1929 Timber Workers strike

( Timber Workers Strike english) instead of In 1929 the Australian Woodworkers strike occurred. The timber workers went on strike after a judge's ruling Lionel Lukin on the Australian Arbitration Court of 23 December 1928 which provided for the increase in working hours from 44 to 48 hours and the wage reduction associated. It was a strike of the Great Depression in Australia.

Strike History

A spontaneous response to the decision of the arbitral tribunal formed a mass rally on January 3, 1929 in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, was protested on the against the four hours of overtime. This was the reason that the employer phoned the Court of Arbitration that a strike vorliege, which according to the Arbitration Act ( Arbitration Amendment Act ) drew a punishment. This law was adopted in 1928. The strike escalated into with the striking sanitation workers in solidarity and crane operators. A special conference of the Australian Trade Union Council (Australian Council of Trade Unions ( ACTU ) ) on February 7, 1929 approved the extension of the strike, a general strike movement and called for a boycott of the Federal Industrial Court, which meant that the strike of the ACTU strike committee ( ACTU Disputes Committee) had to be performed.

On February 25, Judge Lukin ordered a secret ballot of woodworkers in Victoria and New South Wales over a strike. This was the first vote by a secret ballot in Australia on an industrial strike. On March 1, imposed Judge Lukin of woodworkers union, the Timber Workers Union, a fine of 1,000 Australian dollars up and punished from Jack Holloway, the secretary of the trade union council Melbourne (Melbourne Trades Hall Council) with 50 Australian dollars. A protest rally outside the Sydney Trade Union House ( Sydney Trades Hall ) followed on March 25, 25,000 trade unionists. This event burned 3,000 strikers their ballots publicly and marched to Hyde Park, where they burned a doll of Judge Lukin.

The secret ballot was largely boycotted by the workers and ended with 5,000 votes to 700 against the employer.

This strike showed a high degree of trade union solidarity, strike breakers deterred. Women played in this respect a large active role, they held weekly meetings, supported the strikers and collected money for them. There was great support from the Australian community and other unions that allowed a long strike length. Only after five months, the strike was called off on 24 June on the basis of 48 hours, but associated with an independent examination of the financial situation of that trade.

Towards the end of July seven union leaders, including John Garden, the secretary of the Workers ' Council of New South Wales ( Labor Council of New South Wales), the Secretary of the Woodworkers ' Union ( Timber Workers Union ) and the President of the ACTU Disputes Committee were due to charged with unlawful conspiracy with violence and threats of violence, because they would have held the woodworkers of their work. The jury, however, she spoke all free from this accusation.