Establishment The Painters and Dockers' Union had its origins in the
New South Wales Associated Laborers Union, also known as the
Balmain Labourers Union, which was established in
Balmain in May 1883. The new union was formed to represent all unskilled workers or labourers in the area, but was focussed mainly on shipbuilding and ship repair, the main industry in Balmain. The union gradually grew in stature over the next decade, affiliating with the
Trades and Labor Council of Sydney in 1889 and establishing the Balmain Trades and Labor Hall in 1890. The union achieved federal registration in 1916, giving it access to the federal system of arbitration and conciliation courts.
Growth Working conditions and pay for ship painters and dockers in the early 20th century were poor, with 80 percent of the union's membership in 1939 earning less than the
basic wage. Ninety percent of painters and dockers were employed as casuals, under the
free selection of labour system. This meant workers had to wait outside shipyards and port workshops, where foremen would choose different men to work each day, depending on the requirements of the employer. The union made significant efforts to regulate this system of hiring, including introducing limits on the minimum length of employment and the number of hours workers would wait each day, but with little success. Conditions changed dramatically during World War II, as increased demand in the shipbuilding industry led to a labour shortage. The membership of the union grew rapidly, increasing in Sydney from 880 in 1939 to 2792 in 1945. For example, despite representing only 15 percent of the workforce in the shipbuilding and ship repair industry the FSPDU was involved in 40 percent of all industrial disputes between 1975 and 1978. The FSPDU was also notable for being the only union in Australia after 1976 to have more than 5 percent of its members in the shipbuilding and ship repair industry.
Decline The FSPDU faced a decline in membership during the late 20th century as mechanisation (including
sandblasting and
spray painting) and the decline of Australian commercial shipbuilding reduced the number of jobs available. By the late 1970s membership of the union had fallen to approximately 2000, although the union actively defended the work of its members through competition with other unions over coverage, being involved in a high proportion of all
demarcation disputes in the shipbuilding industry. As work declined in the industry, employers began to seek the removal of the union roster system, provoking an eleven-week strike at the
Garden Island dockyard in Sydney in 1976 and a sixteen-week dispute in Newcastle in 1978. Both disputes ended with the union retaining the right to operate the roster. == Alleged criminality and deregistration ==