 |
Revenge of the Footy Dads
The release of the second wave of ACTU TV advertising last weekend continues to take the debate around industrial relations into the broader community – and specifically the nation’s footy grounds.
Interview: Polar Eclipse
Academic David McKnight challenges some sacred cows in his new book "Beyond Left and Right".
Industrial: Wrong Turn
Radical labour reform is on the horizon but some workers, like Sydney bus driver Yvonne Carson, have seen it all before, writes Jim Marr.
Unions: Star Support
It wasn't just families who backed workers' rights at The Last Weekend, but a bunch of musicians who set the tone, writes Chrissy Layton.
Workplace: Checked Out
Glenda Kwek asks you to consider the plight of the retail worker, and shares some of her experiences
Economics: Sold Out
The Future Fund and industrial relations reform are favourite projects of the PM and the Treasurer. Both are speculations on the future and the only guarantee with them is that you will be worse off, writes Neale Towart.
Politics: Green Banned
The impact of new building industry laws won’t be confined to one industry, writes CFMEU national secretary John Sutton.
History: Potted History
Lithgow is a place with a proud history as a union town. The origins of broader community solidarity lie in the early industrial development of the town and the development of unions. The Lithgow Pottery dispute of 1890 was a key event.
International: Curtain Call
The curtains have opened for East Timor’s young theatre performers, thanks to a Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA project.
Review: Little Fish
At last! An Aussie film with substance, suspense and a serious dose of reality, writes Lucy Muirhead
Poetry: Slug A Worker
In a shock development, the Federal Treasurer, Peter Costello, gave a ringing endorsement to the poetry pages of Workers Online, writes resident bard David Peetz.
 Brazilians Score at Rocky
PM Discounts Fair Go
Centrelink Crashes Internet
On Yer Bikes
Road Toll Off The Rails
Part-Timers in Bank Heist
It’s Eight Against Eight
OEA Says Plaque You
Kez and Rupe Tighten Grip
Feds Get Blank Cheque
Rev Kev Absolves Killers
Turning Business Upside Down
Stink Over CountryLink Shrink
Nurses Brush Sick Offer
Men Make Permanent Choice
Activist's What's On!
The Soapbox
Families First
New Senator Stephen Fielding turned a few heads with his Maiden Speech to Parliament. The Locker Room
The New World Order
Phil Doyle declares himself unavailable for the fifth and deciding test. Parliament
The Westie Wing
Our favourite MP, Ian West, reports from the NSW Government's Safety Summit Postcard
On The Bus
A bright orange bus travelling the state has become the focus of the campaign against federal IR changes. Nathan Brown was on board.
Four Cornered Rat
Hrowad’s Meixd Msesgaes
Caveat Emptor
Shop Front
Petrol Price of War
Unionist Slain
Last Long Weekend
|
| other LaborNET sites |
|
Labor Council of NSW
Vic Trades Hall Council
IT Workers Alliance
Bosswatch
Unions on LaborNET
Evatt Foundation
|
|
|
News
It’s Eight Against Eight
Border wars have broken out between NSW and Victoria over which state can claim to have secured the eight-hour day.
As Victorian unions plan major celebrations of 150 years of the eight-hour day next year, labour historian Rowan Cahill claims the first agreements were secured by Sydney masons in 1855.
Cahill says the agreements, struck on October 1, covered masons at several Sydney churches who had taken industrial action in support of their claim.
"A less known aspect of the eight-hour day struggle is that the Melbourne workers were actually pipped, and inspired, by their brother colleagues in Sydney," Cahill says
"Before the Melbourne stonemasons activated, stonemasons in Sydney successfully organised, agitated for, and gained, the eight-hour day. "
On 18 August 1855 the Stonemasons‚ Society in Sydney issued an ultimatum to employers that in six months time, masons would only work an eight-hour day.
However men working on the Holy Trinity Church in Argyle Cut, and on the Mariners‚ Church (an evangelical mission to seafarers, now an art gallery and café) in Lower George Street (98-100 George Street), could not contain their enthusiasm and decided not to wait.
They pre-emptively went on strike, won the eight-hour day, and celebrated with a victory dinner on 1 October 1855.
Unions NSW assistant secretary Mark Lennon says workers are planning a ceremony to mark the occasion later this year. "Like most things, things happen in NSW first," Lennon says.
 View entire issue - print all of the articles!
Issue 283 contents
|
