Our Brisbane History

Badges, Badger

& Bayonets

The General Strike

In 1912 Brisbane was the site of what was believed to be the first simultaneous strike in the world. The strike lasted for seven weeks and involved 43 unions. Triggered by the lock-out of workers employed by the Brisbane Tramways Company, the strike brought Brisbane practically to a standstill. Public transport was stopped and shops, factories and hotels were closed.

In 1904 and 1908 employees of the privately owned Brisbane Tramways Company had negotiated unsuccessfully for improvements in conditions and the acceptance of a unionized workforce. The matter arose again in early 1912 but the intractable manager, Mr. J.S. Badger, refused all claims and further instructed that any workers who openly displayed union badges would be sacked. On 18 January, the tramway men precipitated action by deliberately wearing their badges. They were subsequently locked out. Attempts at negotiation failed and on 28 January there was a meeting involving 43 trade unions to try to resolve the matter. This was unsuccessful and within two days 20,000 unionists were on strike and the city was paralysed.

A strike committee was established to issue special permits to allow shops to trade and businesses to operate. Government departments also had to apply for permits. To ensure that the permit system was adhered to, and to keep order, the strikers organised a squad of 500 vigilance officers to patrol the streets. To maintain solidarity among the strikers and to distribute information an Official Strike Bulletin was issued regularly for the duration of the strike.

On the first tow days of the strike, processions were allowed. Then the State Government asserted its authority and banned all public demonstrations. Police wit loaded rifles and fixed bayonets guarded the streets and on 31 January the Police Commissioner was authorized to swear in 3000 special constables. On Black Friday, 2 February, thousands of strikers attempted to march from Trades Hall in Turbot Street to Parliament House but were opposed and dispersed by mounted police. The Premier appealed to Prime Minister Fisher for the use of Commonwealth Forces to control the strikers. This was refused. Prime Minister Fisher is said to have personally contributed to the strike fund.

The strikers had underestimated the level of solidarity on the part of the unemployed and non-union labour. It was clear by early February that without support from these two areas, the strike was unlikely to succeed. By 5 February, a skeleton tram service was running again and people in other occupations began drifting back to work. The strike was called off officially on 5 March after the Employers Federation gave an assurance that there would be no victimization of the strikers. Technically the strikers had won as they were successful in securing an order restraining the company from dismissing employees for wearing union badges. This had been the initial point of the dispute. However, it was generally believed that the strike had failed.