Union History Blog

The Metal Workers win the 38-hour week

December 7, 2021

On 8 December 1981, unionists in the metal industry voted to end a long industrial…

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“Pig Iron Bob” and the 1938 Port Kembla strike

November 11, 2021

On 15 November 1938, dockers at Port Kembla (near Wollongong), members of the Waterside Workers’…

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The Harvester Judgement and the basic wage

November 4, 2021

On 8 November 1907 HB Higgins, the President of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Court,…

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Brian Manning: a life in the struggle

November 2, 2021

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the following post may contain…

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Why Nelson Mandela thanked the Australian union movement

October 25, 2021

On the 25th of October, 1990, Nelson Mandela delivered a thank you speech to the…

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The 1916 campaign against conscription

October 13, 2021

On the 28th of October, 1916, the union-led campaign against conscription for overseas service won…

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Zelda D’Aprano’s Equal Pay protest

On 21 October 1969, legendary union activist Zelda D’Aprano chained herself to the doors of…

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West Gate Bridge collapse

Today we commemorate one of the worst industrial disasters in Australia’s history: the collapse of…

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1963: The ACTU backs the campaign for wage equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers

September 28, 2021

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are warned that the following post may contain…

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Henry Lawson: the workers’ poet

Today we are commemorating Henry Lawson, who in the late nineteenth century was a superstar…

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