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  The Struggle
  for Equal Pay



Though equal pay in principle is now a woman's right,
To turn it into practice we must show a little fight.
We fear male disapproval if to argue we decide,
The boss fears for his bank account, the husband for his pride.
(Glen Tomasetti, 'Don't be too polite girls' in Songbook: Union and Women's Songs, p. 2. UQFL175, Box 3, Folder 5)

When labour shortages occurred during World War II, some female workers employed in traditional male jobs were awarded a much improved rate of between 60% and 100% of the male wage depending on the industry and its importance to the war effort. After the end of the war in 1945, women were returned to lower pre­war pay scales of between 54% and 60% of the male rate. Such developments during and after the war led more women to demand equal pay for equal work.

Strikes by women workers were a discerning feature of the struggle for equal pay. On 10 April 1951, women at Rheem in Brisbane went on strike after the management wanted to slash the pay rate to 75% for all women workers. After holding out for three months, the dispute was settled and the women were offered 87.5%, equivalent to 90% of the male rate when the strike started. During the same year, women employed at Swift Meatworks in Aitkenvale were also successful in their strike. A court decision awarded them 75% of male rates, which the company had tried to cut to 66%. One meatworker expressed,

[t]hat by their stand the Swift's women, like those at Rheem's, had done much to protect women's wage rates everywhere.
(Unlabelled Paper on Equal Pay, p. 5. UQFL175, Box 1, Folder 1)

Continuing the fight to protect and increase women's wages, the first meeting of the Queensland Equal Pay Committee was held in 1956. Important female members included unionist Kath Thomas who was actively involved in the equal pay movement over many decades. Also involved was tireless equal pay campaigner Stella Nord. Meetings called by the Committee were often small and there was little support, if any, from union leadership. One of the more successful campaigns was Equal Pay Week which began in the early 1960s. Part of its success came from the involvement of other women's organisations. The campaign generated leaflets, conferences and social awareness with the aim

... to win the adoption and implementation ... of 'equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value'. (Equal Pay Campaign, Speakers notes, 2 April 1962, p. 2. UQFL118, Box 153, Equal Pay Leaflets)




TOP TO BOTTOM
 
1. Photograph of delegates at an Equal Pay Conference in 1956. (UQFL118, Box 288, Envelope on Equal Pay)
 
2. Leaflet produced by the UAW garnering support for one of the many test cases on equal pay, date unknown. (UQFL193, Box 9, Folder: Equal Pay)
 
3. Photograph of Kath Thomas, unionist and pivotal activist in the struggle for equal pay over the decades, date unknown. (UQFL175, Manuscript Listing)
 
4. Photograph of a more mobile advertisement for workplace equality during Equal Pay Week, c. 1960s. (UQFL118, Box 288, Envelope on Equal Pay, City Hall, c. 1968)
 
5. Leaflet produced by the ACTU for Equal Pay in Queensland in 1963. (UQFL175, Box 1, Folder 4)
 
6. Leaflet calling for participation in an Equal Pay Forum as part of the national Equal Pay Week campaign, c. 1960s. (UQFL175, Box 1, Folder 4)
 
7. Badges. (UQFL 193, Box 24)