UnionsWA is the peak Trades and Labour Council in

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. It represents over 30 affiliated unions, which have over 150,000 members in Western Australia. The organisation is affiliated with the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

(ACTU). Since the 1980s, the UnionsWA International Committee has acted as the ACTU's representative to the Southern Initiative for Global Trade Union Rights (SIGTUR).

History

Early history

The Trades & Labor Council, Perth was formed in 1891 and operated as such until 1907 when it re-emerged as the Western Australian Branch of the Australian Labour Federation. Twenty years later, in 1927, it was operating as the Australian Labor Party (WA). It continued in this guise for another twenty years when, in 1947, the name was changed once more, this time to the Trade Unions Industrial Council (ALP, WA) to more accurately delineate its trade union role from the political motives of the labour movement.

An independent trades and labour council

In 1947, six militant unions came together to form the Western Australian Council of Trade Unions (WACTU) as an independent organisation from the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

. The WACTU quickly gained a membership of 33 unions, representing thousands of unionists. The council sought affiliation with the

(ACTU). However, during the Twentieth State Labor Congress in the same year, the ALP preempted this move by establishing the Western Australian Trades Unions Industrial Council (WATUIC) as its representative body in the state. ALP State Secretary Joe Chamberlain played a key role in this decision, opposing the creation of an independent Trade and Labour Council. Chamberlain’s objections were primarily political. He was concerned about the growing influence of non-ALP members, especially

communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

, within the labour movement. Additionally, he recognised that forming a separate industrial body could jeopardise the primary source of party funds, which at that time was the affiliation fees collected from affiliated unions. WATUIC membership was strictly limited to industrial unions affiliated with the ALP and delegates were required to sign the ALP pledge before participating in voting processes. During the 1950s, there was significant debate among Western Australian unions and the WA branches of federal unions regarding the anomalous situation for the representation of state unions within the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). The ACTU’s Federal Executive faced mounting pressure to address this situation. In 1959, Western Australia’s ACTU affiliation was up for renewal. The ACTU Federal Executive hinted that it might withhold re-affiliation unless an independent Trades and Labor Council (TLC) was established as the state’s affiliated body.At the 1959 ACTU Congress, Jim Healy, the General Secretary of the Western Workers’ Federation (WWF), proposed that the WA Branch of the ACTU adhere fully to “the democratic principles of affiliation” followed by the ACTU and its other five branches. Healy advocated for making affiliation open to “any bona fide registered trade union or any branch of a Federal Union operating within the State.” Jim White, a delegate from the Painters’ and Decorators’ Union in Western Australia, seconded this motion, which was subsequently approved. The decision was influenced by a letter signed by officials from 12 WA trade unions, expressing support for establishing an independent TLC. Non-affiliated unions and union representatives who were not ALP members, however, were excluded from a Special Congress of Unions convened in Perth on November 23, 1959. During this congress, a vote was held regarding any structural changes, resulting in 555 against and 206 in favor. However, some critics argued that the officials representing the 27,000 members were “a small group of people who never consulted their membership.” In February 1960, the TLC Campaign Committee, comprising 16 unions with a combined membership of over 32,000 workers, was formed to implement the decision made by the ACTU Congress. The committee’s manifesto emphasised that every bona fide trade union or branch of a federal union had an inalienable right to membership in a State TLC and the ability to join the ACTU. In 1961, a Special Affiliated Union Conference passed a motion for the Special General Council to establish a committee. This committee would examine the process of setting up a separate industrial organization. The goal was to structure this organisation to meet the ACTU’s requirements, ensuring that each affiliated union could be represented on the Industrial Council without any political restrictions, as decided in accordance with its rules. The first federally affiliated independent Western Australian Trades and Labor Council met in Perth Trades Hall in 1963, with the now more politically open Executive Committee including the prominent communist Paddy Troy as Trustee.

General strike

In November 1963, the newly formed Trades & Labor Council of Western Australia led the state's first general strike. The strike was called in response to industrial relations legislation being introduced by the WA Liberal Government of

David Brand Sir David Brand Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving premier of Western Australia, in office from 1959 to 1971, and was state leader of the Liberal Pa ...

, which sought to restrict the power of trade unions, and replace the Court of Arbitration with the Western Australian Industrial Commission and the Western Australian Industrial Appeal Court. The strike was ultimately unable to prevent the passage of the legislation, though it cemented the leadership of the TLC within the union movement.

Noonkanbah dispute

In 1979, the WA Liberal Government of

Charles Court Sir Charles Walter Michael Court (29 September 1911 – 22 December 2007) was an Australian politician who was the premier of Western Australia from 8 April 1974 to 25 January 1982. A member of the Western Australian Liberal Party, Liberal Par ...

approved exploratory drilling by American oil company Amax at

Noonkanbah station Noonkanbah Station (or just Noonkanbah) is a pastoral lease, both a cattle station, cattle and sheep station, on the Fitzroy River (Western Australia), Fitzroy River between Camballin, Western Australia, Camballin and Fitzroy Crossing, Western ...

, even though it was located on the

sacred sites A sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, holy place or holy site is a location which is regarded to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through a ...

of the Yungngora community. Aboriginal workers and the community opposed the exploration, and in May 1979 Dicky Skinner, a representative of the Noonkanbah workers, spoke to one hundred delegates of the Trades & Labor Council who passed a solidarity motion for the traditional owners. On 25 March 1980, the Trades & Labor Council and the ACTU placed bans on the transport and operation of the drilling rig at Noonkanbah. The Transport Workers Union and the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoralism, pastoral and mining industries in the late 1880s and it currently has approximately 80,000 ...

refused to transport or work on the rig. The Court Government was insistent that the drilling occur and organised a 50-truck convoy of non-union workers to travel to the site with a police convoy in August 1980. Police broke up the blockade and forcibly removed and arrested protestors. By November 1980, Amax realised there was no oil on the site.

Third-wave dispute

In 1997, the Court Liberal Government's introduced a series of reforms aimed at reshaping Western Australia’s industrial relations landscape, including a shift towards individual workplace agreements and a reduction in union influence. On 29 April 1997, the Trades & Labor Council under the leadership of Tony Cooke, organised an estimated 30,000 people to march through the city to the State

Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Meeting places of parliament Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * P ...

in protest. The Workers Embassy, in the form of a caravan, was set up on the grounds of Parliament House during the protest. Following the arrest of four union officials for remaining on the premises, the Workers Embassy was relocated to a site across the street. Unions occupied the site for 24 hours a day over 6 months. In a last-ditched attempt to stop the legislation passing, on 14 and 15 May 1997, union officials occupied the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

and set up a picket line. To escape this disruption, proceedings were removed to a committee room and the legislation was passed through both Houses of Parliament. In July 1997, the Workers Embassy was renamed

Solidarity Park Solidarity Park is located opposite Parliament House in Perth, Western Australia. In 1997 a 'workers embassy' was set up on vacant land opposite Parliament House during union protests of the Court Government's 'third wave' legislation for indus ...

. Though unable to stop the reforms being passed, the third wave industrial relations legislation was subsequently overturned following the election of the Gallop Government in 2001.

Renamed to UnionsWA

Although still acknowledged today as the Trades & Labor Council of Western Australia, an increasing association with "

white collar White collar may refer to: * White-collar worker, a professional who performs office-based or similar service-based jobs, as opposed to a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor * White-collar boxing * White-collar crime The term ...

" unions had, by 2000, deemed this old title no longer be reflective of all affiliated unions. In April 2000, the Trades & Labor Council of Western Australia was renamed UnionsWA to more adequately encompass both white and blue collar unions. This renaming coincided with the opening of "Unity House" on 1 May, 2000.

Structure

UnionsWA is the state's peak union body representing over 30 affiliated unions and their members. Delegates meet monthly to consider issues affecting the working conditions of Western Australians and determine strategies to improve them. The offices of UnionsWA are located at Level 4, 445 Hay Street, Perth. UnionsWA is the supreme governing body of the trade union movement in Western Australia. The present office holders are: * Secretary: Rikki Hendon * Assistant Secretary: Kari Pnacek * President: Steve McCartney (

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), officially registered as the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing, and Kindred Industries Union, is an Australian trade union. The AMWU represents a broad range of workers in the manu ...

) * Senior Vice-President: Carolyn Smith (

United Workers Union The United Workers Union (UWU) is an Australian trade union. Described as the biggest blue-collar union in Australia, the UWU covers more than 150,000 workers within over 45 industries, including warehousing, defence, hospitality, health, disabil ...

)

Solidarity Park

UnionsWA is responsible for the use, upkeep, and maintenance of

, opposite

Perth, Western Australia Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. Solidarity Park contains the largest concentration of labour monuments in Western Australia. The Wall of Remembrance at the park commemorates all killed and injured workers. The Mark Allen Memorial, named in honour of a young

CFMEU The Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) is Australia's largest Trade union, union in the construction, forestry, wikt:maritime, maritime, Textile manufacturing, textile, Clothing industry, clothing and Shoemaking, footw ...

organiser who was killed on a building site while attempting to get workers down from an unsafe roof, features a triple 8 to symbolise the labour movement's historic struggle for the 8-hour day. The People’s Wall that surrounds the park replaced the original sandbag wall around the occupation site, along with other structures such as the Fountain for Youth and the Commemorative Rock. The International Workers' Memorial Day WA service is held by UnionsWA every year in April at Solidarity Park.

References

External links

Official website