Laurie Carmichael delivers this address towards the closing stages of the shorter hours campaign and national wage negotiations for 1982, in the context of an economic recession supervised by the Fraser government, and when there was emerging a public discussion about a possible prices and incomes agreement.

The recording is in 2 parts, including his preliminary speech and his responses to questions from journalists in the audience.

Laurie Carmichael address at the National Press Club on 10 June 1982 [sound recording].

In this address we listen to Carmichael’s intellectual heft, sharp wit, combativity, and capacity to represent workers’ views on the national stage.

Note: the link requires an additional click on “I accept” to listen to the recording.

The content covers a range of issues that indicate the priorities of the union at the time as required by mass meetings and other communications with members: there is the shorter working week, wages settlement emerging, the social wage – a new concept for journalists and many others, industry development, the power of capital and how it was being exercised in the dynamics of the system, investment decision-making as workers and union business, tripartitism, and trade union rights for workers in east Asia.

This short piece by Laurie Carmichael highlights the dissatisfaction among the metal industry unions with Hawke Labor government’s efforts on industry development as required by The Accord in 1983.

Note the emphasis in this Forward on the role of the members of the unions in tackling the problem presented to them by the Labor government.

The Forward is a good example of Carmichael’s conceptual framework for a workers’ “intervention strategy”.

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The centre piece of the Hawke Labor government’s election in 1983 was the Accord, and agreement between the ALP and the union movement on economic management issues. It was not just a prices and incomes agreement. It covered a range of major issues, although not all. One of the issues set out the agreed principle for the development not downgrading of manufacturing industry.

However, upon being elected, the government convened a tripartite National Economic Summit that drew employers, state governments and some other civil society organisations together to propose how the government should proceed. The Statement from the Summit enabled the government to dilute in its practice the agreement/Accord that had been worked out by the ALP and the unions.  

Led by Laurie Carmichael, the metal industry unions were determined not to allow this without a struggle, but at the same time avoid actions that might undermine the government to the advantage of the employers and the LNP opposition.

Thus, the metal industry unions through their national Award Negotiation Committee produced the most comprehensive report that laid out how manufacturing industry should be developed consistent with the text in the Accord.

In August 1984, the Metal Industry Unions presented its Report to its members, the government and the public its own comprehensive jobs-creating industry policy. The Report ran to 309 pages and was supported with supplementary leaflets, journal articles, media stories and pamphlets.

As National Secretary of the Metals Award Negotiation Committee, Laurie Carmichael laid out in the Foreword the independent and united union position for ongoing consultations with both the employers and the government.

The unions' research officers worked closely with a network of state and regional research centres that operated voluntarily, in the main, to develop the content.

These included the Transnational Cooperative (Sydney), Hunter Workers Research Centre, Labor Research Centre (Melbourne), Wollongong Workers Research Centre, and the Labor Education and Research Group (Adelaide). They, in turn, used the content to further develop their own local initiatives to defend and develop manufacturing industries against the downgrading of manufacturing.

For example, the Railway Workers Union, united several unions in its Rail Unions Intervention Project to counter the privatisation strategy for Australian National, driven along by the Labor Minister Peter Morris, the CEO of AN and the private road transport corporations.

In this article Laurie Carmichael explains the reasons for the late 1970’s surge in popular support for a shorter working week, starting with the demand for a 35 hour week.

He traces the history of the demand in the union movement, describes the immediate developments unfolding at the time and the drive coming from workers themselves, and reviews the “political economy” of the time. In that he covers the key points:  impending recession, “structural adjustment” undermining Australian manufacturing, other dimensions of economic and environmental crisis, and of course technological change. This campaign proceeded over a few years and featured highly effective communication and education tools, strategic continuity and flexible tactical adjustments.

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Commentary

These 4 pages from "The Metal Worker" cover the start and culmination of the winning of the 38-hour week through to 1981. Although reduced working hours had been or were being achieved here and there, June 1980 marked the serious escalation of the struggle into a general, national achievement for all Australian workers. The changes to the Metal Industry Award set the standard for flow-on to all other awards over the next few years. The 38-hour week framework now lives on in the Manufacturing and Associated Industries Award.

Laurie Carmichael led this struggle at the national level, regularly visiting capital and regional cities for mass meetings and shop stewards’ meetings.

The 38-hour week form was brought on by workplace victories that established a monthly long weekend and, the threat of the 1982 recession to the effective continuity of the campaign.

Note that the struggle delivered a significant wage increase with the 38 hours in the early stages of the recession supervised by the then Fraser Liberal government.

• Don Sutherland