WORKING CONDITIONS -

Few people realise just how much the union movement in Australia contributed to the improvement of working conditions for almost every worker.

Let's step back for a little while to the 1880s and see just how bad things were:

Labourers working in camps had little or no sanitation. Employers argued that providing sanitary collection services was a blow against free enterprise. The death of a labourer was no loss to an employer as they cost nothing to train and were easily replaced.

Butchers and bakers usually worked between 70-90 hours a week. Barmen could often work 15-17 hours a day, six days a week plus and extra 2 hours on Sunday. Shop assistants work 12-14 hours a day on weekdays and from 7am till midnight on Saturdays. Almost all shop workers worked at least 60 hours a week and grocers' assistants worked 12 hours a day 6 days a week.

Barmaids were ruthlessly exploited and were employed mostly by the physical attractiveness. Many worked 14-18 hours a day. A waitress could expect to work 75 hours a week. As their beauty faded so did their employment prospects until many could find no work at all besides prostitution. It was said there were three final stages to many barmaids lives, 'going among Chinamen, then to hospital, then to the grave.'

Even after laws began to be passed to tighten up on the worst abuses of workers, there were few inspectors and some of the existing ones would even telegraph their inspections to the employers ahead of time so that under-age workers and other workers that might prove to be inconvenient, could be removed from the premises during the inspection.

It was only organised unions with representatives in every work place and full-time government officials with the support of governments that brought an end to the tyranny imposed by employers over their work forces.

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