Australian Council of Trade Unions | |
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| Founded | May 1927; 98 years ago (1927-05)[1] |
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| Headquarters | Melbourne,Victoria,Australia |
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| Affiliations | ITUC |
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TheAustralian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally theAustralasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largestpeak body representing workers inAustralia. It is anational trade union centre of 46 affiliatedunions and eight trades and labour councils. The ACTU is a member of theInternational Trade Union Confederation.
The President of the ACTU isMichele O'Neil, who was elected on 28 July 2018. The current Secretary isSally McManus.
The objectives of the ACTU, found in its constitution, are:
The ACTU holds a biennial congress that is attended by approximately 800 delegates from affiliated organisations. Between congresses the ACTU is governed by an executive of 60 members: the president, the two vice-presidents, the secretary, the assistant secretaries, Trades and Labour Council representatives from each capital city and elected delegates from affiliated unions.
The ACTU's main current campaigns[2] include the campaign to win paid pandemic leave for all workers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the For the workers campaign[3] to oppose Commonwealth Government proposals to change Australian workplace laws, and the promotion of a Working from Home Charter.[4]
Following the2007 Australian federal election, the ACTU's primary focus was the campaign to restore workers rights under the banner of the Your Rights at Work campaign.[5] In addition to this campaign the ACTU is also running a number of other campaigns, including workplace health and safety,[6] working with other unions on the Your Rights at Telstra campaign and supporting the Rights on Site[7] campaign.
The ACTU has also launched a service by which workers can join their applicable union directly through the ACTU. This self-titled "one stop shop" for union membership is Australian Unions.[8]
In 2008, the ACTU launched a campaign to make paid maternity leave a new national employment standard.[9]
In 2011, the ACTU launched a campaign to address the spread of casual, contract and other forms of insecure work in Australian workplaces.[10] Part of this involved an inquiry into insecure work.[11]
In 2023, the ACTU and other big unions including the Health Services Union, and the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union began a campaign calling for a levy to be imposed on non-union workers after the union was able to raise wages through collective bargaining.[12]
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In Australia, agitation forOne Big Union took place from 1911 from two different sectors: from the revolutionary Australian section of theIWW and from the pro-arbitrationAustralian Workers Union (AWU). At that time the AWU was the largest single Australian union. In 1918 after the collapse of the Australian IWW, a group of militant trade unions (which were opposed to the AWU) attempted to form One Big Union under the nameWorkers Industrial Union of Australia (WIUA). The hostility between the WIUA and the AWU prevented the formation of One Big Union in Australia.[13] The ACTU was formed as the Australasian Council of Trade Unions in 1927 and was one of the earliest attempts by trade unions to apply the principles of One Big Union earlier explored by more radicalsyndicalist unions like theCNT or revolutionaryindustrial unions like the IWW. The ACTU has not achieved the ideals expressed for One Big Union: it remains a council organisation, but it does however represent the majority of Australian trade unions. At its formation in 1927 the ACTU was only seen as representing blue collar trades unions, and only managed to achieve the support of trades unions.
Attempts of NationalistStanley Bruce's federal government in 1927 to dismantle theAustralian Industrial Relations Commission impelled Australian trade unions to form a national council. The ACTU's Australian trade union "peak body" precursors include statelabour councils like theVictorian Trades Hall Council (originating in 1856 as the 'Melbourne Trades Hall Committee'), theLabor Council of New South Wales (originally formed in 1870 as the 'Sydney Trades and Labor Council') and the Inter-Colonial Trade Union Congress (formed in 1879).
From 1948 peak bodies of white collar associations existed, and from 1969 peak bodies of government employees. The white collar bodies were: theCouncil of Professional and Commercial Employees Association (1948), which became theCouncil of White Collar Associations (1954), which amalgamated with theSalaried Employees Consultative Council of New South Wales (1954) to become theAustralian Council of Salaried and Professional Associations (ACSPA) in 1956. The government employee bodies were: theCouncil of Commonwealth Public Service Organisations (1969) which became theCouncil of Australian Government Employee Organisations (CAGEO) in 1975. The ACTU successfully integrated these bodies in 1981. After 1981 the ACTU was generally viewed by the Australian media and public as the organisation representing all workers' organisations.
The ACTU and Labour Councils have often united Australian working class opinion behind certain initiatives like theeight-hour day orcompulsory arbitration. In the early 1980s this unifying impulse created thePrices and Incomes Accord. The ACTU retains a close relationship with theAustralian Labor Party: former ACTU PresidentBob Hawke went on to become the leader of the ALP and thenPrime Minister of Australia. Other former ACTU Presidents who went on to become members of Federal Parliament are:Simon Crean (president 1985–90),Martin Ferguson (1990–96),Jennie George (1996–99), andGed Kearney (2010–18). The November 2007 election win by the Labor Party, saw the election of a number of union officials to the parliament (Commonwealth) includingBill Shorten (Australian Workers Union) andGreg Combet (former ACTU Secretary).
In the late 1980s and early 1990s the ACTU was influential in a move to forcibly amalgamate smaller unions into so called "super unions". The ACTU's plans envisaged 20 super unions organised on an industrial basis. While many amalgamations occurred in the late 1980s and early 1990s (in part under the influence of changed industrial law), there are still many unions, and union coverage is often organised by historical amalgamation, not by industry.
In the lead up to the 2007 federal election, the ACTU campaigned actively against theHoward government'sWorkChoices legislation, which included an advertising campaign[14] and public rallies.[15] This campaign was originally called "Your Rights at Work" but is now known as "Secure Jobs. Better Future"[5] and was considered a success in making industrial relations an important election issue by both marketing companies[16] and evenJoe Hockey MP, the Federal Workplace Relations Minister, who said "This is the most sophisticated political plan that we have seen in Australia.".[17] One of the rallies was calledFill the "G", attended by 50,000 people at theMelbourne Cricket Ground and broadcast to other similar rallies throughout the country.[18][19] A previous national rally had a reported attendance of 500,000 around Australia.[20][21]
| No. | Name | Took post | Left post | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Duggan | 1927 | 1934 | 7 years | Coburgcouncillor (1924–30);Mayor ofCoburg (1928–29). |
| 2 | Albert Monk,CMG | 1934 | 1943 | 9 years | 2nd Secretary of the ACTU. |
| 3 | Percy Clarey | 1943 | 1949 | 6 years | MP forBendigo (1949–60). |
| (2) | Albert Monk,CMG | 1949 | 1969 | 20 years | |
| 4 | Bob Hawke,AC,GCL | 1969 | 1980 | 11 years | MP forWills (1980–92);President of the Labor Party (1973–78);Leader of the Labor Party (1983–91);Leader of the Opposition (1983);Prime Minister (1983–91). |
| 5 | Cliff Dolan | 1980 | 1985 | 5 years | |
| 6 | Simon Crean | 1985 | 1990 | 5 years | MP forHotham (1990–2013);Deputy Leader of the Labor Party (1998–2001); Leader of the Labor Party (2001–03). |
| 7 | Martin Ferguson | 1990 | 1996 | 6 years | MP forBatman (1996–2013). |
| 8 | Jennie George,AO | 1996 | 2000 | 4 years | MP forThrosby (2001–10). |
| 9 | Sharan Burrow,AC | 2000 | 2010 | 10 years | President ofICFTU (2004–06);President ofITUC (2006–10);General Secretary of ITUC (2010–2022). |
| 10 | Ged Kearney | 1 July 2010 | 2 February 2018 | 7 years, 216 days | MP for Batman (2018–19); MP forCooper (2019–present). |
| 11 | Michele O'Neil | 17 July 2018 | Incumbent | 7 years, 131 days |
| No. | Name | Took post | Left post | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlie Crofts | 1927 | 1943 | 16 years | President of theLabor Party in Victoria (1926–27). |
| 2 | Albert Monk,CMG | 1943 | 1949 | 6 years | |
| 3 | Reg Broadby | 1949 | 1956 | 7 years | |
| 4 | Harold Souter | 1956 | 1977 | 21 years | |
| 5 | Peter Nolan | 1977 | 1983 | 6 years | |
| 6 | Bill Kelty,AC | 1983 | 2000 | 17 years | |
| 7 | Greg Combet,AM | 2000 | 2007 | 7 years | MP forCharlton (2007–13). |
| 8 | Jeff Lawrence | 2007 | 2012 | 5 years | Vice-President of theLabor Party in New South Wales (2002–07). |
| 9 | Dave Oliver | 2012 | 15 March 2017 | 5 years | |
| 10 | Sally McManus | 15 March 2017 | Incumbent | 8 years, 255 days |
Eight trade and labour councils are affiliated with the ACTU:[22]
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In 2024, a number ofblue-collar trade unions disaffiliated with the ACTU.[23]
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