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Peak Union body entry Brisbane Trades & Labor Council (1885 - 1889)

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    Chart 4: State and Territory Trades and Labor Councils
    Details

From
1885
Brisbane, Queensland
To
1889
Functions
Trade Union (Peak Body)
Reference No
Unregistered

Summary

The first steps toward forming a "labour council" in Queensland was a notice in the then Brisbane Courier of 23 May 1885. The first meeting of interested union Secretaries was not held until 18 August with the formation of the new Brisbane Trades & Labor Council officially occurring on 1 September, 1885.

Within four years the Labor Council had disbanded to make way for the Australian Labour Federation [ALF]. The ALF was more centralised than its' predecessor. Its inaugural meeting was held on 11 June 1889. The ALF, or more precisely, the Brisbane District Council of Australasian Labor Federation was formed on the eve of a range of industrial disputes, amongst them the printers industry wide strike of 1889, and the shearers and maritime workers strikes of the 1890s. The ALF survived during this period but with fewer affiliates. By 1914, however, the Brisbane District Council of Australasian Labor Federation found itself completely devoid of affiliates and was consequently dissolved. By mid-1914 the Brisbane Industrial Council was formed to address the vacuum left by the ALF.

By March 1917 attempts were being explored to develop a closer unity between the Industrial Council and other bodies such as the Eight Hours Union and the Trades Hall Board. It took over twelve months, but in September 1918 a conference of 42 metropolitan unions adopted the Trades Hall amalgamation scheme.

Difficulties continued for the fledgling body, with further negotiations between November 1921 and February 1922. These negotiations culminated in the establishment of the Trades and Labor Council of Queensland on 12 April 1922. There were 46 unions in attendance at the inaugural meeting. This body continued in name until 1993. At this time it was determined by the affiliated unions that the name of the Trades and Labor Council should be changed to more accurately reflect its role.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions Queensland Branch [ACTUQ] was then formed. It was further renamed the Queensland Council of Unions in 1999 in what was considered to be a positive move to re-establish the identity of the Queensland trade union movement.

Timeline

 1885 - 1889 Brisbane Trades & Labor Council
       1889 - 1914 Brisbane District Council of Australasian Labor Federation
             1914 - 1922 Brisbane Industrial Council
                   1922 - 1993 Trades & Labor Council of Queensland
                         1993 - 1999 Australian Council of Trade Unions, Queensland Branch
                               1999 - Queensland Council of Unions

Archival resources

Flinders University, University Library

John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland

  • Catherine Seymour and Charles Seymour Papers, c. 1880 - c. 1930, OM91-16; John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland. Details
  • Charles Seymour Papers 1880-1924, 1880 - 1924, OM69-18; John Oxley Library, Manuscripts and Business Records Collection, State Library of Queensland. Details

Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales

  • Records, 1866 - 1970, FM4/768-777; Mitchell and Dixson Libraries Manuscripts Collection, State Library of New South Wales. Details

University of Wollongong Archives

  • Trades and Labour Council of Queensland - Records, 1866 - 1970, D11; University of Wollongong Archives. Details

Published resources

Journal Articles

  • Kennedy, K.H., 'The South Johnstone Strike and Railway Lockout, 1927', Labour History, vol. 31, Australian Society for the Study of Labour History, Sydney, 1976, pp. 1-13. Details

Online Resources

Digital resources

Title
Chart 4: State and Territory Trades and Labor Councils
Type
Image

Details

Bruce A. Smith