Historical information

Ballarat Trades Hall was part of the Intercolonial Trades Hall Congresses created for the purposes of collective organising within labour organisations. There were eight Congresses held within Australia:

- 1879 Sydney
- 1884 Melbourne
- 1885 Sydney
- 1886 Adelaide
- 1888 Brisbane
- 1889 Hobart
- 1891 Ballarat (after the Maritime Strike in 1890) The political organisation of the labour movement and of restructuring trade union organisation under the Australasian Federation of Labour were significant agenda items.
- 1898 Adelaide


The following items were regularly discussed:

- legislation of trade unions- organisation of labour
- abolition of ‘Chinese and coolie immigration’
- Compulsory Court of Arbitration
- Employers Liability Act
- legalisation of the 8 hours system
- land nationalisation
- manhood suffrage
- direct representation of labour in Parliament
- appointment of working men on technical and other boards
- free compulsory and secular education by the state and regulation of apprentices.

Some of the resolutions passed were about:

- Commonwealth Draft Bill
- assisted immigration
- payment to Members of Parliament
- single tax, paid union organisers
- minimum wage and industrial federation.

See also http://archives.anu.edu.au/files/document-collection/intercolonial-trade-union-congresses-web-final.pdf

Significance

Topics of discussion show the union/labour movement's ongoing activism and engagement on parliamentary and union matters, organising and employment on a national scale.

Physical description

1 volume