Women and the Unions: From Tailoresses to Equal Pay

Title

Women and the Unions: From Tailoresses to Equal Pay

Description

The role of women in the unions is unique and deserves special attention. In nineteenth-century Australia’s male-dominated society, where women were unable even to vote, workplaces where they would be accepted were few and far between. Yet even in this time, the labour movement and the Victorian Trades Hall were active in championing the rights of female workers. Australia’s first union for women, the Tailoresses’ Association of Melbourne, was founded in 1882 (a full year before Australia’s first female university student graduated from the University of Melbourne), and the great Tailoresses’ strike of 1883 produced changes to working conditions, including attention from a Royal Commission leading to a reformed Factory Act in 1885. But the fight for women’s working rights continued to rage long after the Tailoresses’ union was dissolved into the Tailors’ Society in 1906.[xi] Campaigns for equal pay surfaced between the World Wars, but especially during World War Two, when women took over jobs previously done by men who had left Australia to fight overseas, but were paid lower, “female”, rates (with the approval of the Munitions Union, no less!). The Victorian Trades Hall established a subcommittee for equal pay in 1943, taking up the long-standing cries of female-only unions. Once the war ended, many women wanted to keep their jobs, and keep the pay they had fought for, despite the opposition of their employers, and the unions had to campaign for this issue well into the 1950s.[xii] This collection examines the progression of these events, offering insight into the debates and actions that took place. For more on the fight for fair working conditions, see ‘Living Well: The Fight For Minimum Wage, Living Costs and Fair Working Conditions’ and ‘Eight Hours: The Victorian Trades Hall, Australian Unions And The International Labour Movement.’

Collection Items

22 July 1874: Women Warned Against Unionising As Complaints Over Poor Working Conditions Grow
Article complaining about the ever growing throngs of Melbourne Tailoresses who claim to be overworked and underpaid. According to the author of this article, it is a constant increase in the number of workers, which is the primary cause of the…

13 February 1883: Women Unions Hold Public Meeting In Support Of Tailoress Complaints
Public meeting held at the Town Hall with the purpose of obtaining sympathy for Female Operatives in Clothing Factories.

13 February 1883: Public Meeting Of Women Demands Equal Pay
Newspaper article discusses a public meeting held at the Townhall concerning the interests of the female operatives of Melbourne. Women were the largest group of attendees. Subject of debate was the equal pay of women, who wanted their efforts to be…

4 November 1901: Women Warned Not To Accept Work In Sydney After Factory Owners Dismiss Female Unions
Account of the strike of tailoresses in Sydney, totaling 600 to 700 women and girls. Several firms now refuse to recognise the women unions, stating they will pay whatever they please. Trades Hall unions in Melbourne and Perth warn all women against…

6 December 1901: Tailoresses Strike Over 'Long Hours, Arduous Work, Poor Pay'
Article recounting recent strikes of tailoresses in Sydney, which highlights the "long hours, arduous work, poor pay, and the request of the workers for higher wages". This has been met with wide-spread public approval.

29 January 1942: Munitions Union Claim Women Replacing Men Should Be Paid 'Female Rates'
The Arms & Munitions Workers' Union requested Delegate Clarey withdraw a statement that suggested that women should be paid the same wage as men. Female workers performing the same work formerly done by men were paid 'female rates.'

11 March 1943: Trades Hall Appoints Subcommittee To Champion Equal Pay For Equal Work
THAT a Sub-committee of six (6) be appointed to consider ways and means of gaining general increases in all female wage rates, and that where any female replaced a male or does similar work to a male, she be paid the male rate.

3 June 1948: Trades Hall Council Submits Case For Female Minimum Wage To Arbitration Court
The Female Minimum Rate dispute was before the Full Arbitration Court. A motion was passed to have the Secretary submit a full report to the Court.

26 August 1948: Arbitration Court Fails To Define Minimum Wage For Women Replacing Men
The Arbitration Court had in its judgment decided on a foundational wage for females. The definition of such a wage was very difficult to define.

Secretary Stout stated that, a Commissioner could make a foundational wage where one did not exist…

March-April 1955: "Women Must Fight" To Maintain Equal Pay
This is an article from the 1955 March-April edition of the Australian Worker the 'Voice of the Trade Unions' and the official monthly publication of the Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch). The article, titled 'Equal Pay Campaign' highlights…
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