Plumbers & Gasfitters Employees Union of Australia (1928 - 1993)

In 1912 the union was federally registered under the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act as the Australian Plumbers & Gasfitters Employees' Union. The new union covered workers in plumbing, gasfitting, pipefitting and domestic engineering work. NSW, Tasmania and Western Australia joined the union in 1916, 1918 and 1973 respectively.

Initially, the union was a loose federation of state Branches with substantial differences in pay and conditions. From the 1970s onwards however, it was transformed into a union operating on a strong national basis with national awards and common rates of pay and conditions.

The first of three name changes took place in 1928 when the Australian Plumbers & Gasfitters Employees' Union changed to the Plumbers & Gasfitters Employees' Union of Australia. The second occurred in March 1993 when the Plumbers & Gasfitters Employees' Union of Australia amalgamated with the Electrical Trades' Union to become the Electrical, Electronic, Plumbing & Allied Workers Union of Australia [EPU]. The EPU maintained separate electrical and plumbing Divisions. The new National Council became a combination of the two existing Councils, with a new Executive.

The final change came in 1994 when the EPU joined with the Communications Workers' Union of Australia to form the Communications Electrical Electronic Energy Information Postal Plumbing & Allied Services' Union of Australia. The Union then became known as the Communications, Electrical & Plumbing Union [CEPU], the end result of the amalgamation of 10 (federal) unions between 1988 and 1994.

See "online sources" for a pedigree chart of this entity.

 1912 - 1928 Australian Plumbers & Gasfitters Employees Union
       1928 - 1993 Plumbers & Gasfitters Employees Union of Australia
             1993 - 1994 Electrical Electronic Plumbing & Allied Workers Union of Australia
                   1994 - Communications Electrical Electronic Energy Information Postal Plumbing & Allied Services Union of Australia

Member(s)

• Crawford, George (1926 - )

• 'Chart 8: Trade Unions - Communications & Electrical', in Parties to the Award, 2002, http://www.atua.org.au/ptta/029.html. [ Details ]