Industrial Welfarism in Australia 1890-1965

This thesis examines industrial welfarism in Australia from 1890 to 1965. This period witnessed the gradual spread of the welfarism movement throughout Australian industry as employers sought ways to increase productivity and control in the face of external challenges. Once reaching its peak in the immediate post-War period, the welfarism movement was gradually subsumed as part of the increasing formalisation of personnel management. Waves of interest in welfare provision coincided with periods of labour shortage and/or labour militancy in Australia, indicating its dual role in the management of labour. Firstly, by offering benefits and services beyond that made necessary by the law or industrial awards, welfarism was designed to create a pool of good quality workers for management to draw from. Secondly, managers sought to enhance their control over these workers and their productive effort, using welfarism as a technique to build worker consent to managerial authority. This could be achieved through subtle methods aimed at boosting loyalty and morale, or through more direct programs designed to increase worker dependency on the company. In both ways, individual and collective worker resistance could be minimised, thereby reinforcing managerial prerogative. Despite its adoption by a variety of companies, a number of economic, political and institutional factors limited the extent of industrial welfarism in Australia. These include the small-scale of most enterprises prior to the Second World War, state involvement in the area of industrial relations and welfare provision, and the strength of organised labour. While the welfarism movement did not reach the heights experienced overseas, it nonetheless provided an important contribution to the development of formal labour management in Australia

Competition in Retailing: Lessons from the History of Rochdale Consumer Co-operatives in Australia

Rochdale consumer co-operatives have played an integral role in the lives of many people in particular localities in Australia. The Rochdale movement developed in waves in the period prior to the end of World War II, but went into decline over the following decades. While the movement has collapsed in Australia, a number of Rochdale consumer co-operatives continue to thrive in rural areas of Australia, largely by drawing upon a reciprocal relationship with the local community. A further reason for the survival of these rural co-ops is that they have linked up with franchising. This arrangement – community co-operative ownership and franchising – provides another alternative in the quest to increase competition and reduce market concentration in retailing in Australia.The symposium is organised on behalf of AAHANZBS by the Business and Labour History Group, The University of Sydney, with the financial support of the University’s Faculty of Economics and Business

The Origins and Early Years of the Barossa Community Store, 1944-65

The Barossa Community Store in Nuriootpa is Australia’s largest and most successful surviving Rochdale co-operative store. It is located in the Barossa Valley, the centre of one of Australia’s major wine growing regions. This paper explores the origins of the store against the background of the German heritage of the Valley and the community movement that developed in the town and attracted both national and international interest. The early years of the store, which arose from the result of the mutualisation of a successful non-co-operative retailer, saw tensions between leaders of the co-operative and the broader community over whether surpluses should be retained by the co-operative or ploughed back into the community. The co-operative saw need to raise capital to grow by seeking additional sources of capital beyond members’ shares. Management also had to face the challenge of changing retail practices, which gradually saw the shift to self-service and the opening of its first supermarket under the Co-operative brand in December 1965.The symposium is organised on behalf of AAHANZBS by the Business and Labour History Group, The University of Sydney, with the financial support of the University’s Faculty of Economics and Business

Competition in Retailing: Lessons from the History of Rochdale Consumer Co-operatives in Australia

Rochdale consumer co-operatives have played an integral role in the lives of many people in particular localities in Australia. The Rochdale movement developed in waves in the period prior to the end of World War II, but went into decline over the following decades. While the movement has collapsed in Australia, a number of Rochdale consumer co-operatives continue to thrive in rural areas of Australia, largely by drawing upon a reciprocal relationship with the local community. A further reason for the survival of these rural co-ops is that they have linked up with franchising. This arrangement – community co-operative ownership and franchising – provides another alternative in the quest to increase competition and reduce market concentration in retailing in Australia.The symposium is organised on behalf of AAHANZBS by the Business and Labour History Group, The University of Sydney, with the financial support of the University’s Faculty of Economics and Business

Visualising organisations over time and space: The Visual Atlas of Australian Co-operatives

There has been an upsurge of interest in co-operatives as an alternative business model since the Global Financial Crisis and the UN’s declaration of 2012 as the International Year of Co-operatives. While this upsurge of interest is welcome, there has been a long history of co-operatives in Australia since at least 1833. Unfortunately, the rich history of Australian co-operatives is poorly documented and overlooked in the major accounts of Australian history. The Visual Atlas of Australian Co-operatives History Project aims to explain the fluctuations in co-operatives over time and regional clusters through combining the skills of historians and business information researchers. The data is drawn from a wide range of sources including published histories, the Trove newspaper database, government sources and co-operative records. The Visual Atlas is based on Tableau software which allows researchers to chart the development of Australian co-operatives over time and space. This chapter besides outlining the theoretical explanations of co-operative development and the VAACHP, also highlights a preliminary result in terms of the upsurge of co-operatives in Western Australia following the First World War

The State and employment relations : wartime welfarism

An important dimension to understanding the development and character of employment relations in Australia is the role of the state in promoting and diffusing new labour management ideas and practices throughout the twentieth century. Not only did the state play an indirect role in shaping the labour process through the arbitral system, it was also directly involved in fostering and encouraging the use of modern labour management practices in Australia through the activities of various government departments. The relative lack of large-scale private organisations in Australia and the dominance of the public sector provided a further channel for the state, as an innovative employer, to promote the need for efficiency and productivity, and to implement new strategies for this end.13 page(s

A campaign of thought direction : house journals in Australian industry before 1965

House journals have been used by Australian employers as a means of fostering worker commitment to managerial goals since the late nineteenth. While also playing an educational or communication role, the propaganda value of house journals was of primary importance to most employers, with such publications being central to a company's welfare policy. This paper provides an examination of house journals during the period of welfarism in Australia, 1890-1965. It begins with a brief discussion of the welfarism movement in Australia, followed by an overview of house journals in this context. The content of house journals is then analysed, with emphasis on the weight afforded to propaganda and general items relative to education and management communication. The labour response to employer-disseminated literature and propaganda is then examined to determine the value of house journals as a communication tool, and as a means of creating a spirit of cooperation, loyalty and esprit de corps in Australian industry

Company-sponsored recreation in Australia : 1890-1965

Company-sponsored recreation was an important part of industrial welfarism in Australia. This paper explores the incidence, extent and nature of recreational programs, and the managerial goals and strategies involved with the schemes. It demonstrates that recreational programs were a relatively widespread and enduring feature of labour management between 1890 and 1965, although the frequency, range and nature of activities varied between companies. While the characteristics of schemes were largely influenced by business size and workforce composition, the paper challenges the argument that recreational programs, like the broader welfare schemes of companies, were primarily targeted at female labour. Indeed, employers in a wide range of industries and workplaces introduced recreation schemes for two main reasons - to improve labour supply and to enhance managerial prerogative - although the significance placed on each goal varied between companies and overtime as a result of external pressures and influences.23 page(s

Legislating for compulsory unionism : the New South Wales experience

During the postwar period, internal tensions plagued the Australian labour movement. Central to these tensions were the formation and policies of the Industrial Groups. While their original aim was to destroy Communist influence in unions, the Groups rapidly established themselves as a power within the Labor Party. With the goal of consolidating their position, the Groups sought to obtain legislation which would further expand their influence. In New South Wales, this legislation took the form of general compulsory unionism. The aim was to strengthen those unions with Industrial Group leadership, thereby increasing their influence at Labor Party conferences. Despite strong left-wing opposition, the legislation was introduced in November 1953. This paper traces the New South Wales legislation from the time of its enactment to its ultimate demise. The aim is twofold. Firstly, it adds to the existing body of research on the post-war history of the Australian labour movement, particularly in terms of its internal politics. Secondly, the paper aims to inform current debates by demonstrating the complex political frameworks and implications associated with union growth and security.14 page(s

'Practical utopians' : Rochdale consumer co-operatives in Australia and New Zealand

Rochdale consumer co-operatives have played an integral role in the lives of many people in particular localities in Australia and New Zealand, but have been largely overlooked by labour historians in both countries. While the Rochdale movement was more advanced in Australia than New Zealand, at no point did the movements in the two countries reach the same heights as their counterpart in Britain. A preliminary examination of the movements in Australia and New Zealand demonstrates that Rochdale co-operatives in both countries had similar 'waves of interest' and obstacles to their advancement. While the movement has collapsed in both countries, a number of Rochdale consumer co-operatives survive in rural areas of Australia, chiefly by drawing upon a reciprocal loyalty relationship with the local community.14 page(s