The Boeing dispute at Williamtown: what right to bargain collectively?

The strike by Boeing maintenance workers at the Williamtown RAAF base during 2005-2006 was one of the longest in Australia’s recent industrial history. At the core of the strike was the desire by maintenance workers to reach a collective agreement with a company that would only bargain on an individual basis. The dispute demonstrates the absence under the 1996 Workplace Relations Act of a legal mechanism to resolve disputes over union recognition and, more broadly, the lack of genuine choice available to workers who seek to bargain collectively with an employer whose preference lies with other forms of labour regulation. After briefly defining the key concepts and identifying some of the legal mechanisms designed to protect a right to bargain, the paper describes the dispute at Williamtown, including the background and the sequence of events as well as a detailed analysis of management’s position in the dispute. The final section of the paper summarises the main points and explores their implications for the future of industrial relations in Australia.