| 1791 |
The first organised industrial action is recorded, when in
Sydney convicts demand daily instead of weekly rations. |
| 1822 |
James Straiter, a convict shepherd, is sentenced to five
hundred lashes, one month solitary confinement on bread and
water, and five years' penal servitude for "inciting his Masters'
servants to combine for the purposes of obliging him to raise the
wages and increase their rations." |
| 1824 |
Coopers use pickets for the first time in a strike action.
They are eventually arrested and tried.
English Acts which provide for the legislation of trade unions
are made effective in all colonies.
|
| 1829 |
Typographers, supported by carpenters, successfully strike
for payment in sterling, against currency reform which threatened
the value of wages. |
| 1840 |
The Society of Compositors campaigns to restrict the numbers
of apprentices. The government uses convict compositors as strike
breakers. |
| 1854 |
Police and soldiers attack miners in the Eureka Stockade at
Ballarat. Thirty miners and five soldiers are killed in the
conflict. Peter Lalor and the other leaders are arrested and
tried but found not guilty. Within six years the miners have won
all their demands. |
| 1855 |
Following the success of strike action by a small number of
Sydney stonemasons, Melbourne stonemasons and their employers
agree on an eight-hour day. On the 21 April 1856, when the
agreement comes into effect, two contractors refuse to abide by
the new conditions, and a day-long strike takes place. By the end
of the day, however, the contractors fall into line. This
development paves the way for all building workers in Melbourne
to gain the forty-eight-hour week. |
| 1859 |
Australia's first Trades Hall is opened in Melbourne. |
| 1861 |
Ironworkers at P.N. Russell & Company go on strike in
response to a ten percent wage cut, joined a week later by
moulders who were refused overtime rates beyond the eight-hour
day. Though the ironworkers are willing to accept the cut in
exchange for a twenty percent cut in hours, defence against legal
action saps their strike-pay fund, and workers are found to
replace them. Eventually they return to work after seven months
on strike. |
| 1874 |
Victoria's first Factory Act is passed. However, it
only provides regulation of conditions in factories with more
than ten employees in "sweated" trades.
In Sydney, two thousand ironworkers go on strike over the
threat of the discontinuation of the "two-meal break"
system.
|
| 1881 |
The New South Wales Trades Union Act is passed,
providing for union rights and registration. |
| 1882-1883 |
In response to the Melbourne clothing manufacturer Beith
Shiess & Co attempting to reduce piece-rate wages, the
tailoresses organise themselves into the Melbourne Tailoresses'
Society, which is believed to be the first exclusively female
trade union in Australia. |
| 1885 |
The Factories and Shops Act is passed. It provided for
the inspection of factories, set limits on hours of work and
introduced compensation for injuries in the workplace. |
| 1887 |
The Adelaide Steamship Co locks
out members of the Captains & Officers' Society when it
seeks to affiliate with the Maritime Labour Council. Unions
interstate fail to support the strike by shortly resuming to
allow ships into local ports. |
| 1890s |
The Victorian Factory Act establishes wages boards in
sweated trades. |
| 1890 |
Maritime workers go on strike from August to November. The
Mercantile Marine Officers, through the Trades Hall Council of
Melbourne, issue a manifesto of grievances including inadequate
salaries and uninterrupted work periods lasting up to thirty
hours. Attempts at a peaceful settlement are frustrated by
employers. Wage cuts follow the end of the strike. |
| 1891 |
A New South Wales Royal Commission into strikes recommends
the establishment of a Board of Conciliation & Arbitration.
Queensland shearers go on
strike for seven months when pastoralists begin employing
non-union labour at lower wages. Eventually the Shearers' Union
money is exhausted and they agree with pastoralists on a dispute
settlement procedure.
|
| 1892 |
Miners at Broken Hill strike
over cuts to wages and employment of non-union labour. |
| 1899 |
Fremantle Lumpers go on
strike for five weeks in response to cuts in wages and eroded
conditions. After several breakdowns in negotiations, the lumpers
invade docked ships which have brought "free" labour. Later there
is further confrontation with police. The dispute is resolved by
the use of arbitrators from a citizens' committee. |
| 1901 |
The New South Wales Industrial Arbitration Act is
passed, providing for compulsory arbitration. |
| 1902 |
In WA, the government becomes the first to introduce workers
compensation legislation. Also established is the principle of
the minimum wage, with legislation basing it on the needs of a
single twenty-one-year-old male. |
| 1904 |
The Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act is
passed. This Act provides for the establishment of the
Commonwealth Court of Conciliation & Arbitration for settling
industrial disputes and the federal registration of trade union
bodies. |
| 1906 |
A claim by female laundry workers in New South Wales for a
wage increase leads to a dispute in a non-unionised workplace.
Statements given by the female workers under examination in court
are rejected and the claim is eventually dismissed on a
technicality. The Laundry Board does not make an award until
1908. |
| 1907 |
Justice Higgins' "Harvester Judgement" passes in the
Commonwealth Court of Conciliation & Arbitration,
establishing the concept of the "sufficient wage" for unskilled
workers, or as it became known, the "basic wage". The weekly wage
decided upon is two pounds and two shillings. |
| 1908 |
Sydney Rockchoppers go on
strike over conditions for two months, ending with employers
backing down on every issue, as no strikebreakers can be found.
Union members jailed during the dispute have their fines paid by
the Public Works Contractors Association of New South Wales and
are released. |
| 1912 |
Tramways Company's refusal to recognise members' right to
wear union badges results in a general strike across Brisbane. |
| 1916-17 |
Trade unions become involved in the conscription debate, and
there are some stop works in protest over the conscription
referendum. |
| 1917 |
A general strike takes place
in New South Wales in response to a new labour costing system
implemented by the New South Wales Department of Railways &
Tramways. |
| 1919 |
Thousands of seamen around
Australia go on strike from May to August, on issues relating
to wages and conditions. Initially attempting to break away from
the arbitration system, strikers are both fined and jailed at
times during the dispute, which ends with most of their demands
met. |
| 1920 |
In a series of decisions, shearers in Victoria, New South
Wales and South Australia gain the forty-four-hour week, a New
South Wales Royal Commission recommends the same for building and
ironworkers, and the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation &
Arbitration follows suit for timberworkers. A special court,
established in New South Wales to inquire into the introduction
of a forty-four-hour week, goes on to make seventy-eight
proclamations, covering most industries statewide. |
| 1923 |
Melbourne Police go on strike in late October 1923 in reponse
to the introduction of a new form of plain clothes beat
supervision. About one-third of the 1700 members support the
strike, all of whom are ultimately stood down. However, the plain
clothes supervision force is also disbanded. Melbourne Police are
later awarded a pension for the first time since 1902. |
| 1927 |
At the South Johnstone Mill in Queensland, sugar workers go on strike when the
mill's ownership changes and they are not given preference for
jobs. After a resolute and sometimes violent standoff, local
railway workers become involved, refusing to handle the "black"
sugar. An Arbitration Court eventually orders a return to work,
under threat of the deregistration of the Australian Rialways
Union. |
| 1929 |
In February, New South Wales Miners are locked out after refusing to accept a
reduction in wage-rates. The New South Wales Government attempts
to re-open the mine in December with non-union labour, prompting
a conflict between police and demonstrating miners at Rothbury.
The stand-off lasts fifteen months, when the onset of the
Depression and the exhaustion of the miners' funds forces them
back to work on the owner's terms. |
| 1930 |
The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation & Arbitration
approves the forty-four-hour week. |
| 1931 |
Commonwealth Court of Conciliation & Arbitration
announces its ten percent wage cut decision, resulting in a
national congress of unions which comes close to voting for a
general strike. |
| 1934 |
In response Depression-era setbacks, miners at the Wonthaggi
Coal Mines go on strike. After
five months the Menzies government eventually succumbs to the
Miners' Federation's demands and in so doing, helps to pave the
way for the gradual nationwide restoration of conditions and
wages lost during the Depression. |
| 1936 |
A week of annual leave is included in an award for the first
time. A principle is established that leave should be granted in
reasonably prosperous industries. |
| 1937 |
The Fremantle Lumpers' Union refuses to load goods onto a
Japanese whaling ship, in response to Japanese aggression in
China. |
| 1938 |
At Port Kembla, Waterside Workers' Federation members refuse
to load scrap iron for shipment to Japan. The "Dog Collar Act" is
applied to break the strike. In response to this and the laying
off of men by BHP, loading is eventually resumed in 1939. |
| 1939 |
World War Two sees women replace male workers in a wide range
of industries. Work-based child-care facilities are provided and
most women received ninety percent of male rates. |
| 1940 |
In the interests of industrial peace and national security,
the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation & Arbitration is
empowered to hear a wider range of disputes during World War
Two. |
| 1941 |
Annual leave of one week becomes standard. |
| 1944 |
Five hundred Balmain ironworkers strike when their own union
suspends and refuses to recognise their shop delegate. The
executive struggles to maintain its authority but is eventually
overwhelmed. A new executive is elected and despite opposition
from the National Office, is in 1947 finally admitted as a
sub-branch of the Sydney Metropolitan Branch. |
| 1945 |
The New South Wales Annual Holidays Act comes into
force, providing two weeks' paid leave for workers not covered by
a federal award. Later in the year the Commonwealth Arbitration
Court makes an award of two weeks to the metal trades. |
| 1946-1947 |
The Engineer's strike covers all unions involved in the metal
trade, and seeks a reduction in working hours, and an increase in
wages, which have been frozen throughout the war. The six-month dispute, which involves
overtime bans, a lockout by metal trade employers and a
full-scale strike by the Amalgamated Engineering Union with
support from other unions, is eventually resolved when the
Arbitration Court gives a decision favourable to the
unions. |
| 1947 |
The forty-hour week is introduced by a ruling of the
Commonwealth Court of Conciliation & Arbitration, taking
effect from 1 Jan 1948.
In response to a request from Indonesian trade unions, the
Waterside Workers' Federation black-bans all Dutch ships,
supported by the ACTU and 30 other unions. This continues for
four years, spurring the Chifley government in its support for
the Indonesian people.
|
| 1949 |
A general coal strike for a
thirty-five-hour week and long service leave results in the
enactment of the National Emergency (Coal Strike) Act.
Troops are used to break the strike in New South Wales and stay
on to work as miners. Combined mining unions protest over the
arbitration system and related causes. |
| 1950 |
After a long campaign, the female wage rate is lifted from
fifty-four to seventy-five percent of the male wage rate.
Some unions hold stop-work meetings over the introduction of a
bill to ban the Communist Party.
|
| 1951 |
New South Wales legislation for long-service leave is
enacted, believed to be a world first. Other states follow. |
| 1956 |
Shearers refuse to work at
the new rates set by the Industrial Court of Queensland. With the
support of the Trades & Labour Council of Queensland and the
Australian Workers' Union, the strike lasts ten months, despite
the use of non-union labour. |
| 1964-1965 |
The Mount Isa copper smelter is closed over dispute with
miners. Amidst escalating conflict, the Queensland Government
declares a state of emergency and martial law in the town. The
strike is eventually resolved in February 1965, with many miners
re-employed, but despite a management promise of no
victimisation, ninety-six of the most militant are not employed.
The strikers are not supported by the Australian Workers'
Union. |
| 1965 |
The Commonwealth Conciliation & Arbitration Commission
awards equal pay to Aboriginal stockmen. |
| 1969 |
The jailing of Clarrie O'Shea, Secretary of the Tramway &
Motor Omnibus Employees' Association, for refusing to pay into
court $8100 in fines owed by his union, leads to four days of
national strikes. On the fifth day, however, O'Shea is released
when the fines are paid by a man who claims to have won the New
South Wales lottery. |
| 1969-1975 |
The Commonwealth Conciliation & Arbitration Commission
establishes a principle of equal pay for equal work, specifically
excepting female work, which evolves slowly to become "equal pay
for work of equal value" in 1972. The ACTU Equal Pay Case wins
equal pay for men and women performing the same duties,
introduced in 1975. |
| 1974 |
Edna Ryan of the Women's Electoral Lobby succeeds in having
the Commonwealth Minister for Labour and Industry agree that the
Commonwealth would support the ACTU's National Wage Case, if the
ACTU would seek the extension of the male minimum wage to women.
The ACTU does so and in February 1974, WEL Australia's case is
presented to the National Wage Bench. |
| 1975-1981 |
The Federal Arbitration Commission introduces wage
indexation. In the six years before its abolishment in 1981,
eighteen increases of between 1.3% and 6.4% are made. |
| 1976 |
A one-day general strike against Medibank changes is a
failure, despite almost unanimous opposition to the proposed
changes. Some unions oppose the strike, whilst others allow their
members to choose whether or not to attend. The government's only
reaction to the strike is to break off negotiations with the
ACTU. |
| 1979 |
Unpaid maternity leave of up to twelve months is granted by
the Federal Arbitration Commission. |
| 1981-1982 |
Metal trades gain the thirty-eight-hour week. It is then
negotiated into many awards in New South Wales and
interstate. |
| 1983 |
A dispute over the width of combs used to shear sheep evolves
into a ten-week national strike and ongoing conflict between the
National Farmers' Federation and the Australian Workers' Union.
By the dispute's end sixty percent of the AWU's pastoral
membership leave the union. |
| 1983-1997 |
The Accord is introduced and renegotiated eight times before
its discontinuation. It consists of wages, prices and other
policies upon which the ACTU and federal government agree in
ongoing discussions. Medicare is introduced under the Accord, as
are child-care subsidies, superannuation for all workers (not
just executives) and improved job protection and security. |
| 1984 |
The Australian Conciliation & Arbitration Commission
introduces award provisions regarding redundancy pay and
dismissal. |
| 1985-1986 |
Victorian nurses strike for
fifty days in response to lack of action by the government in
securing their award conditions. It is the longest strike by
women in Australia since the nineteenth-century tailoresses'
strike. Threatened with dismissal, criminal charges, the use of
the Essential Services Act, and even police action to disrupt
picket lines, the nurses remain on strike and achieve "career
structure" reforms. |
| 1990 |
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission extends
parental leave rights to men. |
| 1996 |
The Workplace Relations Act 1996 is passed. Amongst
its objectives are a reduced role for the Australian Industrial
Relations Commission, particularly as regards arbitral powers, a
strongly-increased emphasis on direct agreements on employment
matters between employers and employees at the workplace level,
and a decreased role for trade unions in the industrial relations
system. A significant change is "award stripping", the
restriction of the AIRC to decisions on a maximum twenty
"allowable matters" in their determinating of awards. |
| 1998 |
The Maritime Union of
Australia members strike when Patrick stevedoring, it is later
found, unlawfully conspires to sack an entire workforce for being
members of a union. Plans had been made to replace the workers
with serving and former soldiers, trained in advance in Dubai.
After two months an agreement is reached between the Union and
Patrick, involving the dropping of all legal action against the
company and their paying the expenses; Patrick also agrees not to
seek to change key award conditions and to withdraw an
application to the Industrial Relations Commission to reduce
overtime and penalty rates. |
| 2001 |
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission extends
parental leave to casuals. |
