Australian Rail Tram & Bus Industry Union
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| Full name | Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1 March 1993 |
| Members | 35,000 |
| Affiliation | ACTU, ITF |
| Key people | Bob Nanva (National Secretary) |
| Office location | Trades Hall, 4 Goulburn Street Sydney, New South Wales Australia |
| Country |
 Australia
|
| Website | http://www.rtbu.org.au |
The Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union (RTBU), formerly known as the Public Transport Union or PTU, was formed on 1 March 1993, through the amalgamation of the Australian Railways Union, the Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen, the Australian Tramway & Motor Omnibus Employees' Association and the National Union of Rail Workers' of Australia. This amalgamation effectively created one transport industry union for the first time in Australia. The RTBU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Internationally, the RTBU is affiliated with the International Transport Workers' Federation.
In 1861, seven years after the official opening of Victoria's first railway, the Locomotive Engine Drivers' Association was formed in an attempt to maintain some standards of employment for these skilled workers. Comprising roughly twenty members, the Association grew to include firemen in 1872, prompting a change of name to the Locomotive Engine Drivers & Firemens' Association. In October 1899 representatives of the Railway Locomotive Enginemen's Associations of New South Wales, South Australia Queensland and Victoria met in Melbourne and voted in favour of forming the Federated Railway Locomotive Enginemens' Association of Australia.
The Federated Railway Locomotive Enginemens' Association of Australia met yearly at Conference, but did not set up a Federal Division until 1920. In that year a decision of the High Court made it possible for unions covering employees in state instrumentalities to have access to the Federal Arbitration Court. In February 1921, the newly named Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Enginemen [AFULE] was the first such union to gain federal registration with the Court.
In 1922-1923, following Federal registration, successful steps were taken for the AFULE to gain coverage of Locomotive Enginemen working for Commonwealth railways, and the Union became truly Australia wide.
In 1924, the AFULE decided to file a separate log of claims on each of the state employers, but the decision of the Australian Railways Union to try to establish one federal award for all railwaymen precipitated the Locomotive Enginemen into a similar case before the Federal Arbitration Court. The AFULE presented a mass of detailed evidence resulting by April 1925 in its first Federal Award binding on State instrumentalities and bringing its four Union Divisions into line industrially.
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