Under siege from a rampaging Turnbull government and an exodus of members, Australia's once mighty trade unions are secretly examining radical changes including dollar-a-week memberships in a bid to survive and then regain their industrial and political clout.
In what would be an extraordinary departure from more than a century of practice, senior union figures are urging a fundamental rethink of what union membership means which could see dues slashed to as little as a dollar-a-week, as well as half-memberships at cut rates, and even individually tailored services for an increasing disaggregated and isolated workforce in which many people "have no employer" per se.
Exclusive collective bargaining agreements where only members benefit from any hard-won pay rises and other improvements are also being examined.
The ideas are among many canvassed in a confidential draft policy paper intended for the ACTU and obtained by Fairfax Media.
The push for an internal revolution comes as unions weather renewed political pressure from the Turnbull government which may yet seek to justify an early double-dissolution election specifically on the hot-button issue of fighting union corruption, and as workers themselves lose faith with the organisations such that barely one in ten private sector employees is a now paid up member.
Union membership in the private sector now stands at a staggeringly low 11 per cent – although it is slightly higher in the public sector bumping the overall density rate to a still paltry 15 per cent.
Entitled, "The overdue case for change: a place for unions in modern Australia" the January 2016 draft paper is the work of Chris Walton and Erik Locke – both former labour movement officials.
The pair say the decline in labour market density of unions "will only steepen given the transformative influences of digital disruption and societal change".
"The very existence of an employer-employee relationship is changing. The nature of work is changing. An increasing number of Australian workers have no employer. Collective bargaining is largely inaccessible to the vast majority of workers."
The authors warn unions against sticking to the "one-trick pony" model based around workers who are gathered together in large groups such as factories and hospitals for example – the standard arrangement of the industrial age – but which is no longer relevant.
Their alternative involves leveraging the power of social media to reach individuals, create common interests, conduct on-line campaigns and raise funds through enthusiasm for "issues rather than institutions".
There would also be a "low fee and low cost model" designed to "reach large numbers of workers in currently non-union areas".
"Social media becomes the 'spider web' to connect with thousands of potential members. Fees may be $1-2 a week and bargaining is unlikely to be included in the short run. The package of services will be dependent on research into the worker's needs and alternate sources of income may be identified, such as a proportion of back pay recovered," the paper states.
Another idea is a cut-price membership arrangement which is "unlikely to include bargaining or high level industrial representation" and for which fees might be more like $300-$400 a year compared to the $600 most pay currently.
The proposal comes as the ACTU and particularly the CFMEU, brace for an increased onslaught from the government which is now armed with the findings of the Dyson Heydon Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull renewed his warning to Senate cross-benchers to pass the government's Australian Building and Construction Commission bill designed to put a dedicated cop on the beat of the nation's construction sites.
"If we go to a double dissolution it will be in order to use the deadlock-breaking provision of the constitution, because the Senate has blocked important elements of legislation, most notably, the reforms to trade union governance, the Registered Organisations Bill, and in all likelihood, so it would seem, the restoration of law in the construction sector by reinstating the Australian Building and Construction Commission," he said.
