On Friday 1 May 1891, 1340 men, 618 horses, 2 marching bands and at least one woman paraded through the outback town of Barcaldine.It was an eye-popping display for a small countr y town – six shearers demonstrated shearing live sheep on a wagon pulled by six horses, 52 men on horseback led the Carriers’ Union, a woman on a wagon waved a “Young Australia” flag and at the front was the banner of the Australian Labour Federation, a forerunner of the Queensland Council of Unions.

Less than two years earlier a global organisation of socialist and labour parties had declared 1 May as International Workers’ Day. Barcaldine was one of the first places in the world to celebrate International Workers’ Day.

Two years later on 1 May 1893, Brisbane held its first International Workers’ Day event with an Eight-Hour Day procession. In 1901 the Queensland Government declared a public holiday for the first Monday in May which became known as Labour Day from 1912.

Why Barcaldine?With trade unions legalised in Queensland in 1886, thousands of workers joined unions in the hope of improving their wages and conditions.

Most Queensland jobs at the time were in mining or the pastoral industries. In 150 shearing sheds around the state 3700 unionised shearers refused to work alongside non-unionists.

Concerned about shrinking profits, pastoralists fought back, forming the Pastoralists’ Federal Council and demanding the right to employ non-unionists on individual contacts at lower rates of pay.

So the scene was set for the 1891 Shearers’ Strike declared on 5 January. Forty strike camps were established in towns near the shearing sheds. One of the biggest was at Barcaldine.

Many politicians were pastoralists themselves. They sent in troopers to break the strike. The strikers were armed but they were also measured in their response. There was little violence.

Despite the show of strength on 1 May, the strike was faltering. As winter approached food was running out. 225 people were arrested and many were later jailed. In the aftermath union membership temporarily dropped, but the seeds of the labour movement were sown.

While in Barcaldine under an old Eucalyptus dubbed the Tree of Knowledge, the unionists founded their own political party. Only 8 years later the world’s first Labor Government was formed in Queensland.

Unions regrouped to continue the ongoing fight for better wages and conditions. Now every year in May in cities and towns across Queensland, Union members still march to celebrate a proud tradition.

Shearers’ Library at the Barcaldine Camp in 1891 Union members at Brisbane Labour Day 2015

1891: Queensland’s first Labour Day march

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Labour Day

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Improving living standards for average Australians is a key goal for Queensland Unions.To achieve this goal the Queensland Council of Unions frequently runs public campaigns on important issues. Current campaigns in 2016 include:

u Save Our Weekend – Recent Productivity Commission recommendations could lead to a reduction in penalty rates

u Fight For Medicare – Affordable healthcare for all Australians

u Save Paid Parental Leave – Federal Government policies threaten paid parental leave

u Public Services Matter – Key public services should be owned by all, funded properly and benefit everyone

u Education Is Opportunity – High quality education all Australians regardless of postcode

u Secure Retirements – All Australians have earned an old age with dignity

u Unions For Refugees – Because every human deserves a fair go

Save Our WeekendPeople who work on weekends and outside normal work hours are paid at higher rates.

First introduced more than one hundred years ago, “penalty rates” were designed to discourage long, abnormal hours and to compensate employees working at unsociable times.

In December 2015 the Australian Productivity Commission recommended Sunday penalty rates be reduced to the same as Saturday

penalty rates for workers in the retail, hospitality and entertainment industries.

While penalty rates vary, in many cases this would reduce Sunday pay rates from double time to time and a half.

The Federal Government now looks set to make the reduction of penalty rates a commitment at the next election due in September 2016.

Queensland Unions maintain the reduction of penalty rates would be a huge blow to already low paid workers. A reduction in wages would not only be devastating for individual workers but would also have a severe impact on the economy particularly in regional areas.

Once introduced, the reduction in penalty rates may then flow on to other vital industries such as health, transport and emergency services.

Any action to reduce the wages of Queensland workers would lower their living standards. Consequently in 2015 Queensland Unions launched the Save Our Weekend campaign to make the community more aware of this important issue.

QCU banner leading the march, Labour Day 2015 Save Our Weekend campaign to preserve penalty rates

Save Our Weekend & more: current campaigns

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This timeline sets out some of the key achievements of the Australian Labour Movement. Once achieved, key gains generally flow-on to other workers and other states.1791 First industrial action, Sydney

convicts demand daily instead of weekly rations.

1829 Typographers successfully strike for payment in sterling to avoid currency fluctuations.

1855 Stonemasons get the eight-hour day.

1856 Building workers in Melbourne achieve the 48-hour week.

1881 Legislation passed to register unions in NSW.

1885 Factories and Shops Act sets limits on hours of work and compensation for injuries.

1891 Formation of ALP during the Shearers’ Strike.

1899 World’s first Labor Goverment in Queensland.

1901 Compulsory arbitration introduction in NSW.

1902 Workers compensation introduced in WA.

1904 Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration established.

1907 Justice Higgins’ Harvester Judgement establishes the basic wage.

1909 Penalty rates introduced.1912 General Strike in Brisbane for the

right to wear a union badge and belong to a union.

1920 Shearers in Victoria, NSW and SA gain the 44-hour week.

1930 The Commonwealth Court of Conciliation & Arbitration approves the 44-hour week.

1936 One week annual leave included in an award for the first time.

1939 Women replace male workers in WW2 and are paid 90% of male rates.

1941 One week’s annual leave becomes standard.

1945 NSW grants two weeks’ paid leave for workers not covered by a federal award.

1947 40-hour week introduced from 1 January 1948.

1950 Female wage rate is lifted from 54% to 75% of the male wage rate.

1951 World’s first long-service leave introduced in NSW.

1956 Shearers refuse to work at the new rates set by the Industrial Court of Queensland.

1965 Equal pay for Aboriginal stockmen.

1975 Equal pay for men and women performing the same duties.

1975-1981 Wage indexation introduced.

1979 Unpaid maternity leave of up to 12 months granted.

1981-1982 Metal trades gain the 38-hour week.

1984 Redundancy pay and dismissal provisions included in awards.

1990 Parental leave rights granted to men.

Outside Trades Hall at the 1912 General Strike Women inspect aircraft engines in Brisbane during the war

Achievements of the Labour Movement

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Emma MillerThe Mother of the Queensland Labour Movement, Emma Miller fought for equal pay, equal opportunity and the right to vote.

Born in England in 1839, Emma’s father would take her to political meetings sparking her interest in social justice. She went on to become a seamstress.

At age 39 with her four children and second husband, Emma migrated to Queensland. Here she became a shirtmaker, one of Brisbane’s finest. She also became a leading political activist. Her achievements include:

u helping to form a union for women workers, 1890

u foundation member of the Workers’ Political Organisation, a forerunner of the ALP

u fundraising for the Shearers’ Strike, 1891

u campaigning for free speech, 1914-1916

u President, Women’s Peace Army, Queensland

u Delegate for the Australian Peace Alliance Conference in Melbourne in 1916

During the General Strike in 1912 the frail 72-year-old Emma defended herself by stabbing a hatpin into the horse of the Police Commissioner. She died in 1917.

The QCU Emma Miller Awards recognise the achievements of women in the Labour Movement.

Bob AndersonA respected Ngugi Elder, Bob Anderson was the first Aboriginal union organiser in Queensland and has been a union member for more than 60 years attending every Labour Day march during that time.

Born on Moreton Island in 1929, Bob left school at 13. He worked at BAFS

Chemist doing odds jobs before deciding to get a trade.

Completing his carpentry apprenticeship Bob joined the Building Workers Industrial Union in 1951 and went on to become an organiser in 1963.

His achievements include:

u Chair, Reconciliation Queensland u Deputy Chair, Board of Queensland

Museum u Vice-President of Foundation

for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Research Action, 1988-1995

u First President of Quandamooka Lands Council

u Member of the Brisbane Council of Elders

u Elders in Council Committee of Stradbroke Island

u Member of the Queensland Council for Advancement for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in the 1960s

The QCU’s Uncle Bob Anderson Award honours an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander activist or delegate who has made a substantial contribution to the Union movement.

Emma Miller led Women Workers at the General Strike Uncle Bob Anderson, first Aboriginal union organiser

Heroes of the Queensland Labour Movement

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