Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union
Encyclopedia
The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union, better known as the Meatworkers Union, is an Australia
n trade union
, registered with the AIRC and affiliated to the Australian Council of Trade Unions
. The AMIEU was formed in 1906 as the Federated Butchers Union, and changed its name to the AMIEU in 1912. Its registered industrial coverage (per the 1906 registration) is "Butchering Meat Refrigerating and kindred industries." (1906 AMIEU registration) The AMIEU elects all officials from the rank and file for four year terms, excepting the Federal President and Secretary who are elected by a collegiate system.
. The IWW, or Wobblies, encouraged Meatworkers to set up boards of control on job sites. These boards functioned, effectively, as workers councils in the Meat industry. The boards were particularly strong in North Queensland where, under the direction of state organiser Walter Russell Crampton
, they controlled production levels through direct action
. Meat industry sheds in North Queensland were so effectively organised that the sheds became closed shop
s. This was known in the day as Preference of Employment. (1911 AMIEU Preference of Employment contract, AMEIU history, page 2)
The AMEIU used the skilled portion of the workforce, the slaughtering gang, to infiltrate non-union towns in North Queensland. These towns were essentially company town
s. The slaughtering gang was irreplaceable due to their skill, they were mobile as their skill was in demand across multiple shops, and they were militant. The AMIEU considered itself an industrial union and enrolled all workers in a particular workplace regardless of their trade
--the meatworkers represented boilermakers, engine drivers and maintenance workers who worked in the meat industry.
The Queensland organising techniques spread to southern states. Shop committees (workers councils) were established at the Melbourne and Corio works in Victoria in 1917, on the initiative of C. Coupe. Coupe believed shop committees would, "ultimately form part of the machinery of government for the workers when they are prepared to take control of the industries, to be run in the interests of the working class." (quoted in AMIEU history, page 4)
In South Australia councils were also established, and in 1919 the South Australian branch of the AMIEU reported to the federal council, "No dispute along the old lines of a cessation of work has taken place within the past two years. Job control and scientific organisation has rendered obsolete this medieval method of fighting. The arbitration method of securing our rights has often been discussed, and has been submitted to most adverse criticism; and, so far as this branch is concerned, unless the whole aim and present methods of the arbitration system are speedily altered, we will have none of it." (quotes in AMIEU history, page 5)
The councils actively organised go-slows and sabotage, as replacements for strike action. Revolutionary unionism is unusual in Australian history, and the 1908-1923 period was particularly militant. In the same period the AMIEU was organising workers councils; the IWW was organising general strikes, forgery scandals and arson attacks in New South Wales to prevent continued Australian involvement in the First World War, and to protect workers rights. The IWW was a large force behind these upheavals in NSW, and when the IWW was persecuted nationally after 1916, the AMIEU supported them.
abattoir in the Northern Territory
. The AMIEU served a log of claims on Mudginberri and on all other abattoirs in the Northern Territory, seeking a unit tally system to be set up. Mudginberri chose to fight the claim, with the backing of the National Farmers' Federation
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
, registered with the AIRC and affiliated to the Australian Council of Trade Unions
Australian Council of Trade Unions
The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions.-History:The ACTU was formed in 1927 as the "Australian Council of Trade Unions"...
. The AMIEU was formed in 1906 as the Federated Butchers Union, and changed its name to the AMIEU in 1912. Its registered industrial coverage (per the 1906 registration) is "Butchering Meat Refrigerating and kindred industries." (1906 AMIEU registration) The AMIEU elects all officials from the rank and file for four year terms, excepting the Federal President and Secretary who are elected by a collegiate system.
Early history: the AMIEU and the Australian IWW
The AMIEU was organised between 1906 and 1920, particularly in Queensland, by the revolutionary union the Industrial Workers of the WorldIndustrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
. The IWW, or Wobblies, encouraged Meatworkers to set up boards of control on job sites. These boards functioned, effectively, as workers councils in the Meat industry. The boards were particularly strong in North Queensland where, under the direction of state organiser Walter Russell Crampton
Walter Russell Crampton
Walter Russell Crampton was an Australian trade unionist, journalist and politician.-Personal life:Crampton was born in 1877 in Redfern, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, the eldest child of Walter James Crampton and Sarah Phillips.He left school at age 14 and then "humped his swag" around...
, they controlled production levels through direct action
Direct action
Direct action is activity undertaken by individuals, groups, or governments to achieve political, economic, or social goals outside of normal social/political channels. This can include nonviolent and violent activities which target persons, groups, or property deemed offensive to the direct action...
. Meat industry sheds in North Queensland were so effectively organised that the sheds became closed shop
Closed shop
A closed shop is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times in order to remain employed....
s. This was known in the day as Preference of Employment. (1911 AMIEU Preference of Employment contract, AMEIU history, page 2)
The AMEIU used the skilled portion of the workforce, the slaughtering gang, to infiltrate non-union towns in North Queensland. These towns were essentially company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
s. The slaughtering gang was irreplaceable due to their skill, they were mobile as their skill was in demand across multiple shops, and they were militant. The AMIEU considered itself an industrial union and enrolled all workers in a particular workplace regardless of their trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
--the meatworkers represented boilermakers, engine drivers and maintenance workers who worked in the meat industry.
The Queensland organising techniques spread to southern states. Shop committees (workers councils) were established at the Melbourne and Corio works in Victoria in 1917, on the initiative of C. Coupe. Coupe believed shop committees would, "ultimately form part of the machinery of government for the workers when they are prepared to take control of the industries, to be run in the interests of the working class." (quoted in AMIEU history, page 4)
In South Australia councils were also established, and in 1919 the South Australian branch of the AMIEU reported to the federal council, "No dispute along the old lines of a cessation of work has taken place within the past two years. Job control and scientific organisation has rendered obsolete this medieval method of fighting. The arbitration method of securing our rights has often been discussed, and has been submitted to most adverse criticism; and, so far as this branch is concerned, unless the whole aim and present methods of the arbitration system are speedily altered, we will have none of it." (quotes in AMIEU history, page 5)
The councils actively organised go-slows and sabotage, as replacements for strike action. Revolutionary unionism is unusual in Australian history, and the 1908-1923 period was particularly militant. In the same period the AMIEU was organising workers councils; the IWW was organising general strikes, forgery scandals and arson attacks in New South Wales to prevent continued Australian involvement in the First World War, and to protect workers rights. The IWW was a large force behind these upheavals in NSW, and when the IWW was persecuted nationally after 1916, the AMIEU supported them.
Recent history
IN 1983, the AMIEU was involved in a major industrial dispute at the MudginberriMudginberri
The Mudginberri abattoir was the focus of a major industrial relations dispute from 1983 to 1985 in Australia's Northern Territory which was notable for being the first successful use of legal sanctions against a union since the gaoling of Victorian Tramways union leader Clarrie O'Shea in 1969...
abattoir in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. The AMIEU served a log of claims on Mudginberri and on all other abattoirs in the Northern Territory, seeking a unit tally system to be set up. Mudginberri chose to fight the claim, with the backing of the National Farmers' Federation
National Farmers' Federation
The National Farmers' Federation is an Australian industry association that represents Australian farmers at a national level, including through lobbying the Australian Government...
.
See also
- Industrial Workers of the World philosophy and tactics
- Sydney TwelveSydney TwelveThe Sydney Twelve were members of the Industrial Workers of the World arrested on 23 September 1916 in Sydney, Australia, and charged with treason under the Treason Felony Act , arson, sedition and forgery....
- Willy Pete#History