History of Australia's labour movement in the 1900s, including the fight against discrimination against Indigenous Australians and women.

In the first decade of the 1900s, there was a hive of activity within Australia’s labour movement. Australians witnessed the formation of the Australian Labour Federation, the first Labor government in the world elected in Queensland and the formation of the first federal Labor Government.

In addition, the New South Wales Industrial Arbitration Act was passed and in 1902, women in NSW and the Commonwealth won the right to vote. The Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and the Minimum Basic Wage were also established.

In 1918, the Australian Workers Union was formed by rural worker organizations and in 1920, a 44-hour week was awarded to timber workers and engineers, with other industries soon following suit. In 1927, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) was formed, paving the way for unions to successfully work together across Australia.

Women Fight For Equal Pay and Aboriginal Australians Protest Against Their Working Conditions

Although women had gained the right to vote, they were still being paid much less than their male counterparts. In 1930, women were only receiving 54 per cent of men’s wage rates. When World War II began in 1939, women entered the workforce in large numbers and, for the first time, many earned wages close to men’s rates. Work-based childcare facilities were also provided for workers.

The same year, 200 of Cummeragunga Reserve's 300 Aboriginal residents in New South Wales left. The residents were protesting about their life on the reserve and the mass desertion was a significant industrial action that deprived the management of their agriculture labour. At the time, Aboriginal Australians were not treated at all equally and were often forced into hard labour with little or no pay.

Unions Fight To End Discrimination Against Aboriginal Australians and Annual Leave Introduced

In 1941, one weeks Annual Leave became standard and union membership passed one million. In 1945, two weeks Annual Leave was introduced and in 1963, three weeks Annual Leave became standard.

In 1946, with World War II over, men replaced women in industry and work-based childcare centres were closed. In 1948, a 40-hour working week was introduced and in 1950, women’s wages were increased to 75 per cent of men’s rates.

Aboriginal workers on stations in the Pilbara, Western Australia, went on strike from 1946 to 1949, demanding better wages and conditions from their employers. Working conditions for Aboriginal Australians were especially harsh and their basic human rights often ignored by employers and the government. In 1965, the ACTU filed claimed to remove the discriminatory clauses in the Federal and State awards relating to the employment of Aboriginal Australians.

Women and Aboriginal Australians Fight For Fairness and Equality

In 1966, the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission granted Aboriginal Australians on Northern Territory Cattle Stations equal pay with “Europeans” from December 1968.

In 1967, a Federal referendum gave a massive "yes" vote for Aboriginal people to gain Australian citizenship and Federal control of Aboriginal affairs. This also meant that Aboriginal Australians were to be included in the census for the first time.

In 1969, the ACTU's first Equal Pay Case paved the way for women to receive equal pay to men performing the same duties by 1975. From the 1970s onwards, Australian unions would fight for better working rights and conditions, especially for Aboriginal Australians and women.

For more information on Australia’s labour movement, please refer to the following related articles:

Australia’s Labour Movement Begins (1788 to 1899)

The Modern Australian Labour Movement (1970 to 2008)

References:

The Australian Council of Trade Unions - About Trade Unions

The Australian Trade Unions Archive – Timeline