four months of vigorous strife the arrest of the leaders and the importation of blacklegs broke the back of the strike.

66

Books Recommended. Coghlan, T., "Land and Labour in Australia"; Spence, W. G., Australia's Awakening," and "History of the A.W.U."; Sutcliffe, T. J., "History of Trade Unionism in Australia'; Royal Commission on Strikes (N.S.W.), 1890-1.

CHAPTER XVII.

TRADE UNIONISM IN AUSTRALIA SINCE 1890.

THE events of 1890 to 1894 left a deep mark on the whole future development of unionism and politics. Most of those problems and features which have characterized Australian public affairs since the nineties have their roots in the dark days of industrial strife. They can be grouped under two headings: Firstly, the diversion of organized activity from purely industrial to political effort; secondly, the placing of the whole field of industrial relationships under the control of bodies created by law, with "industrial peace" and "the living wage" as twin ideals. Before turning to these developments, let us glance at the fortunes of unionism since 1890.

Decline and Recovery. The many defeats in the early nineties caused large numbers of the weaker members to desert their unions. Funds were exhausted, and many unions or branches became insolvent. The bank smashes of 1893 and the subsequent years of stagnation and soup-kitchens made the struggle for individual existence severe, and "each man for himself" became the guiding principle with many. Wages fell in most industries, but prices and rents declined as well. Unemployment was rife, in spite of the drain of labour away to the goldfields of West Australia. Yet in face of these miseries unionism survived, with about 50,000 members.

Fortunately, Australia recovers quickly from her depressions, and by 1897 most traces of the former troubles had disappeared. This improvement affected the spirit of the wage-earners, and optimism replaced gloom. In 1901 there were 97,000 unionists in the continent; by 1908 the number had increased to 240,000, and from that time onwards the growth was rapid, up to 628,000 in 1919. Since the total number of persons over 20 years of age in receipt of wages and salaries" in 1919 was only 1,258,000, it becomes evident that half the employed class was enrolled in unions. This large proportion is due not merely to the organizing energy of the unions, but also to widening the field to embrace all sorts of workers. Unskilled and seasonal occupations were well organized by 1890, and since that date the unionist principle has been adopted in such unexpected quarters as musicians, journalists, civil servants, bank officials, and teachers. In fact, one might say that wherever any body of men are employed-skilled or unskilled, clerical or manual, on state work or private work, for salary or wage-there unionism has found a home.

New South Wales is naturally the stronghold of unionism, over twɔfifths of the total membership residing there. South Australia has absorbed into its organizations a greater proportion of employed workers than any other state, for in 1919 63 per cent. of its male adult employees were unionists. In Tasmania the percentage was only 32. One important feature of recent years has been the increase in the organization of women workers. The tailoresses of Melbourne had their union in 1882, but very little real success was achieved until about 1910. In 1914 there were 23,000 women unionists; by 1919 the number had increased to over 63,000. This last figure represents 26 per cent. of the adult women employees; in 1914 only 10 per cent. were in unions.

Towards Solidarity. This rapid growth in numbers was accompanied by a growing sense of solidarity and the fusion or federation of kindred bodies. Even before 1890 there was much talk of federation, but little was done. A vague recognition of community of interests existed, but there was no machinery to give it reality, either in any state (except Queensland) or for the whole continent. The Trades and Labour Councils really had very little control over the individual unions. This was fatal, for in the absence of any consultation, alliance, collective judgment or leadership, one union might plunge into a dispute without consulting the others, and then expect them to come to its assistance. The marine officers in 1890 gave a signal illustration of this danger, both by entering upon the strike and by withdrawing from it without reference to the other unions. At the Ballarat Conference of 1891 an elaborate scheme was submitted for the establishment of an Australian Federation of Labour, which would speak for organized labour as a whole, weigh the merits of each dispute, authorize or forbid a strike, and give such advice and financial assistance to strikers as might be possible or necessary. The proposal was adopted by the conference, but stopped there. Sectional interests were too strong; interstate jealousy was still rampant. These obstacles were gradually removed in part after the establishment of the Commonwealth, but not until 1913 was a national organization—the Grand Council-erected. This body, however, did nothing, and so unionism still lacks either a federal parliament or a headquarters staff. The folly of this was apparent in the railway strike of 1917 in N.S.W., when individual unions acted on their own account regardless of the opinions of other bodies which were in honour bound to support them.

Though the idea of a big continental federation made slow progress, the federation or amalgamation of state craft unions into one national body became more general. In 1912 only 10 unions operated throughout all six states; by 1919 the number had increased to 36. The number of separate unions declined from 432 in 1913 to 394 in 1919; consequently the number of organizations with memberships of over 5,000 increased from 22 in 1912 to 26 in 1919. By the latter year these large unions embraced 62 per cent. of the organized workers of the continent.

Since 1910 ideas of industrial unionism and the "one big union' (O.B.U.) have grown in favour. The advocacy of the former has raised many hotly-debated points. For instance, should the engineers who work in mine or railway shops desert their existing organizations and join the mining or transport unions? The vested interests of old bodies are jealously retained; small sections are afraid that if they are swallowed up by big industrial unions their interests will be neglected by the big majority to whom they minister. The Council of the Australian Journalists' Association, at its annual conference in 1918, refused to amalgamate with the Printing Industry Employees' Union "for the reason that the A.J.A. would be swamped in point of numbers." Still, some progress towards industrial unionism has been made in the printing, meat, mining, railway, and other occupations.

Meanwhile the more comprehensive idea of one big union, aiming finally at "one big union of humanity (i.e., the proletariat), without regard tɔ nationality, class, caste, creed or colour,'' received attention in some quarters during and since the war. The A.W.U., whose leaders were among the chief exponents of the ideal, broadened its constitution so as to admit all kinds of wage-earners; the Federated Mining Employees' Association, which

included the copper workers of South Australia, the gold miners of Victoria, and most other miners except those of Broken Hill and the New South Wales coalfields, came in as a Mining Section of the A.W.U.; a Railway Section was established in New South Wales, whilst salt, timber, railway and road construction, and other kinds of workers entered the A.W.U. fold. In this campaign the A.W.U. soon encountered rivals. Throughout 1914-16 the I.W.W. won some supporters among the extreme sections of the labour world, and in 1918 an Australian branch of the Workers' International Industrial Union (American) was established, with a Marxian gospel of class struggle and social revolution. The W.I.I.U. was followed by the Workers' Industrial Union of Australia, with a similar programme. The moderate elements attacked these revolutionary proposals and advanced a scheme for closer federation and co-operation. For a time the air was thick with arguments and expletives concerning the merits of these rival plans for O.B.U.; some large unions officially accepted the left-wing schemes; A.W.U. members refused to work in some places alongside members of the W.I.U.A., but by 1920 the uproar had subsided for the time being.

Unionism Turns to Politics. Out of its defeat in 1890 organized labour plucked the lesson that it must seek new methods of achieving its aims. For years past the idea of securing direct representation in parliament had been the subject of much discussion. The 1884 congress resolved to form parliamentary committees in each colony to "lobby" politicians in the interests of labour legislation, and also to obtain labour representation wherever possible. But in Australia, as in England, electors were wedded to the old parties, and the older men in the unions looked askance at the prospect of political strife entering industrial bodies. The idea of a workman in parliament was not, however, quite novel; in 1859 a Victorian stonemason had worked at his trade by day and attended the House at night; in 1881 the unionists of Balmain (Sydney) sent one of their number to parliament and for some months paid him a salary. Neither of these men had a definite Labour programme, and with these few exceptions the face of the political waters was untroubled by any Labour breeze. The rank and file were content to leave their interests in the hands of Liberal and Conservative members, and to rely on industrial action for the improvement of industrial conditions.

The maritime trouble altered all that, and as defeat was piled on defeat the need for political activity became apparently greater. This was due not merely to the failure of the strike as a weapon. That failure was admitted perhaps a little too readily, for there was no real attempt to analyse the causes of defeat or determined effort to remedy such faults as lay within the structure of unionism itself. The failure of the strike was placed rather to the credit of a solidly-organized capitalist class, a hostile press, and a government working hand in glove with the employers. The attitude of the various governments had much to do with driving organized labour into politics. The whole power of the state had been ranged against the strikers; the men were treated as rebels, the Masters and Servants Act worked grimly, the soldiery were extensively used, and strike leaders sentenced, sometimes on very doubtful evidence, to long periods of imprisonment. Therefore, as Spence wrote to the members of the A.S.U. late in 1890, "It is clear that only through the ballot-box can we expect to destroy the power of monopoly and obtain justice. Even were every man a unionist we could not beat combined capitalism, especially when it is aided by

governments in sympathy with it, who allow even the laws of the country to be violated in the interests of a class.'' Let Labour set out to build up its own party, construct its own programme, capture the governing machine, and so disarm its enemy; then, having seized the reins of power, there will be no need to strike in order to gain labour's ends, since they can be secured more easily and completely by legislation and a friendly administration. Early Successes. This new policy was approved by the Ballarat Congress of 1891, when it adopted the scheme for an Australian Federation of Labour. The Federation was not merely to consolidate the unions and give a collective lead in industrial disputes, but was also "to secure the direct representation of labour in parliament and promote such legislative reforms as will ensure social justice to Australasian workers." Scarcely had this scheme been adopted when the first shot was fired and the first victory won. Immediately after the big strike, the Sydney Trades and Labour Council resolved to fight for representation in parliament. A draft constitution and platform was constructed, and approved by a conference of local unions in March, 1891. League branches were hastily formed, and since payment of members was to be instituted in the next parliament, 45 candidates were nominated. The election was held in June, 1891, and in spite of all such obstacles as the lack of a daily press, and an improvised organization, 36 out of the 45 candidates were successful. That was the wage-earners' answer to the maritime strike. It was an indication of what organized labour might do in the political field.

The great hopes aroused by this first triumph were doomed to speedy disappointment. Many adventurers had used the new party as a ladder to parliament, and soon kicked the ladder away; no definite leader was appointed, and the efforts to secure a block vote in the House caused a fatal split in the party on the fiscal issue. Differences arose over the extent to which members should be bound by pledge to the decisions of their party, and while these differences were being fought out the amount of representation secured fell low. Not till 1904 did the officially pledged members begin to gain ground, but from that time onward progress was steady. Other states benefited by the experience of New South Wales. On the first possible occasion after 1890 organized labour in each state contested elections. In Queensland four seats were captured in 1892, 16 in the following year, and 23 in 1899. Labour in Victoria secured 10 seats in 1892; in South Australia it won 8 seats in the lower house in 1892, and two seats in the Legislative Council two years later. In Tasmania and West Australia little was achieved until after 1900. The establishment of the Federal Parliament opened a more promising field for activity, for the democratic franchise made it possible to capture both houses. At the first election 16 Labour men (including Messrs. Fisher, Watson, Hughes, Spence, and Tudor) were returned to the House of Representatives, and eight seats were captured in the Senate.

Stages of Growth. In its growth the new political party passed through three stages. As soon as it had gained more than a handful of members it held the balance of power. In New South Wales, between 1894 and 1904, neither of the old parties had an absolute majority. Labour could, therefore, make a bargain, offering its support to a party leader in return for the adoption of some measures on which Labour had set its heart. For instance, in 1894, Mr. Reid accepted certain Labour planks and promised to impose income and land taxes. In return for these and other