MAY DAY
CELEBRATING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF WORKING PEOPLE
2020
EQUAL PAY Minimum Wage Annual Leave 8 Hour Day Health and Safety
casual and contract workers are missing out. Some estimate that up to a quarter of the workforce now miss out on paid holidays. Health and Safety: In the nineteenth century, perceptions of what constituted workplace health and safety were completely different to today. It was not uncommon for large numbers of workers to labour in factories with poor ventilation, excessive heat, and with machines that had no safety guards. There were initially very few regulations and legislative structures governing workplace health and safety. Unsurprisingly then, it largely fell to unions (and some progressive reformers) to push for better standards of safety and protection at work. The growth of union organisation and strike action taken by miners in the Newcastle area led to the first recognisable health and safety act being introduced in New colonies the main relationship in South Wales in 1854. workplaces was between an individual master and a servant. In the recession 8-hour Day: During the mid to late of the 1890s, large strikes were taken 1800s the working day was long and to improve conditions. In response to arduous, where some employees would the strikes and the chaos that ensued, work up to 12 hours a day, six days a Parliamentary inquiries led to legislation week. Many Australians saw the need to remedy the problems, and the for better working conditions and in Victorian Wages Boards set the first the 1850s there was a strong push for minimum wage rates in Australia; “No this. On April 21, 1856, stonemasons at person whosoever unless in receipt of the University of Melbourne marched a weekly wage of at least two shillings to Parliament House to push for an and six pence shall be employed in any eight-hour working day. An agreement with employers for a 48-hour week factory or work-room”. was eventually reached and Australian Annual Leave: Annual leave for workers welcomed the new eight-hour employees began in Australia in 1935 day.
2020 MAY DAY, A TIME FOR REFLECTION
M
ay Day was a little different this year, we were unable to march, but we could still celebrate, and reflect on the achievements of working people, and unions. We took the time to talk about some of the cornerstone achievements for our movement, including; Equal Pay, Minimum Wage, Annual Leave, Health and Safety and of course the 8-hour Day. If you missed it here’s a small summary of the history of these important triumphs. Equal Pay: A long and complicated fight, in 1951 the United Nations recommended “equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value.” For a long time, this was not put into action, it was reviewed 4 times before the minimum wage was set for men and women equally in 1972, however, workers and unions are still striving for equality in actual rates of pay. Minimum Wage: Starting in the early
when the Printers Union won one week of paid leave. Four weeks paid leave began in 1974. The progress of annual leave is an example of how an improvement won by one union can spread throughout the workforce. This is how stronger unions can pave the way for benefits for others. But while most workers get holiday leave, an increasing number of
This year we didn’t get to March, but the history of Labour Day in Australia spans over a century, it is an important event that remembers those who struggled and succeeded to ensure decent and fair working conditions in Australia. See you there next year!
JULY 2020
PPTEU
PLUMBING AND PIPE TRADES EMPLOYEES UNION