Transport Workers Union of Australia
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| Full name | Transport Workers' Union of Australia |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1906 |
| Members | 90,000 |
| Affiliation | ACTU, ITF, ALP |
| Key people |
Tony Sheldon, National Secretary Michael Kaine, Assistant National Secretary |
| Office location | Sydney, New South Wales |
| Country | Australia |
| Website | www.twu.com.au |
Tony Sheldon, National Secretary
The Transport Workers' Union of Australia (TWU) is a trade union with over 90,000 members throughout Australia. It has 5 main branches in Australia
The TWU is a union based on the Organising model. It is largely progressive and militant. The TWU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the International Transport Workers' Federation. In South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales, the Union is affiliated with the Labor Right.
The union has coverage throughout the many sectors of the transport industry including:
Whilst technically having wide coverage, the TWU largely focuses on road transport, warehouse distribution, airline operations, bus drivers and the waste industry.
The TWU's coverage of gas industry staff extends from its amalgamation with The Federated Gas Employees Industrial Union (FGEIU) in 1997. South Australia is the only state to have an extensive membership in this industry as it was the base of the FGIEU. It is the only state to have a Gas Industry Sub-branch.
The history of the Transport Workers Union is partly a story of the enormous technological and economic changes to the ways people and goods have been transported across the history of this country. It is also a story about how the free market cannot be relied upon to create a safe, efficient and viable transport industry. But most of all, the story of the TWU is a story about how transport workers have stood together with their workmates to better their pay and conditions. A union, is nothing more than its members, gathered together in common cause.
In the 1880s small independent unions of drivers sprung up in the various colonies of Australia. Many of these unions were short-lived. It was an extremely competitive industry. A self-employed carrier could set himself up with a basic horse and cart for a relatively small sum of money, and drivers too were in chronic oversupply. Conditions were poor with wage-earning drivers working very long hours for low rates of pay. Much of the available work was casual and seasonal.
After the turn of the century, small specialised transport unions were established throughout Australia. These included separate unions of milk carters, bread carters, and fuel and fodder carters. Numbers of wage-earning drivers increased in the major cities during this period as carrying firms grew in size stimulated by the growth in manufacturing. Wharves and railway depots were also important sources of work for drivers. By 1903 it was reported that work had become more stable and less casual. However conditions were still poor. Drivers could be expected to work up to 19 hours a day. Wages were generally between 25-35 shillings a week.
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