Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Attorney-General George Brandis announce the findings of the trade union royal commission in December 2015.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Unions may well feel justifiably aggrieved by the findings – and impact – of the trade union royal commission, but there are nonetheless lessons to be learnt from them.
The Transport Workers’ Union is one of the three most influential unions within the ALP.
AAP/Josephine Lim
While trade unions still exert some influence on the ALP, it is nowhere near as much as it once was.
Just after the second world war, union membership was almost 65% of the workforce. Now it is just 15%.
Wikimedia Commons
A diminishing membership base, changes to labour and industry and heightened political attention has left the once-powerful trade union movement flailing.
Struggling to get new members, unions are looking at new recruitment methods and options to bolster their numbers.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
With union membership at just 15% of the workforce and declining, trade unions are looking at new ways to build their membership bases.
The return of the ABCC legislation might be a double dissolution trigger.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
The key issues from the Royal Commission into union activities were about governance, but these are not being addressed.
University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker and Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics.