AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF TRADE UNIONS

(ACTU) the dominant association and governing body of the trade union movement in Australia. It was established in May 1927. The Australian Workers' Union joined the ACTU in 1967, and the ACTU's merger with two leading federations of white-collar unionsthe Australian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations (in 1979) and the Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations (in 1981)gave it about 2,500,000 members, or more than three-fourths of the trade-union membership in Australia. The ACTU is represented in many official bodies and has played a major role in Australian politics. It is the recognized representative of organized labour in centralized wage negotiations with business and the federal government. The ACTU has traditionally maintained a close association with the Australian Labor Party, though not actually affiliated to it. Robert Hawke, who was president of the ACTU from 1970 to 1980, went on to serve as Australian prime minister from 1983 to 1991. The ACTU's policy-making body, a biennial congress, is made up of delegates from state branches of the federation (called trades and labour councils) and from affiliated trades unions. The decisions of the ACTU's 17-member executive body must be ratified by a majority of the state branches in order to go into effect.