A waterside worker 1950s.
Ref: AB713-1-4167
State Library of Tasmania collections
Waterside workers loaded ships on the waterfront during the boom times of the 1950s when Tasmania exported apples and other fruit world-wide. Their union came to national attention in October 1956 in what became known as the Hursey case.
Hursey and two other WWF members refused to pay a 10 shillings per head levy as a contribution to the Labour Government’s election campaign. Their refusal to pay contravened two basic rules of unionism: action is taken collectively; and the decisions made by the majority apply to all members. Other members refused to work with Hursey and his supporters, and refused to recognise their membership. However, the Stevedoring Industry Authority took the view that it was still bound to register and roster Hursey and the other two on call for duty. Violence, pickets, police confrontation and a Supreme Court injunction ensued, and the issue was not resolved until 1958 when the High Court of Australia validated the right of Australian trade unions to make financial contributions to political parties for the improvement of members’ working conditions.
Extract from:
“Trade Unions. The Political Levy. Conspiracy”
E. I. Sykes
The Modern Law Review, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Jan., 1960), pp. 90-94
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