Women in Unions: A History
email: jo'donnell-pirisi@vthc.org.au or ph: 03 9659 3511.
Women's Colours
The colours originated with the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), in the UK in 1908. The colours were said to represent: white for purity; purple for dignity, self-reverence and self-respect; and green for hope and new life.
The colours unified the movement and also emphasised the femininity of the suffragettes.
The tricolour of the WSPU soon became a visual cue for the women's movement in Australia. Purple, green and white were worn on International Women's Day and were used for other women's movement banners and posters.
The introduction of the colour gold representing ‘a new dawn’ has been commonly used to represent the second wave of feminism.
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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY CENTENARY 1911-2011
The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire and International Women's Day: 100 years on
The first International Women's Day commemorated a demonstration by women workers in New York in 1857. But what established the modern celebration of International Women's Day in history, was the fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York on 25 March 1911 that killed 146 young women workers, most of whom were immigrants. From the ashes of that tragic event, the pursuit of social justice for women and men ignited that day continues to be felt around the world 100 years on. From New York, ILO On-line reports on the fire that changed everything.
Links
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/
http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/press-and-media-centre/insight/WCMS_152708/lang--en/index.htm
Click here for leaflet IWD 2011 - Union Women Making History
Click here for leaflet A History of International Women
2010 Federal Election - GetUp Campaign Ad
If you wish to view and donate to get the GetUp Campaign Ad on television which features GetUp members speaking Mr Abbott's own words back to him, then
click here
to view the ad.
Australian Women Vote 1908-2008 - website information link click here
1827 The first strike
The first rebellion staged by women in Australia was in 1827, when convict women at the female factory in Parammatta went on strike, when tea and sugar rations were withdrawn. They were victorious!
Victorian women were granted the right to vote in federal elections in 1901 and in State elections in 1908. Up until 1949 women's wages were only 54% of male wages. 1882 Victorian tailoresses lead the way
The first union of women workers was formed in 1882. Tailoresses in one factory stopped work after their piecework rates had been cut. The tailoresses approached Trades Hall and requested support in forming a union. They soon had 2000 members and went on strike in support of a catalogue of claims which was eventually won. This strike took place before unions were legally recognised.
The word log was coined from this dispute - referring to the catalogue which was the list of prices paid to tailoresses for different pieces of work on garments.
Effects of the tailoresses strike:
• won great public support
• stimulated growth in trade unionism and led to the legal recognition of unions in the mid 1880s
• drew public attention to the practice of outwork
• was partly responsible for a parliamentary enquiry into allegations of 'sweating' in factories in Victoria. Enquiry led to the Factories Act.
1912 The first strike by the Female Felt Hatting Employees Union
A strike for a guaranteed weekly wage for piece workers occurred.
Women Workers form their own unions
The participation of women in trade unions has not always been welcomed by male trade unionists. The prevailing view was that women belonged in the home and were only working for 'pin money'. They were not seen as a permanent part of the workforce, and many male trade unionists strongly resisted the admittance of women members to 'their unions'.
1907 Equal pay - the harvester judgement
Traditional and narrow attitudes towards women workers were reinforced and entrenched by the Arbitration Courts decision of 1907 which set women's wages at 54% of the basic male wage. This decision established the concept of the 'Family Wage', based on the notions that men had to support wife and children, and that women had only themselves to support. At that time women made up around 20% of the workforce and working class women were seen as a form of cheap labour. However the decision also meant women had an 'unfair advantage' in the job market because their labour was cheaper. Employers responded by trying to define more and more work as women's work. Male trade unions defended their conditions by trying to have women expelled from most areas of employment.
