Key Developments in Australian Labor and Women's Rights

William Spence

Trade Unionist and founder of 'New Unionism'

Justice Higgins

Justice of the Arbitration Court in Harvester Judgement

Alfred Deakin

PM of Australia (1903 - 1910)

1856

8-hour day established won Melbourne

1857

All white men given the right to vote in the British Empire (Chartists)

1886

Australian Shearers Union established by William Spence

1890

Maritime Strike - better pay and conditions due to non-union labour working.

1891

Queensland Shearer's Strike - better pay and non-union labour concerns.

1892

Broken Hill Miners' Strike - fight for better pay and working conditions and employers.

1904

Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration established

1907

Harvester Judgement - minimum wage for men and women

1910

Labor Majority Government formed.

Robin Gollan

'...the fundamental reason for the new unionism was the fact that the working class was becoming conscious of itself as a class'.

William Spence (1909)

'Our wives and our children are starving' 'We have had enough of this'.

John Hirst

'Australian workers at the time had the highest living standards in the world, achieved in part, by political pressure brought by the workers themselves'.

William Spence (1892)

'There must be unity and cooperation. We can never do it unless we are an organised party'.

Sarah Mirams

'Most of the unions were in male jobs in the ports, the mines and the shearing sheds'.

The Sentimental Nation Poem (1890s)

'From all division let our land be free'.

M Peel & C Twomey

'Labor's rise was dramatic'.

Alfred Deakin (1904)

'The Bill marks in my opinion the beginning of a new phase in civilisation'.

Justice Higgins (1907)

'...the normal needs of the average employee, regarded as a human being living in a civilised community'.

Stuart Macintyre & Sean Scalmer

'The protection of local industry was a divisive issue'.

Robert Lewis

'It helped change the social structure of the nation'.

Stuart Macintyre

'Higgins was reluctant to recognise the importance of women's labour'.

Bob Hawke

'The Harvester Judgement and Higgins are foundationally important'.

1860

34% of workforce was manufacturing.

1900

Manufacturing workforce increased to 48%.

1890-1894

Economic crisis - The economy shrank by 30% in the lead up to Federation.

1890s

Economic depression caused unemployment to rise by 30%.

Broken Hill Miner's Strike (1892)

Membership fell from 6,000 to 300 in two years. Worker suffered a 10% decrease in wages.

Tariff

Encouraged industries to rise from 200,000 people in 1901 to 330,000 people in 1914, which was 20% of the workforce.

Fruit Pickers Case

Set the wage for women at 54% of the male wage.

Unionists in 1913

Half a million unionists exited in Australia.

Real Wages Increase

Real wages rose by 4% between 1907 and 1914.

Miners Deaths in 1913

112 miners died in 1913, despite the Arbitration Court.

Pension Act

Provided a pension of 26 pounds for individuals aged 65 and above.

Harvester Judgement

Determined that a minimum of 7 shillings a week would cover a family's most basic costs.

Union Membership Growth

Union membership grew between 1906 and 1911.

Factory Act

Limiting women's working hours, enacted in 1873.

Tailoresses Union

Established in 1882 as the first female union.

Dawn

A feminist journal launched in 1888.

Australian Woman's Sphere

Launched by Vida Goldstein in 1900.

Anne Summers' Perspective

Claimed that women were a colonised sex and not recognized by men.

Vida Goldstein's Quote

Stated, 'I am human, and nothing human is beyond my sphere'.

Patricia Grimshaw's Perspective

Argued that it offered women a more equitable place within the family.

Public Record Office's View

Convinced that the measure of women's vote would not be for the good of the state.

John Hirst's Quote

Noted that Australian women had to stick at it much longer than men.

Adelaide Observer Newspaper (1896)

Claimed that women's presence had a refining influence.

Ruth Ford's Perspective

Noted that women have often been depicted as passive participants in the arbitration process.

Maybanke Anderson's Quote

Stated that it is wrong for one half of the population to make laws for the other half.

Justice Higgins' View

Claimed that women worked largely for supplementary wages or 'pocket money'.

Stuart Macintyre's Perspective

Argued that the effect of these endeavours was to fix the inferiority of women's occupational status.

Slogan for Equal Wages

'Equal pay for equal work'.

Women's Wage Statistics

Women were paid 1/3 of a man's wage.

Female Breadwinners

20% of the female population were considered to be breadwinners.

Women's Wage Range

Throughout much of the 20th century, women received 54-75% of a male's wage.

Tailoress Pay

Paid 2 shillings per coat, while a man earned 14 shillings for the same coat.

Factory Wage Comparison

Men earned 35 shillings while women earned 10 shillings.

Custom Tariff Act

Enacted in 1902 to encourage protectionism.

Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration Act

Restored industrial peace in 1904.

Invalid & Old Age Pension Act

Provided pensions for individuals aged 65 and over in 1908.

Workmen's Compensation Act

Provided compensation for industrial accidents for workers in 1912.

Maternity Allowance Act

Provided a 5-pound bonus for women after childbirth regardless of marital status in 1912.

Fruit Pickers Judgment

Established equal pay for women in 1912.