History of the Tasmanian Union Movement

One of the first examples of industrial action found in Tasmania - Colonial Times, Tasmania, 12th March 1833

Announcing the foundation of the Hobart Town Mercantile Assistants Association - The Courier, Tasmania, 4th August 1847

The beginning of a movement

1820's - 1840's

The history of the union movement in Tasmania can be traced back to the early years of the 19th century, shortly after the formation of the colony.

The first evidence of workers uniting and organising was in 1829 by local printers in Hobart and Launceston, in reaction to the now infamous typography strike targeting The Australian newspaper in the same year in Sydney - considered to be the first strike in Australian contemporary history.

Throughout the 1830's, Tasmania's union movement was led and dominated by those involved in crafts, with several artisan industries such as those in tailory, carpentry and bootmaking forming unions across the state.

Growth in the union movement initially was slow owing to a variety of factors. Economic prospects for the colony at the time varied, and along with periods of martial law that was being imposed, made organising difficult.

Colonial era worker suppression tactics reigned at the time too, with reports of convict labour being used sporadically to break up any organisation of workers across varying industries and sectors.

Outliers to this occurred in the 1840's, with the creation of the Hobart Trades Union in 1844 (not to be confused with any modern entity), and the Hobart Town Mercantile Assistants Association in 1847. Apart from this example, however, it was not until the 1880's where the union movement in Tasmania began to grow and prosper.

Considering affiliation with the fledgling trade protectionism movement - The Tasmanian, Tasmania, 21st September 1889

Brief reporting on trades hall meetings - The Age, Victoria, 19th April 1890

A new century and opportunities

1880's - 1900's

In 1883, continued support in the labour movement led to the formation of the Hobart Trades and Labour Council. A few years later in 1889, workers in the north created the Launceston Trades and Labour Council.

The formation of the two immediately saw a boost of union organisation throughout the decade, whilst the public push at the time for and the subsequent formation of wages boards throughout the first decade of the new century cause union membership to rise.

This also coincided with the Eight Hour Day movement, which saw huge support in both Launceston and Hobart.

The advent of the new century as well as Australia becoming a nation in its own right also saw a uniquely Tasmanian culture of independence emerge, with many Tasmanian unions remaining politically independent, as opposed to their mainland counterparts which aligned with the beginnings Australian Labor Party.

This continued theme of independence would also spill into how Tasmanian unions acted and operated, with very little ties being forged with other labour movements across the nation. There were some exceptions to that rule, with the Tasmanian branch of the Victorian orientated Amalgamated Miners Association holding considerable sway across the state's north.

War, Depression and Establishment

1910's - 1950's

The Great War, like the rest of the country, had a profound impact on Tasmania. For the union movement, it was a period of balancing priorities and the newly found bargaining power that came with wartime.

One of these priorities would be rectified during this time. Tasmania, despite being the second oldest of all of Australia's states, was the only state to not have a physical trades hall, owing to the huge opposition from convict labour and businesses in the preceding decades.

Whilst both the Hobart and Launceston trades councils at this point had now been up and running for nearly twenty years, they had been doing so effectively as nomads.

The Hobart trades council began fundraising to purchase a block of land in town in the 1900's with help from unions across the state and the sympathetic public, and by 1917 they had secured 39-41 Davey Street - home to a former royal tennis club and girls' industrial school.

Upon getting the keys to the new home of the Tasmanian labour movement, the council subsequently renamed itself as the Hobart Trades Hall Council.

During the war, the Hobart Trades Hall Council was strongly against the efforts from then Prime Minister Billy Hughes to introduce conscription, placing an anti-conscription banner predominantly on the front of their new home.

The issue of conscription was particularly heated and divisive in the labour movement, ultimately creating a schism in the federal Labor party that led to the 1916 split. In 1917, counter protesters ralled outside the trades hall, ripping the banner down and pelting the building with rotten eggs.

Despite rising tensions, support for Tasmanian unions grew. More mainland branches were being established across the state, and the movement in Tasmania was now large enough to resist efforts from employers to break the unions.

Supporting the Eight Hours Day movement and fundraising for the future Hobart Trades Hall - The Mercury, Tasmania, 17th May 1912

Exploring the housing market - Launceston Daily Telegraph, Tasmania, 7th July 1915

Announcing the plans to move into the new Hobart Trades Hall - Daily Herald, South Australia, 3rd August 1917

Pro-conscription protests against the Hobart Trades Hall - Bendigo Advertiser, Victoria, 28th November 1917

Launceston Trades Hall Council announcing the purchase of the site of the future trades hall - Launceston Daily Telegraph, Tasmania, 2nd December 1924

Tasmanian unions went into the new decade of the 1920's campaigning on compensation for those injured or ill as a result of workplace activity. Despite a fall in Tasmania's population making industrial activities harder, morale and support were both high.

In the north, over 30 unions had cobbled together £1,000 to purchase the old Burnie Hotel on 81 Elizabeth Street, Launceston. Like their comrades in the south, this was to be the new establishment of the Launceston Trades Hall Council, with both of Tasmania's largest cities now having chambers of their own.

The Great Depression, much like how it affected Australia, put a real handbrake on union progress in Tasmania. Union members were having to now fight for themselves as much as fight for each other.

In the early 1930's, the Unemployed Worker's Movement was formed as a driving force to represent those who had found themselves without work. This organisation, whilst not a union and without a defining structure, maintained general rights such as protest during this time.

Come World War II, the state saw a similar pattern of twenty years prior, with unemployment falling and the bargaining power of an organised union increasing.

Illustrating this growth was the creation of two new labour councils; the Burnie Trades and Labour Council in 1940, and the Devonport Trades and Labour Council at the war's end in 1945. Both councils were hugely active particularly in the agriculture and forestry sectors.

There was, however, some growing pains throughout the war. Political ideologies had diversified across the union movement in the state, with these new factions often having competing or opposing interests to one another, which slowed overall progress.

Unification and division

1950's - 1970's

Tasmania's union movement, much like the island itself, was very unique. For one, most states didn't have even two peak union bodies, let alone the four that began the second half of the 20th century.

Owing to Tasmania's geography, having the four labour councils helped to grow and expand pro-worker principles to all corners of the state.

However, throughout the 1950's, there was a desire to unify the four independent peak bodies. Supporters pointed to the benefit of having additional power and resources as one entity.

In 1968 the labour councils of Devonport, Hobart and Launceston finally amalgamated into the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council (TTLC) after years of talks. The Burnie labour council - led by future state senator Ray Devlin - declined to join, preferring independence for its members unions.

Whilst most in the union movement rejoiced, there was some skepticism and controversy around the direction that the newly created peak body should take.

This was compounded by the stressful period that was the 1970's, with unemployment high and economic pressures squeezing the state and the general populace.

By the end of the decade, many unions had decided to go it alone, choosing not to affiliate with the newly created TTLC.

Whilst from the outside things appeared bleak, the 1970's were a successful period for unions representing working rights, having earned a lot of industrial protections and entitlements for their members, particularly in the mining sector.

Defeating attacks from the mainland - Tribune, New South Wales, 7th November 1962

A defiant corflute - Unknown, 1990's

Reunification and the Modern Era

1980's - today

Tthe unions that had left the Tasmanian Trades and Labour Council formed a rival body in 1980, the Tasmanian Trade Union Council (TTUC).

Fearing a worsening scenario, mediation between the two new rival councils commenced almost immediately.

Common ground was found, and in 1983 the TTUC was dissolved, with the unions who were part of it moving back into the TTLC. A new Secretary was named, future premier of Tasmania Paul Lennon. Another future Tasmanian premier, Jim Bacon, became Secretary in 1989.

At the turn of the new millenium, the labour council renamed to Unions Tasmania. The state's unions also became more involved in social policy discussions and advocacy, hoping to shape Tasmania for the better.

In the modern day, Tasmania has the highest percentage of workers who are union members of any state or territory in Australia. What was once a fledgling movement is now the nations strongest organised working force.