1929 Timber Workers strike
Encyclopedia
The 1929 Timber Workers strike was a labour dispute in Australia
caused by Judge Lukin
of the Arbitration
Court handing down an industrial award
decision on 23 December 1928 to reduce the wages and increase the hours for 20,000 timber workers from a 44-hour week to a 48-hour week. It was the first strike in Australia after the onset of the Great Depression
.
An initial response by workers at mass meetings on 3 January in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide was to refuse to work the four hours extra stipulated by the Lukin award. This then precipitated the employers applying to the court that a strike existed. The penalties of the Arbitration Amendment Act, enacted in 1928, were then invoked.
The dispute widened with carters and crane drivers striking in solidarity. A special conference of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
(ACTU) on 7 February 1929 agreed to extend the strike to a general movement; to boycott the Federal Industrial Court; and for the conduct of the strike to be managed by the ACTU Disputes Committee.
On 25 February, Justice Lukin ordered a secret ballot of the timber workers in Victoria and New South Wales. This was the first attempt to enforce a secret ballot in an industrial dispute. On 1 March Lukin imposed a fine of 1000 on the Timber Workers Union, followed by a fine of 50 on Jack Holloway, Secretary of Melbourne Trades Hall Council
. A protest meeting outside the Sydney Trades Hall
on 25 March was attended by 25,000 trade unionists. At this meeting 3000 strikers publicly burnt their ballot papers. The crowd then marched to Hyde Park where an effigy of Justice Lukin was burnt.
The secret ballot was largely boycotted by the workers. When the votes that were cast were counted they were 5000 to 700 against acceptance of the award in New South Wales and Victoria.
The strike was marked by a high degree of union solidarity, with pickets placed to deter scabs. Women played a particularly active role in the dispute holding weekly meetings, attending picket lines and collecting money.http://wwwdocs.fce.unsw.edu.au/orgmanagement/WorkingPapers/WP104.pdf Several women were prosecuted and sent to gaol for collecting money for the strikers. There was considerable community and union support http://www.takver.com/history/myunion/myunion11.htm#1929 mobilised for the strikers, which enabled them to survive on strike for so long.
After five months the strike came to an end on 24 June on the basis of a 48 hour week, but with an independent inquiry to be appointed into the financial condition of the industry.
At the end of July seven union leaders, including Jock Garden
, the Secretary of the Labor Council of New South Wales
, the Secretary of the Timber Workers Union, and the Chairman of the ACTU disputes Committee were charged with "unlawful conspiracy
by violence and threats of violence" to prevent timber workers from working. A jury subsequently acquitted all those charged.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
caused by Judge Lukin
Lionel Lukin (judge)
Justice Lionel Oscar Lukin was appointed as the first judge of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, Australia on 25 January 1934 and remained the sole Judge of the Court until November 1943 when he retired due to ill health....
of the Arbitration
Compulsory arbitration
Compulsory arbitration. In labor disputes, some laws of some communities force the two sides labor and management, to undergo arbitration. These laws mostly apply when the possibility of a strike seriously affects the public interest...
Court handing down an industrial award
Award (Australian industrial relations)
An award is a ruling handed down by either Fair Work Australia or by a state industrial relations commission which grants all wage earners in one industry the same conditions of employment and wages....
decision on 23 December 1928 to reduce the wages and increase the hours for 20,000 timber workers from a 44-hour week to a 48-hour week. It was the first strike in Australia after the onset of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
An initial response by workers at mass meetings on 3 January in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide was to refuse to work the four hours extra stipulated by the Lukin award. This then precipitated the employers applying to the court that a strike existed. The penalties of the Arbitration Amendment Act, enacted in 1928, were then invoked.
The dispute widened with carters and crane drivers striking in solidarity. A special conference of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
Australian Council of Trade Unions
The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions.-History:The ACTU was formed in 1927 as the "Australian Council of Trade Unions"...
(ACTU) on 7 February 1929 agreed to extend the strike to a general movement; to boycott the Federal Industrial Court; and for the conduct of the strike to be managed by the ACTU Disputes Committee.
On 25 February, Justice Lukin ordered a secret ballot of the timber workers in Victoria and New South Wales. This was the first attempt to enforce a secret ballot in an industrial dispute. On 1 March Lukin imposed a fine of 1000 on the Timber Workers Union, followed by a fine of 50 on Jack Holloway, Secretary of Melbourne Trades Hall Council
Victorian Trades Hall Council
The Victorian Trades Hall Council is a representative body of trade union organisations, known as a Labour council, in the State of Victoria, Australia...
. A protest meeting outside the Sydney Trades Hall
Sydney Trades Hall
The Sydney Trades Hall is the historic Trades Hall in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The building was built and owned by the Trades Hall Association, the original trade union affiliates who built the hall in 1888....
on 25 March was attended by 25,000 trade unionists. At this meeting 3000 strikers publicly burnt their ballot papers. The crowd then marched to Hyde Park where an effigy of Justice Lukin was burnt.
The secret ballot was largely boycotted by the workers. When the votes that were cast were counted they were 5000 to 700 against acceptance of the award in New South Wales and Victoria.
The strike was marked by a high degree of union solidarity, with pickets placed to deter scabs. Women played a particularly active role in the dispute holding weekly meetings, attending picket lines and collecting money.http://wwwdocs.fce.unsw.edu.au/orgmanagement/WorkingPapers/WP104.pdf Several women were prosecuted and sent to gaol for collecting money for the strikers. There was considerable community and union support http://www.takver.com/history/myunion/myunion11.htm#1929 mobilised for the strikers, which enabled them to survive on strike for so long.
After five months the strike came to an end on 24 June on the basis of a 48 hour week, but with an independent inquiry to be appointed into the financial condition of the industry.
At the end of July seven union leaders, including Jock Garden
John Garden
John Smith "Jock" Garden , clergyman, Australian trade unionist and politician, was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Australia.-Early life:...
, the Secretary of the Labor Council of New South Wales
Labor Council of New South Wales
The Labor Council of New South Wales is a representative body of Trade union organisations in the State of New South Wales, Australia. 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...
, the Secretary of the Timber Workers Union, and the Chairman of the ACTU disputes Committee were charged with "unlawful conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
by violence and threats of violence" to prevent timber workers from working. A jury subsequently acquitted all those charged.