NSW Industrial Arbitration Act 1901

A lot of people talk about `enterprise bargaining' - this Act was the 1901 version. The aim was to make workplaces more productive by making them better places to work. It made arbitration compulsory, so, if a worker or an employer had a problem, it could be settled by having to go before the Industrial Relations Commission. The new Labor Party leader, William Lyne was behind the bill being made law. (Hagan 1981: p. 10, Yerbury et al 1992: p. 166)

Imagine not being allowed to vote, not because you weren't old enough but just because you were a woman! That's how it was up until 1902 when the Commonwealth Parliament first gave women the chance to vote at federal elections. Some states had already let women vote in their elections but this new law gave the ones that hadn't - Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania - a big push. Many men said it would double the cost of elections with no obvious benefit; Labor Party leader, William Lyne said it elevated women to a new level while feminist, Jessie Ackermann called it `male subterfuge' and said it was `citizenship having thus been forced upon women'. (Crowley 1973)

Tariffs Act links protectionist policy to payment of `fair and reasonable wages' – 1907

Employers were protected from the competition of imports so long as they were paying their employees `fair and reasonable wages'. After 1907, that meant employers had to prove they were paying their workers what was set down as the minimum wage in the `Harvester Judgement'. That was how Australian industries were encouraged to succeed - employers were protected if their workers were too. The Customs Tariff Act, the Excise Tariff Act and the Australian Industries Preservation Act were the legal lynchpins behind making this happen. (Aplin et al 1987: p. 119)

Workers in the food industry band together and two new unions are formed – 1908

The workers that ground our wheat into flour and processed our raw products into consumable food formed the Federated Millers and Manufacturing Grocers Union in 1908. Why? Because they believed that together they could better protect and advance their wages and working conditions. People working in cold food storage and meat preserving had exactly the same idea - they founded the Federated Cold Storage and Meat Preserving Employees Union in the same year. Both unions have since been involved in a series of amalgamations that resulted in the formation of the National Union of Workers in 1989.

In New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, old age pensions had been established as early as 1900. Then, in 1909, it was the Commonwealth's turn. With the help of Section 51 (xxiii) of the Australian Constitution, which gives the Commonwealth the authority to make laws relating to invalid and old age pensions, it introduced the Commonwealth pension. This pension superseded the pensions in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

Things really hotted up in Newcastle when the first blast furnace started up at BHP's ironworks. On 9 April 1915 the first steel ingots were produced; the first steel rails were manufactured on 24 April 1915. (Aplin et al 1987: p. 127)

Unions of coal and mineworkers had existed periodically since the 1850s, but were usually destroyed by employer hostility, economic collapses in the industry or internal fighting. National unionism in the mining industry has continued to this day and in places where the CFMEU is the principle union, membership rates are close to 100 percent. Today's CFMEU members know that they are part of one of the most effective unions in Australia.

General coal strike wins better conditions for workers – 1916

The quest for higher wages, including payment for the time it took to travel to work, were at the heart of the 1 November 1916 coal strike in eastern Australia. The striking miners held out until 4 December 1916, when their demands were eventually met. Future Prime Minister Ben Chifley, a railway union Shop Steward, was jailed during the strike. (Aplin et al 1987: p. 129)

Piddington Royal Commission finds the £4 basic wage inadequate

Led by Albert Bathurst Piddington, this Royal Commission reported on the cost of living and the basic wage. Four pounds a week was thought to be too little to live on so the Federal Arbitration Court decided there should be automatic wage rises each quarter linked to the cost of living. (Aplin et al 1987: p. 134)

Almost a third of Victoria's police force - 640 men - went on strike on 31 October 1923. The inspiration for the strike was low wages and an `internal supervisory system' which the policemen felt was spying on them. On 3 and 4 November, (the weekend before the Melbourne Cup), large crowds looted and rioted in the city. The Government put together a force of special constables to deal with the crisis. What's more, the policemen on strike were not reinstated. (Aplin et al 1987: p. 136)

Clyde in New South Wales was home to the Shell Refining Company's first petrol refining operation. In the same year, Commonwealth Oil Refineries began production in Laverton, Victoria. Much of our manufactured goods were still imported from the United Kingdom and this continued until after World War I. (Aplin et al 1987: p. 137)

One pound a week and 10 shillings for each additional child was what widows in New South Wales were paid to help them raise their children. The legislation to get the scheme up and running was passed the year before in 1925. (Aplin et al 1987: p. 138)

Organisation was the name of the game for Australia's trade union movement in 1927. On 3 May 1927 it became a reality at the Interstate Trade Union Congress held Melbourne Trades Hall Council. The Sydney Trades and Labor Council, Melbourne Trades Hall Council and United Trades and Labor Council of South Australia put forward the concept of an `all Australian Council of Trade Unions.' The result? They decided to set up the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). They elected a committee of seven to set out the Council's goals and structure. The ACTU consisted of delegates from affiliated unions who dealt with issues that affected the whole trade union movement. In 1943 there was a push to have it based in Sydney but this was unsuccessful. For many years the ACTU remained a small under-resourced organisation. (Hagan 1977: p. 30)

Aborigines specifically excluded from the Federal Pastoral Industry awards – 1930

In the 1930s Aborigines in the Northern Territory were in high demand as station hands. Not only did they cope much better with Australia's hot outback conditions but they cost much less to employ. Why? They were exploited! Aborigines were not included in the Federal Pastoral Industry Awards of the 1930s. Instead they were covered by something called the Wards Employment Ordinance that detailed pay and conditions for Aborigines employed in all industries. That meant that for pastoral work an Aboriginal man would be paid $6.32 a week, an Aboriginal woman $3.52 and an Australian or European between $34 and $46. Often they received rations rather than pay. This didn't change until 1966 when the North Australian Workers Union went into bat for Aborigines to be paid equal wages. (Sharp et al 1966)

Arbitration Court rules on `capacity to pay' principle –1931

Workers wages were reduced by 10 per cent on 22 January 1931 following an Arbitration Court decision. The decision was based on the fact that Australia's economy couldn't afford to pay full wages. Unemployment also went up and stayed high until 1934. (Aplin et al 1987: p. 143)

Arbitration Court grants printing workers one week paid annual leave – 1936

A week of annual leave was awarded to printers on 31 December 1936, following arguments from their unions. Paid holiday leave had already been included in some state awards - printers got it because theirs was viewed as a prosperous industry. (Aplin et al 1987: p. 150)

A 44 hour working week became the norm for all industries on 15 August. Coincidentally, in the same month, some miners in New South Wales had their fight for a 40 hour week rewarded. (Aplin et al 1987: p. 153)

Silk Stocking Dispute led by Hal Lashwood (Actors Equity) – 1941

Those in George Sorlie's entertainment company had it tough before 1941 - low pay, fines for coming to rehearsals late, arriving on stage late or talking loudly backstage and worst of all, the eight ballet girls were fined if they laddered their `management owned' silk stockings. Solution? Enter Mr Hal Lashwood who joined as a dancer and the only member of Actors Equity in the company at the time. Many of the show's artists joined the union and as things got worse the artists thought about striking. However they were worried that they might get stuck in the last town the show was to play in - with no way of getting home. So, they organised an `audience strike' - the local union and the Townsville Trades and Labor Council used their influence to keep people away from the show. George Sorlie finally agreed to talk about wages and conditions and met the artists' demands, including that the ballet girls didn't have to pay fines for laddering their silk stockings. (Atkinson 1989: pp. 26-27)

Proposals for unemployment and sickness benefits were first put before Federal Parliament in March 1944. Both benefits were passed and were to be paid out of government revenue. (Aplin et al 1987: p. 160)

Arbitration Court establishes principle of penalty rates for weekend work – 1947

A penalty rate might sound like something you have to pay but it's actually what your employer pays you for working outside of normal hours. On 31 March 1947 the Commonwealth Arbitration Court decided to introduce the principle of penalty rates for weekend work. (Aplin et al 1987: p. 163)

In January 1949, the ACTU started a campaign to raise the Basic Wage to £7 and 18 shillings. `Not big enough,' said the metal unions, `we're going for 10 pounds for both men and women.' After consulting with the metal unions, the ACTU decided it would push for the same. The result wasn't quite 10 out of 10 for the £10 for all - the court awarded £8 and 2 shillings as the new basic wage for men and increased the female basic wage from 54 to 75 per cent of the male rate. (Hagan 1977: p. 60)

In 1953, the Australian United Nurses Association amalgamated with the Australian Nurses Federation (ANF), established in 1924, to become one of the largest unions in Australia.

The ANF has its roots in the 1920s thanks to the efforts of women such as Jessie Street who encouraged Australian nurses to get together and form a union. Jesse Street’s views on the position of working women and other issues were considered radical in her day and she worked tirelessly to improve women’s working conditions throughout her life.

Today, the ANF continues to represent the industrial and professional needs of all nurses in Australia and has branches in each state. The NSW Nurses' Association and the Queensland Nurses' Union are state branches of the ANF.

Union membership peaks at 63 per cent of workforce – 1953

Union membership reached its peak in the 1950s when a hefty 63 per cent of the workforce were union members in 1953. This was hot on the heels of World War II and following some years of Robert Menzies hard line `anti-union' views. Newspaper headlines told of great unrest over strikes and wage demands. The year 1956 was a real turning point for the union movement - highlights included the Waterfront Workers Strike and swelling of the number of members in white-collar unions and teachers' unions. (McKinlay 1990, ACTU 1997)

The `Hursey case' began at Hobart's waterfront in October 1956 when three members of the Waterside Workers Federation (WWF) refused to pay a small amount of money towards the Labor Government's election campaign. In doing so, these men broke two golden rules of unionism - everyone acts collectively and decisions made by the majority of members apply to all members. Bitter and violent confrontations on the waterfront followed. Picket lines, a Supreme Court injunction, the presence of police and the refusal of WWF members to work on the same tasks as the Hurseys attracted the attention of the nation. The dispute was not resolved until 1958 when the High Court of Australia upheld the right of Australian trade unions to make financial contributions to political parties in pursuit of improved conditions of employment for their members.

The Arthur Murray dance instructors were threatened with the sack in 1959 when word got out that they were going to join a union (it was the Federated Miscellaneous Workers Union - FMWU). The dance instructors picketed outside the company's Sydney office for 10 weeks. They received television coverage and did dance performances on building sites for construction workers who supported them. After four months, the Commonwealth Industrial Court ruled that Arthur Murray's had to reappoint the dance instructors and pay them compensation for the time they'd been picketing. (Beasley 1996: p. 102)