From Chapter 6
Amenities
Central Queensland
From the early 1960s, the Queensland Branch found itself grappling with everyday life on resource projects hundreds of kilometers from Brisbane. As ever, the labourers went in first and so endured the roughest conditions. A 1967 agreement required that tents be replaced with huts, while the catalogue of the other equipment that employers had to supply was a sign of how crude the amenities remained.[1] The scale of the challenge to the Queensland Branch was obvious at Blackwater which, in 1962, consisted of a scatter of houses, one hotel, a general store, the railway stop and a one-room school. By 1969, its population had gone up to 700, before reaching 6,000 in the late 1970s. Even where the projects were close to regional cities, such as Rockhampton, the arrival of hundreds of men, some with families, required a boost to spending on public services.
The nature of the work and the state of the sites presented organisers and members with issues far beyond wages, hours and amenities. The infrastructure at the camps began as a throwback to those for navvies on railways and reservoirs in the nineteenth century. The Branch's most recent experience with such situations had been for the Civil Construction Corps, responsible to the government. The resource projects, by contrast, were undertaken by the world's biggest and toughest construction corporations, such as Utah and Fluor, Bechtel and Dillinghams. Secretary Delaney acknowledged in May 1966 that "when agreements had first been made we had been in our infancy in major construction."[2]
The infrastructure sites added layers to the battle for amenities. The Log of claims now went beyond sheds, lavatories and hot water as the union negotiated over full board and accommodation. Some disputes were about the prices charged, and others over the quality of food and bedding. Thus, the resources boom involved the Branch in social issues - health and education - that it had left to the Labor Party. The union needed to win housing, schools and entertainment from an anti-labour State administration and anti-union contractors.
Most companies tried to use board and lodging to reduce wages or to break strikes. In July 1963, the contractor on the Calcap powerhouse deducted ₤2 4s for board and keep. When the men refused to accept this wage cut, the company put them out of the camp before the union got them back into the dining room without any charge for their food.[3] In 1966, the Calcap men went out for three days. In response, Holland Constructions made them pay $4 for the nine meals they had eaten while on strike, only to back off once Gallagher put the squeeze on its Melbourne jobs.[4]
Accommodation remained a flashpoint. Many men were living in caravans. To meet union demands, one company offered to construct a caravan park with all amenities adjacent to the site. Employees living in the park received $10 per week in lieu of accommodation and they got an additional $4 a week until the site was complete. The company also conceded fares and traveling time for those still driving in for shifts from Biloela. Meanwhile, the Collinsville site still had no car park.[5]
The 1966 agreement at Blackwater showed how many benefits union action could deliver. The employers paid $7.50 as the site allowance, and provided a wet canteen, a public phone and a weekly movie. They also funded an ambulance man, an emergency vehicle and a first-aid room on site.[6] By contrast, Christmas Day 1965 at the Hammersley project on the other side of the continent confirmed that construction workers got no joy without struggle. Having worked the men for three months without a day off, the company served cheese, bread and tinned meat. A riot rewrote more than the menu.
Gladstone's population continued to grow. From 7,000 in the early 1960s, it had reached 31,000 by 1981, with no sign of slowing. Caravans were the common lot of families moving there, with some surviving out of the back of utes. House rents skyrocketed. Because the corporations sped the construction of the infrastructure to hasten the sale of the resources that realised their profits, social infrastructure did not get a look in. The closest welfare office was 136km. away in Rockhampton. Once more, the unions looked beyond their worksites to battle for social environments. On 1 July 1981, 4,000 members stopped work, banning resource projects until their communities were guaranteed funds for hospitals, schools, sporting and cultural facilities.[7] Premier Bjelke-Peterson proclaimed "States' Rights" for the benefit of overseas investors at the expense of Queensland citizens.[8]