"This paper examines a neglected and largely invisible actor within the field of industrial relations. Taking the case of industrial chaplains in Australian workplaces, it demonstrates that not only do chaplains play an important and independent role in their own right, but that their ostensible neutrality is also used to help achieve the interests of both management and trade unions. The location of chaplains in industrial relations and their need to develop workplace legitimacy accounts for this finding. This suggests that future studies that seek to explore the purpose and activities of new and non-traditional groups in industrial relations will need to place their analyses within the context of more established actors."

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