t
th er e is a n eed for r esea r ch to con sider th e
view s of “a ctor s” a s th ey en ter a n d a ffect th e
n e gotia tion s.
T h e n eed for r esea r ch t o u n cover t h e
b eliefs, va lu es, p er sp ect ives a n d m ot iva t ion s
of t h e p a r t icip a n t s in t h e b a r ga in in g p r ocess
a t t h e sch ool level, is m a d e m or e a p p a r en t
w h en t h e p a r t icu la r cir cu m st a n ces w h ich
su r r ou n d en t er p r ise b a r ga in in g a r e con sid er ed . F ir st , t h e com p let e n ovelt y of t h e p h en om en on a s it a p p lies t o sch ools, p r om p t s a n
in vest iga t ion of p a r t icip a n t s’ p er sp ect ives
w it h in a con t ext of ch a n ge a n d u n cer t a in t y.
In d eed , a s F u lla n h a s p ost u la t ed (1993), n ew
w ay s of d oin g t h in gs in sch ools cr ea t e a n
in it ia l p er iod of a m b igu it y wh ich w ill
in ev it a b ly a ffect t h e in t er p r et a t ion s t h a t a r e
m a d e of t h e p h en om en on by t h e p a r t icip a n t s. A secon d cir cu m st a n ce is t h e n ot ion
of co-op er a t ion b et w een em p loyer a n d
em p loyee w h ich u n d er p in s t h e p r ocess of
en t er p r ise b a r ga in in g in or d er t o r ea ch
a gr eem en t . T h e d esir a b ilit y of t h is r ela t ion sh ip is oft en ev id en t in t h e r h et or ic of t h e
le gisla t ion w h ich em p h a sises t h e ca p a cit y of
n ew wor k p la ce con d it ion s “t o en a ble b et t er
coop er a t ion a n d com m u n ica t ion , b et w een
t h e t wo p a r t ies” (West er n Au st r a lia . P a r lia m en t , 1993). N ot w it h st a n d in g su ch r h et or ic,
h ow ever, t h e co-op er a t ive d im en sion of t h e
b a r ga in in g p r ocess w ill u lt im a t ely b e
d efin ed by t h e in t er p r et a t ion s of t h e in d iv id u a ls in volved . Cir cu m st a n ces a t t h e sch ool
level cou ld b e su ch t h a t a n im p ed im en t is
p la ced in t h e p a t h of a ch iev in g en h a n ced coop er a t ion .
T h e ed u ca t ion sect or h a s, in fa ct , b een
slow t o a cce p t t h e n ew cu lt u r e of in d u st r ia l
r ela t ion s. As An gu s h a s a r gu ed (1991, p p. 789), t ea ch er s in Au st r a lia h ave fou n d t h e
n ot ion of im p r ov in g p r od u ct iv it y w it h in a n
“in d u st r y ” d ifficu lt t o gr a sp a s it a p p lies t o
ed u ca t ion . In d eed , m a n y h ave r e ga r d ed t h e
econ om ic ob ject ives of wor k p la ce r efor m a s
a n a ffr on t t o t h eir p r ofession a lism (An gu s,
1991). In t h is r e ga r d , t ea ch er s a r e p a r t icu la r ly su sp iciou s of t h e in st r u m en t a l n ot ion s
of sch oolin g w h ich h ave b een em b r a ced by
t h e ch a n ges in t r od u ced in t o t h e in d u st r ia l
r ela t ion s for u m , a s w ell a s t h e r eq u ir em en t
t h a t ed u ca t ion sh ou ld b ecom e m or e p r od u ct ive (An gu s, 1991). Set a ga in st a b a ck gr ou n d
of sce p t icism , if n ot ou t r igh t h ost ilit y, it m ay
b e t h e ca se t h a t en t er p r ise-b a sed b a r ga in in g
is n ot r ea d ily cou n t en a n ced , wh ich m ea n s
t h a t a sch ool em b a r k in g on t h e p r ocess is
lik ely t o en cou n t er d ifficu lt ies fr om t h e
ou t set . T h is fa ct or in it self in v it es sp ecu la t ion a s t o h ow a gr eem en t ca n b e r ea ch ed
a ccor d in g t o a sy st em of en t er p r ise-b a s ed
b a r ga in in g.
An oth er fa ctor wh ich cou ld pr esen t a n
im pedim en t to th e co-oper a tive ba sis of a n
a gr eem en t is a r elu cta n ce on th e pa r t of
em ployer s to r ea ssess th eir position w ith in
a n in du str ia l r ela tion s en vir on m en t pr edica ted on a n eed for “good fa ith ” ba r ga in in g
w ith em ployees. It seem s lik ely th a t th e effica cy of th e ba r ga in in g pr ocess a t th e sch ool
w ill h in ge, to som e exten t, on th e w illin gn ess
of m a n a gem en t to a ccept m or e open a n d colla bor a tive r ela tion sh ips w ith tea ch er s th a n
m igh t h ave pr eviou sly existed. If, h owever, a n
em ployin g a u th or ity seek s to pr eser ve its
tr a dition a l “m a n a gem en t pr er oga tive” to
m a n a ge a sch ool’s a ffa ir s w ith ou t in ter fer en ce, th is a ttitu de is lik ely to cr ea te a ba r r ier
to th e k in d of co-oper a tion wh ich is en visa ged
in th e pr ocess of r ea ch in g a n a gr eem en t.
Sim ila r ly, a r efu sa l to disclose cr u cia l fin a n cia l or oth er in for m a tion m ay n ot fu r th er th e
ca u se of co-oper a tion a s espou sed by th e
r h etor ic (Ga r dn er, 1994).
A t h ir d d im en sion of en t er p r ise b a r ga in in g in sch ools w h ich m ay b e st r on gly in flu en ced by p a r t icip a n t s’ in t er p r et a t ion s is t h e
r a t ion a le t h a t is a d op t ed for seek in g a n
a gr eem en t . T h is ob ser va t ion r ela t es t o
w h et h er b a r ga in in g for a n en t er p r is e a gr eem en t w it h in a sch ool is m ot iva t ed by a gen u in e d esir e t o im p r ove t h e q u a lit y of wor k
life for t ea ch er s a s a m ea n s of in cr ea s in g t h e
p r od u ct iv it y of t ea ch in g a n d lea r n in g, or
w h et h er u t ilit a r ia n a n d econ om ic con s id er a t ion s t a k e p r eced en ce. In t h is r e ga r d , t h e
r ole of t h e u n ion a lso n eed s t o b e t a k en in t o
a ccou n t . Ker ch n er a n d Ca u fm a n (1993, p. 19)
u se t h e t er m “p r ofession a l u n ion ism ” t o
d escr ib e a t ea ch in g a ssocia t ion w h ich “b a la n ces t ea ch er s’ le git im a t e self-in t er es t s w it h
t h e la r ger in t er est s of t ea ch in g a s a n occu p a t ion a n d ed u ca t ion a s a n in st it u t ion ”. Th is
m od el con t r a st s w it h “in d u st r ia l u n ion is m ”
w h ich is d esign ed t o “p r ot ect t ea ch er s fr om
t h e w h im s of m a n a ger ia l a n d p olit ica l
b eh av iou r a n d t o a dva n ce t ea ch er s’ in t er est s”. P r ofession a l u n ion ism , Ker ch n er a n d
Ca u fm a n (1993, p. 19) cla im , p r ov id es a m or e
p r om isin g b a sis for colla b or a t ive sch ool
r efor m .
In essen ce, th ese con sider a tion s r ela te to
wh eth er per son n el in sch ools h ave th e
“in du str ia l m a tu r ity” (N ila n d, 1994, p. 23) to
n e gotia te a gr eem en ts a t th e wor k pla ce. In
con tr a st to th e tr a dition a l tr ibu n a l pr ocess in
wh ich r espon sibility for deter m in in g wor k
con dition s r ests w ith a th ir d pa r ty, en ter pr ise
ba r ga in in g oper a tes on th e pr em ise th a t both
th e em ployer a n d em ployee w a n t to n e gotia te
beca u se th er e is a per ception th a t th is is th e
best r ou te to follow. Both pa r ties, th er efor e,
[ 51 ]
Tho mas A. O’ Do no ghue and
Simo n Clarke
Sc ho o l e nte rprise bargaining
and the ne e d fo r qualitative
re se arc h: so me re fle c tio ns
fro m Australia
Inte rnatio nal Jo urnal o f
Educ atio nal Manage me nt
1 3 / 1 [1 9 9 9 ] 4 5 –5 6
[ 52 ]
h ave, a t lea st in th eor y, th e in du str ia l m a tu r ity to com m u n ica te on a volu n ta r y ba sis in
or der to n e gotia te th e best con dition s for ea ch
gr ou p so th a t a wor k a ble dea l ca n be secu r ed
th a t is r espected a n d a dh er ed to by em ployer
a n d em ployee.
N ila n d (1994) does n ot ela bor a te on th e
defin ition s of en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g h eld by
pa r ticipa n ts th a t a r e n ecessa r y in or der to
a ccom plish in du str ia l m a tu r ity. N ever th eless, it is eviden t th a t in dividu a ls w ill em ba r k
on ba r ga in in g for a n en ter pr ise a gr eem en t
w ith differ en t per spectives of th e situ a tion .
Th ese per spectives m ay h ave been in flu en ced
by su ch fa ctor s a s va lu es, ideologies, ch oices,
goa ls, in ter ests, exper tise, h istor y, m otiva tion , a n d in ter pr eta tion (Bla se, 1991, p. 3). Th e
a ffir m a tion of a n a gr eem en t w ill, th er efor e,
be depen den t on th e socia l pr ocess of in ter a ction by wh ich com petin g defin ition s of th e
situ a tion a r e con tin u ou sly bein g exch a n ged.
Con tigu ou s w ith th is view is th e belief th a t
en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g is too com plex a ph en om en on to be con sider ed a s con sistin g sim ply of a str u ctu r e of r u les, r e gu la tion s a n d
pr ocedu r es.
It is eviden t, th er efor e, th a t th e cir cu m sta n ces su r r ou n din g en ter pr ise-ba sed n e gotia tion s a r e lik ely to in flu en ce th e per ception s
th a t pa r ticipa n ts a dopt tow a r ds th e ph en om en on . If en ter pr ise ba r ga in in g is to be
r e ga r ded a s a pr a ctica ble m eth od of ch a n gin g
tea ch er s’ wor k for th e ben efi t o