The 1938 Dalfram dispute involved dock workers at Port Kembla in Australia striking & refusing to load iron on a ship bound for Japan in 1938.
Learn about the maritime strike in the Torres Strait Islands in 1936 where workers in the pearl fishing industry took a stand against racism.
About the different union campaigns for wage equality for First Nations workers in Australia in the 1960s.
On 21 April in 1856, building workers in Melbourne took strike action and won the eight-hour day as a general industry standard.
A blog article about the 60th Anniversary of Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (ASSLH). Find out more about membership.
31 August is Equal Pay Day-Australian unions have a long history of campaigning for gender equality & for the economic independence of women workers.
The first nation-wide meeting of unions in Australia took place in October 1879. It was called the Intercolonial Trade Union Congress.
Learn about the history of maternity leave in Australia in the 1970s and the role of the Australian unions.
On 3 November 2013, the legendary unionist Brian Manning passed away after a lifetime in the struggle. The union movement is proud to remember him and his extraordinary contribution to the cause of social justice.
Exploration of the current landscape for unions in Australia and innovative pathways forward for unions to empower Australian workers.
Learn more about legendary union activist, leader and organiser Emma Miller, who was born on the 26th of June 1839.
Commemorating Australian poet, Henry Lawson, who in the late nineteenth century was a superstar of working-class poetry.
The history of how unions helped create Medicare, the national public health system in Australia, introduced in 1984.
Unions have a long history of campaigning for superannuation.There were union campaigns for retirement schemes as far back as the 1920s.
A short history of how unions in Australia campaigned over the decades for the right to annual leave.
The story of how workers came together in their unions, took actions, and won the important right to a weekend and the 40 hour work week.
A practical tool kit for organisers and campaigners in the field to help you win your online campaigns.
About Jennie George - the first woman to be elected as President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
Read about Laurie Carmichael, a unionist in Australia who had a lifelong dedication to solidarity and the working class.
Read about the infamous 1998 Waterfront dispute with the dockworkers, Maritime Union of Australia and Patrick Stevedores.
Case studies on union growth and organising initiatives to challenge our thinking and build our toolkit for union growth in a connected age.
Remembering former Prime Minister of Australia and President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions ACTU - legendary Bob Hawke.
Remembering Edna Ryan, a woman who left an extraordinary legacy of activism against sexism and for gender equity.
This paper, written by Belinda Moore and Chris Walton, explores the current landscape for unions in Australia and outlines innovative pathways forward for unions to more effectively empower Australian workers.
This is the story of Muriel Heagney, an extraordinary unionist who led a 60-year long campaign for equal pay for working women.
A Sheep Shearer’s strike began in Queensland in 1891 when employers sought to introduce union-busting contracts and a reduction in pay rates.
Learn about the union-led campaign against conscription in World World War One as told by the Australian Trade Union Institute.
Learn about the leaders of a strike in 1957 by Aboriginal people on Palm Island demanding to be treated with dignity, respect & equality.
Brief history of the union campaign in Australia for equal pay for women which led to the “equal pay for work of equal value” decision in 1972.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions ACTU campaign for equal pay for women workers started with a conference in 1941.
Read about and be inspired by the campaign by workers including Bernie Banton and their unions for justice for asbestos victims.
Have you heard the story of the trade union contribution to the struggle for equality? Read about the hidden history of LGBTIQA+ and unionists.
Learn about the Wave Hill walk off and strike in 1966 by the Gurindji people who fought for award wages, land rights and self-determination.
In 1907 the Commonwealth Conciliation & Arbitration Court delivered the famous Harvester Judgement enforcing a basic rate of pay.
On 8 December 1981, unionists in the metal industry voted to end a long industrial campaign, and won the 38-hour week.
The first of May has long been a day of celebration for the international workers’ movement. Why do we celebrate May Day?
Snapshot of the significance of union training for workplace representatives at a time when school completion rates were half of what they are today in Australia.
Tribute to Tom McDonald, a union activist, organiser & leader, dedicated to empowering workers to take action to win improvements in their lives at work.
In 1999 the Australian union movement sprung into action to show solidarity with the people of East Timor by protesting.
Based on interviews in 2022 and 2023 with educators, organisers, and union secretaries and assistant secretaries, this report examines the state of union delegate education and development across a selection of Australian unions.
Learn about one of the worst industrial disasters in Australia’s history: the collapse of the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne in 1970.
In 1990 Nelson Mandela delivered a thank you speech to the Australian trade union movement at the Melbourne Town Hall.
On 21 October 1969, legendary union activist Zelda D’Aprano chained herself to the doors of the Commonwealth Building to protest for Equal Pay! This is her remarkable story.
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