On the 100th anniversary of the Public Service Assn of NSW

(March 1899-1999)

The public sector is the most significant base for trade unionism in Australia and internationally, and the PSA is one of the oldest and most significant general public sector unions in Australia and the world. It is also one of the largest state union organisations of any kind (top four in NSW), and indeed, until the recent spate of union amalgamations in Australia, it was in the top twenty unions by size on a national level, even though it was only based in one State.

Furthermore, since a majority of its members have always been administrative, clerical or professional employees, the PSA also represents one of the earliest substantial forms of white collar unionism. Yet, at the same time, its organisation of blue collar public sector workers in a genuine industrial union has made the PSA (and its equivalents in other states) unique in Australia and overseas, for much of its history. A high proportion of its membership were also female from an early stage, which makes it one of the earliest examples of mass female unionisation.

For all of these reasons, the history of the PSA provides a highly significant record of public sector employment and industrial relations in NSW throughout the twentieth century.

This was symbolised by the participation of PSA members and officers in the recent MUA lockout of 1998. This lockout repeated many of the events and themes of the great 1890 Maritime Strike. This strike was significant for marking the beginning of a decade which bears an uncanny resemblance to the 1990s, in terms of employer assaults on wages and conditions, the predominance of conservative governments favouring employers, the importance of globalization in determining economic and industrial outcomes in Australia, the employer catch-cry of 'freedom of association' or non-union individual contracts, employer and conservative resistance to establishment or maintenance of general industrial standards through legislation, and major cutbacks in the public sector.

It was largely in response to this that a Labor Party was formed to attempt to redress the balance in favour of workers through parliamentary means, and of course, in 1899 that the PSA was formed specifically in response to the retrenchments and other cutbacks in the public service of that time and stealing from superannuation funds by the government of the day.

Marx wrote of the tendency of history to repeat itself, the second time as farce. We hope that he is right with the eventual outcomes of current efforts to wind back the political consensus of the past century which has given workers and their industrial representatives a recognised place in the body politic and civic society.

Whatever this outcome, we do know that the PSA will play a major role in defending the rights of a significant proportion of the working men and women of Australia.

Janet Good on the PSA's Early Days

Today is a truly historic occasion for the Public Service Association. It was exactly 100 years ago today that a meeting of public servants came together not far from where we are now, and decided to form the Association.

I might just quote from an article appearing in the first edition of the "Public Service Journal" of January, 1900, which describes that meeting;

"On the 16th of March last year a meeting of Public Servants, convened by advertisement, was held in Aaron's Exchange Hotel, Sydney, for the purpose of considering the advisability of forming a Public Service Association.

"There was a large attendance, and Mr Stephen Murphy, Police Magistrate, was voted to the chair. After discussion the Association was formed, and a provisional committee, consisting of three representatives from each Ministerial Department, was elected. A week later the committee met and made arrangements for drafting a constitution. Some time was occupied in this important work, and on the 27th April the draft constitution was adopted."

And so the Association was born. The article goes on to say that the meeting held to adopt the draft constitution was presided over by a Mr Beaver, the Clerk of the Peace. The Journal says that Mr Beaver, "...delivered a thoughtful and interesting address. He explained the objects of the Association, and pointed out that its foundational principle was loyalty to the Government."

The Journal further quotes Mr Beaver as saying:

"We have in our midst a society of people determined to loyal and faithful service to the State. But though we have a loyal and faithful service, we must have a fearless service. I mean a service which will not be spineless, or a cringing, craving service, which is always indicative of that which is wrong, because ultimately they would find that a service which dare not express its views in a reasonable and proper manner, and dare not ask for what was legitimately its rights, was bound, more or less, to be a menace to the State."

These are views which would strike a chord with public sector workers today. Despite the 100 year old prose that the Journal uses to describe the Association's formation, the driving force behind it was the fact that public servants, as individuals, could not achieve what they considered to be proper rates of pay and conditions.

They decided that collective bargaining, through an Association, was the answer. That answer, despite Peter Reith's attempts to turn the clock back 100 years with his individual contracts of employment, is still just as valid today.

The "Public Service Journal" goes on to describe reactions to the PSA's formation. I quote again -

"Next day several of the public journals commented on the proceedings, all of them favourably. The Sydney Morning Herald said that "the public servants of New South Wales are justified in taking this important step; the only wonder is it was not taken long ago. Here we have a body of civil servants who, taking them all round, are second to none in the British Empire.

"Their ability is admitted on all hands. To their ability in the work of the various departments must be added their habit of faithful and loyal service. They know what they have to do, and they do it with a will. But in order that they can do it at their very best, they should be, in justice to the country as well as to themselves, independent of everything except lawful authority."

In this regard, times certainly have changed. A Sydney daily newspaper, or radio station, or television station editorialising in favour of public servants and public sector unionism is something I would like to see a lot more of today.

Much has changed in the Association in the hundred years that have gone by. The PSA was formed, and for many years was dominated, by men. This was a reflection of society as it was. Today, over half the Association's members are women, and women play a major role in all aspects of the PSA's operations.

We have had a woman President, women Vice-Presidents, and women General Secretaries, and the Women's Council has been part of our formal structure for over 60 years. The PSA has always been at the forefront of pay equity issues. As far back as 1922, the PSA ran a campaign for equal pay for women clerks in the public service.

Due to the prevailing climate at the time, the campaign was unsuccessful, but the union continued to be involved in the fight. One of the best known names in NSW in the equal pay fight was Jean Arnott, a member of the PSA. We now have an annual award for service to women members named after Jean Arnott.

Although equal pay for the same work was achieved some years ago, genuine pay equity between awards was much harder to gain, and I would like to pay tribute to your Government Mr Premier, and in particular to the Attorney-General, Jeff Shaw, for the pay equity enquiry.

Also, for all of its existence, the Association has been campaigning for permanency for long-term temporary public service employees, many of whom are women.

I am pleased to say that after 100 years we have finally achieved this aim, and I would like to thank you, Mr Premier, for your Government's co-operation in making that possible.

While we are still known as the Public Service Association, many other unions have amalgamated with us over the years. All these amalgamations have been successful ones (unlike some of those at Federal level), and they include the Petty Sessions Officers' Association, the various unions representing staff in the Rural Lands Protection Boards, the Forestry Field Officers Association, the Joint Coal Board Staff Association, the University Library Officers Association and most recently, the Professional Officers' Association. The PSA is strengthened by these types of kindred amalgamations, and they have made us a better organisation.

Might I conclude with one last quote from the article in the "Public Service Journal" to which I have previously referred:

"It only remains to be said that the success which has followed the efforts to establish the Public Service Association has exceeded the expectations of the promoters.

The body promises to be one of the strongest organisations of the kind in the world, and it appears to be destined to have a career of great usefulness. It is to be hoped that every civil servant in the colony will become a member of the Association."

While we're no longer part of a colony (and hopefully we'll soon be part of a republic), those words are prophetic. We have achieved an enormous amount in the last hundred years, far more than the PSA's founders could have ever dreamed; but the union is only as effective as its members allow it to be.

It is my fervent hope also that "every civil servant .... will become a member of the Association", because the more members we have, the better we can represent them.

If we can do that, the Public Service Association will thrive and prosper, not only for another hundred years, but way beyond.