The Labor Council of New South Wales, branded Unions NSW, is the

peak body A peak organisation or peak body is an Australian term for an advocacy group or trade association, an association of industries or groups with allied interests. They are generally established for the purposes of developing standards and processe ...

for

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

s in the state of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. As of 2005 there are 67 unions and 8 Rural and Regional Trades & Labor Councils affiliated to the Labor Council, representing 800,000 workers in NSW. It is registered as the State Peak Council of Employees under Section 215 of the ''Industrial Relations Act 1996'' (NSW). The council 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).

History

The Labor Council was formed by six unions in 1871, and originally called the ''Trades & Labor Council of Sydney''. The council experienced rapid growth during its early history, with the number of affiliated unions tripling between 1885 and 1890, and total membership reaching 35,000 in that year, or 60% of union members in the

Colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

. By 1891, 21.5% of all employees in the colony were union members, making it the most organised workforce in the world. Union organisation in the colony suffered badly during the economic depression of the 1890s, due to high unemployment, aggressive anti-union policies of employers and a number of large, unsuccessful strikes including the 1890 Australian maritime dispute and the 1891 Australian shearers strike. In 1894, the Trades & Labor Council of Sydney changed its name to the ''Sydney District of Australasian Labour Federation''. In 1900, it again changed its name to the ''Sydney Labor Council'', changing again eight years later to the ''Labor Council of New South Wales''. In 2005, it adopted the brand name UnionsNSW for all public purposes, but retained the official name Labor Council of New South Wales.

Responsibilities

The Labor Council of New South Wales is responsible for: * implementing

policy within New South Wales * co-ordinating union activities and campaigns, involving more than one union * providing assistance with research, negotiations and advocacy to affiliated organisations * lobbying State Parliament for social and industrial reforms * providing a public point of contact for general enquiries on New South Wales unions * management of the Sydney Trades Hall, which was transferred in 2002 to the Labor Council from the original trustees, the ''Trades Hall Association''.

Labor Council Secretaries

References

External links

* {{Authority control Trades councils Trade unions affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions Trade unions established in 1871 Trade unions in New South Wales

History

Responsibilities

Labor Council Secretaries

See also

References

External links