Federated Moulders' (Metals) Union of Australia

The Federated Moulders' (Metals) Union of Australia (FMMUA) was an Australian

Founded at the turn of 20th century, the union was formed as a federation of several smaller bodies based in the various

History

1910s: Foundation

Trade unionism among moulders in Australia began in 1858 with the establishment of the Iron Moulders' Society of Victoria (sometimes also referred to as the Ironfounders' Trade Union of Victoria or the Friendly Trade Society of Iron Moulders of Victoria).

The Federated Ironmoulders' Union of Australasia was formed in 1899 through the amalgamation of state-based unions in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.[6] At the union's 1904 conference the name was changed slightly to the Federated Iron, Brass and Steel Moulders' Union of Australasia; at the same conference a South Australian District of the union was formed.^[6][9] The union's NSW branch (the strongest of the state branches) registered under the Industrial Arbitration Act, 1901 (NSW) almost immediately, although it did not manage to achieve a state industrial award until 1911.^[8]: 19 The union soon found the state arbitration system to be restrictive and unwieldy, and its use of direct industrial action and strikes led to its deregistration under the state system in 1916; however, by this time it had begun proceedings to register under the federal arbitration system, which it achieved in the same year.^{[8]: 19–20}

1920s: Demarcation

Although machine moulding was first introduced into Australia in the late 19th century the union initially refused to admit machine and plate moulders, regarding the work as relatively unskilled compared to that done by fully qualified 'jobbing' moulders.

The union's membership reached a peak of 3,845 in 1928, before falling during the Great Depression to less than 3,300.^[14]: 170 The union estimated that two thirds of its members were totally unemployed in 1931, with the remainder generally under-employed.^[14]: 169 The decline in employment crippled the union, and workplace activism in the moulding trade was almost non-existent during the first half on the 1930s.^[8]: 21 Conditions in the industry were also seriously undermined during this period by the 1930 metal trades award, handed down by Justice Beeby, which reduced wages and shift allowances, expanded the role of semi-skilled process workers in the industry and allowed for the use of 'payment by results', or piecework, by employers.^{[14]: 184, 242–243} The union's name was changed in 1930 to the Federated Moulders' (Metals) Union of Australia, which would remain its title for the rest of its existence.^[15]

The union's membership began to recover during the late 1930s, and by 1938 had recovered to its pre-Depression levels.

During the late 1930s the FMMUA also initiated a campaign to obtain compensation for foundry workers diagnosed with silicosis, caused by inhaling the fine sand used to make moulds for casting. Despite the campaign, safety and industrial hygiene standards in Australian foundries remained extremely primitive up until the Second World War.^{[14]: 245–247}

1940s: Dilution

During WWII the union vociferously opposed dilution (where complex tasks performed by tradesmen were divided up into simple tasks to be performed by unskilled labour) and the introduction of female labour in the moulding trade.^{[14]: 269 [18]} These measures were actively pursued by the government in an attempt to overcome manpower shortages caused by the enlistment of men into the armed forces and the rapidly increasing demand for industrial production. In 1944 20 moulders at the Perry Engineering Company in Adelaide stopped work over the employment of two women as coremakers.^[18] The dispute spread to 10 other workshops and lasted for several months before the Arbitration Court ordered the moulders to return to work (although the judge found that the company had unfairly exploited wartime regulations allowing female labour in order to undermine the workplace conditions of the tradesmen moulders).^[18] In the same year the union voted overwhelmingly to refuse membership to female coremakers employed at Metters Limited, on the basis that it could lead to reductions in the basic pay rate for male moulders.^[19] The women workers, whose original employment had been disputed by the metal trades unions, instead became members of the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU).^[19]

Shortly after the war the FMMUA played a prominent role in the 1946–47 Victorian Metal Trades Strike, led by the AEU, which culminated in November 1946 in a lockout of 20,000 Victorian foundry workers by employers.^{[17]: 282–284} Following protracted proceedings in the arbitration courts, the dispute was finally settled when workers agreed to return to work in exchange for an increase of 16 shillings in the base tradesmen's rate under the Federal Metal Trades Award (with equivalent increases for other classifications) and amendment of federal wage-pegging regulations.^{[17]: 282–284 [20]: 119} This increase later flowed on to workers employed under the various state metal trades awards.^{[20]: 119–120}

1950s - 1970s: Decline

By the 1950s the FMMUA had approximately 7000 members, but was faced with a declining membership base as technological advances in foundries further reduced the need for tradesmen moulders.^[21] The union, therefore, argued against government initiatives to allow semi-skilled adult workers to train beyond the level of machine moulding.^[21]

After a major dispute in 1970, in which all moulders in Victoria were on strike for a period of five weeks, the Victorian branch of the union established a special committee with the Metal Trades Industry Association and the Country Founders Group to try and improve industrial relations in the industry.^{[1]: 156–157} The industrial relations committee was highly successful, and time lost due to stoppages fell from approximately two to three weeks per member per annum to less than 24 hours per member after its creation.^{[1]: 156–157} This model of industrial relations committees in the moulding trade of later spread to other states including South Australia and New South Wales.^{[1]: 156–157}

Nevertheless, the union's membership continued to decline into the 1970s as automation and the decline of heavy industry due to tariff reduction shrank the workforce in foundries. The union was heavily involved in advocating for government support for the industry, including submissions to the Tariff Board, albeit with little success, and by 1973 membership had fallen to 4,000.^{[1]: 156–157}

The FMMUA was heavily involved in the campaign to secure a 35-hour working week in the Australian metal industry during the 1970s and 80s.^[6] The union was also active in opposing the penal clauses of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act, and refused to pay fines imposed on it for undertaking strikes.^[22]

During the early 1970s the NSW, Victorian and Queensland branches of the FMMUA supported the Moratorium Movement in opposition to Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War.^[23]: 81 In general, the union's political inclinations varied between states, with the Queensland branch closely associated with the Communist Party of Australia,^[20]: 116 while the Western Australian branch was regarded as relatively conservative.^[24]

Amalgamation

As early as 1922 the moulders' union had participated in discussions with a view to forming one single union in the metal trade, without success.

References