The Impact of Trade Unions on Work Related Training in Australia

Abstract

This paper uses data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Survey in Australia (2009-2014) to examine the role played by unions in workplace training. We focus on the incidence, intensity, transferability of training, as well as associated wage effects. We find that there is some evidence that unions have a positive effect on the incidence and transferability of training. We find no evidence of a union effect on training intensity. We also find that unions influence wage growth in a way that is consistent with the view that unions trade off wage growth for training opportunities. Our results are not consistent with the predicted role on unions in the standard Becker model. They are consistent with predictions about union influence in imperfectly competitive labour markets, or with the idea that unions directly negotiate better training opportunities.