On The Homefront: Labour & Work

Soon after Australia entered the Second World War, labour controls were introduced to meet a crisis in manpower. In 1940 “reserved occupations” were declared, designed to prevent the voluntary enlistment of skilled workers from essential services, such as munitions production. The list was not mandatory and it was open to anyone to seek release from their employment. Definitions and rules changed over the period of the war, and women were added to the list in August 1942.

In early 1942, more than 100,000 men were called up for full-time service to fight the Japanese. The existing list of reserved occupations was not sufficient to balance the demands of the armed services against the demands of industry, and a labour crisis began to emerge. From March 1942 all engagement of male labour was controlled and the government had the power to determine the work of every male, whether in the armed services, or working in a war or civilian industry.

A schedule of reserved occupations and industrial priorities allowed the Director-General of Manpower to exempt any person from service in the armed forces; to declare that industries were “protected”; and to require that a permit be obtained for any change of employment. The rights of employees to take jobs of their choice, and of employers to engage and dismiss workers, were severely limited.

These mandates worked to the benefit of many Ipswich businesses such as engineering works, but also became the basis for industrial action over the course of the War. All employees, regardless of age, working in engineering, founding and boiler-making were declared to be working in protected industries; so too those in the timber industry. A number of local strikes were called over employees trying to shift from a company regarded as a munitions contractor, to a company that was not similarly classified. For example, in June 1941 iron moulders employed at Scott’s and Sutton’s foundries struck over such restrictions.

The rapid creation of new jobs during the Second World War dramatically reduced unemployment in Australia. At the outbreak of war, the unemployment rate was 8.76 per cent. By 1943, unemployment rate had fallen to 0.95 per cent – its lowest ever level.

The armed forces had quickly recruited vast numbers of service personnel, and the public service grew to manage the immense administrative and logistical challenges of the war. Private industry also expanded its workforce to meet the demands of wartime production. By 1943, more than two thirds of Australia’s civilian workforce was involved in the war effort. Between 1943 and 1944, employment in the manufacturing sector rose by 25 per cent. The role of women in the economy was another factor – female participation in the Australian work force increased by 31 per cent over the course of the war.

General demobilisation started in October 1945 and by the end of 1946 more than half a million men and women had returned to civilian life. Fears of post-war unemployment were unfounded: most discharged servicemen found jobs reasonably quickly and for many years the unemployment figure remained very low. Labour shortages were especially acute in the building industry; large-scale immigration was seen by many as a solution to labour shortages, but lack of shipping resulted in relatively few migrants arriving before 1948.

The years from 1946 saw some reforms of working conditions including the introduction of sick leave in 1946, the forty-hour week in 1948, and long service leave in 1952.

The years immediately after the war saw an outbreak of industrial strife across Queensland, and indeed, across Australia. The years 1946 to 1948 were particularly busy with industrial action, in the railways, meatworks, docks and mining sectors.

In 1946 up to 8,000 meatworkers struck for 14 weeks from March to July, precipitated by dismissal of four long-term employees at a Murarrie bacon factory. While Ipswich area beef and pig farmers reported financial losses as they could not send stock to abattoirs in Brisbane, local meat supplies were not badly affected, as most Ipswich butchers sourced their meat from local slaughter yards. In mid-June, Ipswich coal miners voted in support of the meatworks strikers; Rosewood miners initially rejected the proposal but eventually also went out. The miners returned to work around four weeks later. The strike caused a temporary shutdown of work at the Ipswich Railway Workshops, and wide-scale electricity restrictions due to coal shortages at power stations.

The 1948 railway strike, which lasted 61 days and spread to other industries, was centred on the Ipswich Railway Workshops, which were the State’s largest industrial enterprise. Over 23,000 men were involved, superficially over the question of wages and marginal rates, but wider issues were involved. The railway workers were trying to keep equipment running, despite wartime heavy usage and neglected maintenance; they also demanded pay rates equivalent to their peers in the southern states.

Around 2200 members of nine unions associated with the Ipswich Railways Workshops went on strike from 3 February 1948, resulting in the standing down of other Workshops employees, and drastic curtailment of railway services including coal trains. Again, coal miners struck in support of their comrades, walking off the job for three weeks from early March. The railways strike eventually ended on 3 April, the return to work supported by Ipswich employees 1900 votes to seven.

A national coal strike, from June until August 1949 saw all Ipswich and Rosewood mines closed, comprising some 1600 workers. The strike caused a 40% slump in Ipswich shop takings. The coal strike was substantially over by mid-August, except Haighmoor, New Ebbw Vale and Amberley, where over 100 men remained on strike for a further five weeks in solidarity with striking miners at Selene, near Monto.

It is not surprising that in the predominantly mining and manufacturing centre of Ipswich, numerous Parliamentary representatives emerged from union movement. David Alexander Gledson represented the ALP in the State seat of Ipswich from 1915 to 1929 and 1932 to 1949 (dying in office). Starting his working life as a coal miner at the Tivoli Mine, he went on to become a founder of the Queensland Collieries Employees Union. He held a number of relevant Ministries including Mines (1939-1941). James (Jim) Donald represented the ALP in the State seat of Bremer from 1946 to 1960. Before his Parliamentary service he was an apprentice cabinet maker, and then a winding engine driver in the mining industry. He served on the executives of the Queensland Miners Union, and the Queensland Collieries Employees Union.

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