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Trade Union entry General Labourers Union of Australasia (1891 - 1894)

From
1891
To
1894
Functions
Trade Union (Federal)

Summary

The impetus to form the General Labourers' Union of Australasia arose out of difficulties the Amalgamated Shearers' Union of Australasia [ASU] faced in overcoming the effect non-unionised, un-skilled labourers had in negating any strike action the shearers were resolved to undertake. This was particularly evident in the 1891 shearers' strike in Queensland. At the inaugural annual conference held in Adelaide on the 9 of February 1891 it was overwhelmingly voted by the ASU delegates present that this new General Labourers' Union [GLU] be formed to provide union coverage for shedhands, so as 'to unite to a man and so present an unbreakable square in time of need'. The administrative and governmental structures of the GLU virtually mirrored those of the ASU. Shortlived, the GLU ultimately merged with the ASU again in 1894 to create the Australian Workers' Union.

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Timeline

 1891 - 1894 General Labourers Union of Australasia
       1905 - 1976 Australian Workers Union (i)
             1976 - 1988 Australian Workers Union (ii)
                   1988 - 1993 Australian Workers Union (iii)
                         1993 - AWU-FIME Amalgamated Union

Archival resources

National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection

  • General Labourers' Union (Brisbane, Qld.) - Minute book 1889-1891, 1889 - 1891, MS 147; National Library of Australia Manuscript Collection. Details

The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program

  • Australian Building Construction Employees & Builders Labourers Federation - Records, 1889 - 1973, Z491; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Australian Workers Union - Records, 1887 - 1970, E161; M46; E161A; P 52; M50; M51; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details
  • Australian Workers Union - Records, 1881 - 1986, E154; E158; N117; P33; M44; M45; The Noel Butlin Archives Centre, ANU Archives Program. Details

Published resources

Books

  • Merritt, John, The Making of the AWU, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1986, 432 pp. Details
  • Spence, W.G., History of the AWU, The Worker Trustees, Sydney, 1961, 125 pp. Details

Bruce A. Smith

Created: 28 June 2001, Last modified: 12 December 2002