Australian Telecommunications Employees' Association

Last updated

Australian Telecommunication Employees Association
Merged into Communication Workers Union of Australia
Founded1912
Dissolved1992
Headquarters343 Little Collins Street, Melbourne
Location
  • Australia
Members
24,000 (1974) [1] : 274 
PublicationTele-Technicians Journal
Affiliations Australian Council of Trade Unions, state Trades and Labour Councils, Council of Australian Government Employee Organisations, Australian Labor Party, Postal, Telegraph and Telephone International, Amnesty International [1] : 274 

The Australian Telecommunications Employees' Association (ATEA) was an Australian trade union representing technical and trades employees in the telecommunications industry from 1912 to 1992. Its members were primarily employed by the Postmaster-General's Department (later Australia Post and Telecom), the Australian Broadcasting Control Board and the Department of Posts and Telecommunications.

History

The union was first established as the Australian Postal Electricians' Union in 1912. [2] In 1926 the union considered amalgamating with the Amalgamated Postal Workers Union of Australia (APWU), however a proposal to conduct a plebiscite of the membership on the question was rejected at the union's annual conference. [3] : 37  The union did, however, participate in a joint conference of postal unions in the same year, including the Line Inspectors' Association, Australian Postal Assistants Union, Australian Telegraphists and Clerical Assistants Union, Storemen and Packers Union and the APWU. [3] The union also became a member of the Federation of Postal Unions, but later withdrew from the organisation in 1933, causing it to collapse. [3] : 58 

The union was renamed the Postal Telecommunication Technicians' Association in 1943 and by 1966 had a membership of 6,834, of whom 864 were classified as female or junior members. [4] : 34  In 1976 the union assumed its final name, as the Australian Telecommunications Employees' Association. [2]

A major dispute arose in the 1970s due to the introduction of new technology by Telecom. [5] Telecom management decided to begin replacing existing electro-mechanical telephone exchange technology with the Ericsson ARE 11 computerised system. [6] : 37  As part of the change, management planned to centralise maintenance functions in large Exchange Maintenance Centres (EMCs). The ATEA proposed an alternative arrangement, involving a decentralised maintenance structure that it claimed would retain technical expertise throughout the network, however this was rejected by Telecom management. [6] : 37  The ATEA introduced a series of bans on telephone, teleprinter and satellite communication services, aimed at primarily targeting Telecom's large business customers. [7] In response, the Fraser government passed legislation allowing the federal government to order the compulsory redeployment or retirement of government employees. [8]

During the late 1970s the ATEA campaigned against the establishment of Aussat, a proposed communication satellite network to be operated as a public-private partnership. [9]

The union was an active participant in the Australian trade union movement's overseas aid arm, APHEDA. For example, members of the union worked on a project to connect an Eritrean hospital to telephone services. [10] The union also participated in the 'Art and Working Life' program, funded by the Australia Council, hosting an artist-in-residence with the union's Queensland branch in 1985. The program produced a series of posters highlighting the negative impact of technological change on the union's members. [11]

The union was one of the first in Australia to win the nine-day fortnight for its members. [12]

By 1987 the union's membership had increased to 27,800, of whom 99.0% were employed in Telecom, thus making the ATEA the largest of the 28 unions representing Telecom employees. [6] : 36  In 1988 the union absorbed the Australian Telephone and Phonogram Officers' Association (ATPOA), adopting the provisional title of the ATEA/ATPOA. It then merged with the Australian Postal and Telecommunications Union (the successor to the APWU) to form the short-lived Communication Workers Union of Australia (CWU) in 1992, with an initial membership of 80,000. [13] The CWU then became part of the modern Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of Australia in 1994. [2] [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Communication Workers Union (United Kingdom)</span> UK trade union

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) is the main trade union in the United Kingdom for people working for telephone, cable, digital subscriber line (DSL) and postal delivery companies. It has 110,000 members in Royal Mail as well as more in many other communication companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Manufacturing Workers Union</span> Trade union in Australia

The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), or more fully the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, is an Australian trade union. The AMWU represents a broad range of workers in the manufacturing sector, as well as associated industries, and is affiliated to the Australian Council of Trade Unions.

The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the late 1880s and it currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exercised an outsized influence on the Australian Trade Union movement and on the Australian Labor Party throughout its history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queensland Council of Unions</span>

The Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) is a representative, an advocacy group, or peak body, of Queensland trade union organisations, also known as a labour council, in the Queensland, Australia. As of 2020, 26 unions and 13 regional branches were affiliated with the QCU. The QCU represents unions covering around 350,000 Queensland workers. It is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). Its offices are located in the suburb of South Brisbane, Queensland. As a peak body for the Queensland trade unions, the objective of the QCU is to achieve industrial, social and political justice for Queensland workers. The management structure of the QCU is made up of a committee of management and an executive of representatives comprised from affiliated unions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transport Workers' Union of Australia</span> Trade union

The Transport Workers' Union of Australia (TWU) is a trade union with members throughout Australia. It has 5 main branches based in: Australian Capital Territory/New South Wales; Queensland; Victoria/Tasmania; South Australia/Northern Territory; and Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Postal Workers Union</span> American labor union representing employees of the United States Postal Service

The American Postal Workers Union (APWU) is a labor union in the United States. It represents over 200,000 employees and retirees of the United States Postal Service who belong to the Clerk, Maintenance, Motor Vehicle, and Support Services divisions. It also represents approximately 2,000 private-sector mail workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Communication Workers Union of Australia</span> Australian trade union

The Communication Workers Union of Australia is a trade union in Australia. It is a division of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Post Office Engineering Union</span> Former trade union of the United Kingdom

The Post Office Engineering Union (POEU) was a trade union in the United Kingdom. It represented engineering staff in the Post Office, mostly working in telecommunications.

The Indian Telecommunications Service,( भारतीय दूरसंचार सेवा) widely known as ITS, and earlier known as 'Telegraph Engineering Service Class I' is one of thee Central Civil Services under Group 'A' of the executive branch of the Government of India. The appointment to this service is done through Combined Engineering Services Exam held every year by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) of India. The service was created to meet the techno managerial needs of the government in areas related to telecommunications. The Department of Telecommunications (DOT) had been managed for years by the officers of this permanent cadre, called the Indian Telecommunications Service (ITS).The officers of ITS work under restrictions and rules of Central Civil Services (Conduct) rules.

Federated Marine Stewards and Pantrymen's Association of Australasia was an Australian trade union established in 1884, and existing as a federal union from 1909 to 1988. The association represented marine stewards and stewardesses, marine pantrymen and crew attendants. The union operated a closed shop, with all workers employed in the industry members of the union, and operated on a 'no OK card - no job' principle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federated Ironworkers' Association of Australia</span>

The Federated Ironworkers' Association of Australia (FIA) was an Australian trade union which existed between 1911 and 1991. It represented labourers and semi-skilled workers employed in the steel industry and ironworking, and later also the chemical industry.

The Printing and Kindred Industries Union (PKIU) was an Australian trade union which existed between 1966 and 1995. It represented production workers in the printing industry, including compositing, typesetting, letterpress printing, lithographic plate-making, electrotyping, stereotyping and bookbinding, and the manufacture of paper and cardboard products, such as paper bags, envelopes, cardboard boxes and cartons. Approximately half of all members were qualified tradespeople, with the remainder semi-skilled or unskilled workers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Association of Draughting, Supervisory and Technical Employees</span>

The Association of Draughting Supervisory and Technical Employees (ADSTE), originally known as the Association of Architects, Engineers, Surveyors and Draughtsmen of Australia (AAESDA), was an Australian trade union which existed between 1915 and 1991. It represented white collar and technical-grade employees in both the private sector and the public service.

The Pulp and Paper Workers Federation of Australia (PPWF) was an Australian trade union which existed between 1913 and 1991. The PPWF represented workers in the pulp and paper industry.

The Communications Workers' Union is a trade union representing workers in the postal and telecommunication sectors in Ghana.

The Australian Telephone and Phonogram Officers Association was an Australian trade union representing telephonists, phonogram operators and telex service operators in the Australian Public Service. It existed from 1914 to 1992.

The Australian Postal and Telecommunications Union (APTU) was an Australian trade union which represented a wide range of employees in the postal and telecommunication industries, including postmen, postal and mail officers, delivery drivers, storemen, linesmen and telegram messengers. It was founded in 1925 and merged into the Communication Workers Union of Australia (CWU) in 1992.

References

  1. 1 2 Huntley, Pat (1980). Inside Australia's Top 100 Unions. Middle Cove, NSW: Ian Huntley (Aust.). pp. 23–26. ISBN   978-0-9598507-4-1 . Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "Australian Telecommunications Employees' Association". Australian National University Archives. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 Waters, Frank (1978). Murphy, Denis (ed.). Postal Unions & Politics: a History of the Amalgamated Postal Workers' Union of Australia. St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press. ISBN   0-7022-1198-2.
  4. ↑ Stein, Susan (1967). Labor Law and Practice in Australia. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  5. ↑ Davis, Edward M.; Lansbury, Russell D. (2013). "Worker Participation in Decisions on Technological Change in Australia". In Bamber, Greg J.; Lansbury, Russell D. (eds.). New Technology: International Perspectives on Human Resources and Industrial Relations. London: Unwin Hyman. p. 112. ISBN   9781317816508.
  6. 1 2 3 Bolton, Brian (1993). Telecommunications Services: Negotiating Structural and Technological Change. Geneva: International Labour Organisation. ISBN   92-2-108263-6.
  7. ↑ d'Alpuget, Blanche (2010). Hawke: The Early Years. Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press. p. 542. ISBN   9780522860917.
  8. ↑ Griffiths, Tony (2005). Beautiful Lies: Australia from Menzies to Howard. Kent Town, South Australia: Wakefield Press. p. 185. ISBN   1-86254-590-1.
  9. ↑ Inglis, Kenneth Stanley (2006). Whose ABC?: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 1983-2006. Melbourne: Schwartz Publishing. p. 106. ISBN   1-86395-189-X.
  10. ↑ Cooper, Dani (23 February 2016). Livelihoods and Liberation Struggles: 30 Years of Australian Worker Solidarity. Union Aid Abroad APHEDA. ISBN   9781925143126.
  11. ↑ Gibson, Lisanne; Besley, Joanna (2004). Monumental Queensland: Signposts on a Cultural Landscape. St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press. p. 138. ISBN   0-7022-3465-6.
  12. ↑ Veal, AJ; Darcy, Simon; Lynch, Rob (2013). Australian Leisure. Frenchs Forest, New South Wales: Pearson Australia. p. 82. ISBN   9781486009350.
  13. ↑ Foreign Labor Trends:Australia. Bureau of International Labor Affairs. 1992. p. 15.
  14. ↑ "Australian Postal Electricians Union (1912 - 1943)". Australian Trade Union Archives. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.