The locomotive enginemen: a history of the West Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers', Firemen's and Cleaners' Union

This book explores the social phenomenon of the rise and decline of trade unionism in 20th century Australia through the history of one particular union, Western Australia’s longest running industrial union (1898–1999), the West Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers’, Firemen’s and Cleaners’ Union [W...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Oliver, Bobbie
Format: Book
Published: BookBaby 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/34025
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author Oliver, Bobbie
author_facet Oliver, Bobbie
author_sort Oliver, Bobbie
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This book explores the social phenomenon of the rise and decline of trade unionism in 20th century Australia through the history of one particular union, Western Australia’s longest running industrial union (1898–1999), the West Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers’, Firemen’s and Cleaners’ Union [WALEDF&CU]. The union’s history provides a means for examining the influence of the British industrial diaspora on the development of Australian trade unionism; unique features of the Australian industrial system, and reasons for the mid-20th century dominance of unionism, and its relatively sharp decline a since the 1970s. Chapters contain discussion of the union’s formation; how its progress in obtaining recognition and improved wages and working conditions for members compared with similar unions in Eastern Australia and Britain; the impact of two world wars the Great Economic Depression of the 1930s, and the effects of arbitration, industrial action, changing technologies, privatisation and amalgamation. In the concluding chapter, the differences that enabled the British footplate union, ASLEF, to survive while the WALEDF&CU was forced to amalgamate with other transport unions are examined, and the author concludes that, along with the debilitating effects of mass redundancies sparked by rationalisation policies in the rail industry, disunity within the rank and file was a major cause of the union’s demise.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-340252017-01-30T13:40:43Z The locomotive enginemen: a history of the West Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers', Firemen's and Cleaners' Union Oliver, Bobbie This book explores the social phenomenon of the rise and decline of trade unionism in 20th century Australia through the history of one particular union, Western Australia’s longest running industrial union (1898–1999), the West Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers’, Firemen’s and Cleaners’ Union [WALEDF&CU]. The union’s history provides a means for examining the influence of the British industrial diaspora on the development of Australian trade unionism; unique features of the Australian industrial system, and reasons for the mid-20th century dominance of unionism, and its relatively sharp decline a since the 1970s. Chapters contain discussion of the union’s formation; how its progress in obtaining recognition and improved wages and working conditions for members compared with similar unions in Eastern Australia and Britain; the impact of two world wars the Great Economic Depression of the 1930s, and the effects of arbitration, industrial action, changing technologies, privatisation and amalgamation. In the concluding chapter, the differences that enabled the British footplate union, ASLEF, to survive while the WALEDF&CU was forced to amalgamate with other transport unions are examined, and the author concludes that, along with the debilitating effects of mass redundancies sparked by rationalisation policies in the rail industry, disunity within the rank and file was a major cause of the union’s demise. 2016 Book http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/34025 BookBaby restricted
spellingShingle Oliver, Bobbie
The locomotive enginemen: a history of the West Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers', Firemen's and Cleaners' Union
title The locomotive enginemen: a history of the West Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers', Firemen's and Cleaners' Union
title_full The locomotive enginemen: a history of the West Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers', Firemen's and Cleaners' Union
title_fullStr The locomotive enginemen: a history of the West Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers', Firemen's and Cleaners' Union
title_full_unstemmed The locomotive enginemen: a history of the West Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers', Firemen's and Cleaners' Union
title_short The locomotive enginemen: a history of the West Australian Locomotive Engine Drivers', Firemen's and Cleaners' Union
title_sort locomotive enginemen: a history of the west australian locomotive engine drivers', firemen's and cleaners' union
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/34025