The Queensland Council of Unions (QCU) is a representative, an advocacy group, or

peak body A peak organisation or peak body is an Australian term for an advocacy group or trade association, an association of industries or groups with allied interests. They are generally established for the purposes of developing standards and processes, ...

, of Queensland trade union organisations, also known as a

labour council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or ...

, in the

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. As of 2020, 26 unions and 13 regional branches were affiliated with the QCU. The QCU represents unions covering around 350,000 Queensland workers. It is affiliated with the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions and eight trades and la ...

(ACTU). Its offices are located in the suburb of

South Brisbane South Brisbane is an inner southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , South Brisbane had a population of 7,196 people. Geography The suburb is on the southern bank of the Brisbane River, bounded to the north-west, ...

.QCU website
/ref> As a peak body for the Queensland trade unions, the objective of the QCU is to achieve industrial, social and political justice for Queensland workers. The management structure of the QCU is made up of a committee of management and an executive of representatives comprised from affiliated unions. The history of the QCU is intertwined with the history of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

(ALP) and the

Australian labour movement The Australian labour movement began in the early 19th century and since the late 19th century has included industrial (Australian unions) and political wings (Australian Labor Party). Trade unions in Australia may be organised (i.e., formed) o ...

generally. The QCU was formed in 1885, but in 1889 it disbanded and all its roles and responsibilities were transferred to a newly formed peak body, the Australian Labor Federation (ALF) (which despite its name was restricted to Queensland). In 1902 the QCU reformed, but again, in 1911, all its delegates moved to the ALF. In 1914 the ALF itself dissolved, with its affiliates moving to the growing

Australian Workers Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

(AWU). At this time the roles of the QCU were shared by a number of labour organisations, including the Brisbane Industrial Council, the Eight Hour Union and the

Brisbane Trades Hall The Brisbane Trades Hall is a former Trades Hall building in Edward Street Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. First trades hall The foundation stone of the original trades hall in Turbot Street, Brisbane, was laid on 4 April 1891 by Sir Charle ...

Board. At the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1918 Queensland unions regrouped but it was another four years before 46 unions reformed the Queensland Trades and Labour Council, now known as the QCU.Fitzgerald, Ross. Seven Days to Remember: The world’s first Labor government, Queensland 1–7 December 1899. St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 1999.

History

StateLibQld 1 172507 Hughenden Strike Camp, Queensland, 1891

The origins of the organisation lie in the rapid rise of the Australian labour movement in the 1880s. Due to a mining and pastoral boom in the regions outside

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. T ...

there was an influx of large numbers of immigrant workers, while in Brisbane and South East Queensland a number of small craft unions were established. On 18 August 1885 a meeting of union secretaries decided to form the Trades and Labour Council, which came into being on 1 September 1885. The next year, 1886, the new labour organisation was sanctioned by the Liberal government of the day (led by the then moderate liberal

Samuel Walker Griffith Sir Samuel Walker Griffith, (21 June 1845 – 9 August 1920) was an Australian judge and politician who served as the inaugural Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1903 to 1919. He also served a term as Chief Justice of Queensland and t ...

) which passed the Queensland Trade Union Act, legitimising trade unionism in the colony. In the late 1880s, Queensland was a vast, decentralised colony where predominantly white, male workers were clustered in regional areas around the rural extractive industries – the mines and the great shearing sheds. Queensland had no industrial base to speak of, even in the south east corner.A History of Queensland by Raymond Evans, Cambridge University Press, 2007 Workers had been lured to Queensland, mainly from Britain, with the promise of being self-made men. The percentage of successful immigrants to become wealthy pastoralists, mining magnates or industrialists was very small – by 1887 most immigrant workers in the mining industries were wage-labourers for a mere 30 mining companies. The wool industry was similarly consolidated. In

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

there were 3,000 shearing sheds. In the whole of Queensland there were only 150. The forcing together of large numbers of bitter, disillusioned men encouraged working-class mateship, heavy drinking and a spectacular growth of trade unionism in the colony. Class activism was further fuelled by several firebrand journalists of the day, notably

William Lane William Lane (6 September 1861 – 26 August 1917) was an English-born journalist, author, advocate of Australian labour politics and a utopian socialist ideologue. Lane was born in Bristol, England into an impoverished family. After showin ...

who worked on the

Brisbane Courier ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

and the Brisbane Observer before starting the Boomerang in 1887. The racy, iconoclastic Boomerang took the colony by storm, propagating socialist and republican ideas.

Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...

wrote under the name Joe Swallow. This was a period of rapid growth and saw the establishment of several major unions. The

Queensland Shearers Union The Queensland Shearers Union was one of the first Australian unions, founded in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The union was instrumental in the development of the 1891 Australian shearers' strike, seen today as a key development i ...

was formed in January 1887 to help combat pastoralists' attempts to reduce the shearing rate. By August 1889 it had close to three thousand members. The

Amalgamated Shearers' Union of Australasia The Amalgamated Shearers' Union of Australasia was an early Australian trade union. It was formed in January 1887 with the amalgamation of the Wagga Shearers Union and Bourke Shearers Union in New South Wales with the Victorian-based Australian S ...

was formed in 1887, mostly representing workers in southern states, eventually in 1894 merging with other rural-based unions to form the

Australian Workers' Union The Australian Workers' Union (AWU) is one of Australia's largest and oldest trade unions. It traces its origins to unions founded in the pastoral and mining industries in the 1880s and currently has approximately 80,000 members. It has exerci ...

. The Queensland Labourers' Union was established at Saltern Creek in 1888 as the Central Queensland Labourers' Union, then in 1892 amalgamated with the Queensland Shearers' Union to form the

Amalgamated Workers Union The Amalgamated Workers Union (AWU) is a trade union in Trinidad and Tobago. AWU was formed in 1936 and originally registered in 1938 as the Amalgamated Building and Woodworkers Union following the historic Butler-led labour rebellions of that er ...

of Queensland. The

Queensland Teachers Union The Queensland Teachers' Union is an Australian trade union with a membership of more than 46,000 teachers and principals in the Queensland Government's primary schools, secondary schools, special schools, senior colleges, TAFE colleges and othe ...

was established in 1889.Australian Trade Union Archives www.atua.org.au
/ref> The Amalgamated Workers Union merged with the

in 1904. The

Fifth Intercolonial Trade Union Congress Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a contagious rash that ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

in 1889 accepted the proposal to form the Australian Labour Federation, with the inaugural meeting on 11 June 1889. The QCU disbanded, transferring its roles and responsibilities to the new peak body. For all intents and purposes, this was the QCU continuing under another name. The Australian Labour Federation was an attempt to create an Australia-wide peak body, but after failing to attract support outside Queensland it was dissolved in 1914 when its main supporter, the

merged with the

. In 1887 William Shand, aide-de-camp to the Queensland Governor

Anthony Musgrave Sir Anthony Musgrave (31 August 1828 – 9 October 1888) was a colonial administrator and governor. He died in office as Governor of Queensland in 1888. Early life He was born at St John's, Antigua, the third of 11 children of Anthony Musgr ...

, was sharply critical of the fanciful promises made to immigrant workers to make their fortune in a so-called workers paradise, when in fact poorer workers lived in wooden shanties cobbled together from old biscuit boxes and wine cases. Shand was even more alarmed at how the growing trade union movement was drafting new arrivals into unions, these labour organisations already having had some success in hiking up wages and blocking non-union (scab) labour. At this time, 1877, there were 2,500 union members registered under the Queensland Trade Union Act. By 1890 this number had ballooned more than eight-fold to 21,500. Even Liberals were caught up in the excitement. In 1889 Samuel Walter Griffith, barrister and 9th Premier of Queensland, after being defeated by the conservative

Thomas McIlwraith Sir Thomas McIlwraith (17 May 1835 – 17 July 1900) was for many years the dominant figure of colonial politics in Queensland. He was Premier of Queensland from 1879 to 1883, again in 1888, and for a third time in 1893. In common with most po ...

in 1888, wrote radical articles advocating state intervention to curb capitalism, redistribute wealth, protect the weak and enforce the rule of freedom. Griffith's radical reformer phase was short lived however, as in 1890 he suddenly betrayed his radical friends and became Premier again at the head of an unlikely alliance with McIlwraith, forming the so-called "Griffilwraith" government. Also on the political front,

Thomas Glassey Thomas Glassey (26 February 1844 – 28 September 1936) was an Irish-born Australian politician. Born in Markethill, County Armagh, he received no formal education, working as a mill-worker and miner in Scotland and England. He migrated ...

became Australia's first Labour parliamentarian, representing Ipswich coalminers. He was joined in 1890 by John Plumper Hoolan. Early industrial action had international support, with the British Seamen's Union backing the

to victory in the Jondaryan dispute, by blocking transport and handling of Jondaryan wool bales. StateLibQld 1 100420

The Brisbane ''Worker'' newspaper was established in 1890 by the ALF under the editorship of

, who remained in the post until 1892. This was a time of prolonged and bitter industrial disputes, with the first of the great Australian strikes in the 1890s: the 1890 Australian Maritime Dispute, followed by the 1891 Shearers' strike, and the 1894 Shearers strike. A Labour Council had formed again by 1903, but in 1911 all affiliates transferred to the ALF. In January 1914 the ALF itself effectively dissolved, as many of its affiliates had been swallowed by the

. A new organisation called the Brisbane Industrial Council was formed midyear. Other inter-union organisations included the Eight Hours Union and the Brisbane Trades Hall Board, responsible for managing

. During the First World War closer unity between labour movement organisations was explored culminating in a conference in September 1918 attended by 42 unions adopting an amalgamation scheme. After lengthy negotiations, on 12 April 1922 the ''Trades and Labour Council of Queensland'' was established by 46 unions. In 1993 the organisation was renamed the ''Australian Council of Trade Unions Queensland Branch'' to reflect its primary function and role. The name again changed in 1999 to Queensland Council of Unions to rebuild its local identity as a

peak organisation A peak organisation or peak body is an Australian term for an advocacy group or trade association, an association of industries or groups with allied interests. They are generally established for the purposes of developing standards and processes, ...

for Queensland trade unions. Other important industrial disputes in Queensland include the

1912 Brisbane General Strike The 1912 Brisbane General Strike in Queensland, Australia, began when members of the Australian Tramway and Motor Omnibus Employees' Association were dismissed when they wore union badges to work on 18 January 1912. They then marched to Brisbane ...

, the 1948 Queensland Railway strike, the

SEQEB dispute Energex is an Australian-based wholly Queensland Government owned electricity company distributing power to 1.5 million homes and businesses in South East Queensland. The boundaries of the company’s distribution area stretch from Coolangatta ...

and the

1998 Australian waterfront dispute The Australian waterfront dispute of 1998 was an event in Australian industrial relations history, in which the Patrick Corporation undertook a restructuring of their operations for the purpose of dismissing their workforce. The restructuring by ...

. In 2012, Queensland Labor leader Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the ALP and the QCU were providing seed funding for the TJ Ryan Foundation to provide a forum for debate on policies and policy development. On 27 February 2014 the TJ Ryan Foundation was launched, taking the form of an online platform for the publication of commentary and analysis by public policy academics and experts.

Responsibilities

As a peak body for the Queensland trade unions the objective of the QCU is to achieve industrial, social and political justice for Queensland workers, by * supporting and co-ordinating affiliates to improve industrial conditions and increase membership * being the public voice of the Queensland union movement * influencing government and public policy at an industrial, political and social level * building awareness of the union movement through education, training and campaigning, and * representing the Queensland movement statewide, nationally and internationally. Some of the functions and services of the QCU include research, presentation of state general wage cases, presentation of test cases in the Industrial Relations Commission, co-ordination of multi-union negotiations, preparation of submissions for committees of inquiry and review and providing training opportunities for affiliated union delegates.

Structure

Management structure of the QCU is made up of a committee of management (acting as leadership and secretariat for an executive which is made up of 39 representatives, one from each of the affiliated unions). The 39-member Executive meets once a month. Current positions (as at 15 January 2020) on the committee of management include Honorary President (Kate Ruttiman), General Secretary Michael Clifford, and senior Vice-Presidents Beth Mohle (Queensland Nurses and Midwives Union) and Owen Doogan (Rail, Tram and Bus Union). The remaining management committee positions are seven Vice-Presidents and an Honorary Treasurer. The QCU Management Committee and Executive are assisted by several staff. As well as the President and general secretary, staff positions include a Campaign Officer, Research and Policy Officer, and a Media and Communications Officer. A number of Project Officers, Information Officers and Organisers carry out roles to assist the management committee, the executive and members of affiliated unions in areas including industrial matters, workers compensation information and education. Administrative staff positions include Office Manager, Administrative Assistants and Finance Officers. The QCU has a number of committees leading discussion about issues including: * Occupational Health & Safety * Recruitment & Retention * Skills & Industry, and * Worker's Compensation. Two major unions in Queensland affiliated to

Labor Right The Labor Right, also known as Modern Labor, is a political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) at the national level that is characterised by being more economically conservative and, in some cases, more socially conservative. The Labor ...

are not members of the QCU. These are the

and the

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) is the largest private sector trade union in Australia, representing retail, fast-food and warehousing workers, and has branches in every state and territory. Its membership is pre ...

Affiliates

The Affiliates of the QCU are the trade unions which choose to become part of the peak body and are represented on the executive. One representative, or delegate, from each union is chosen to be on the executive which makes all decisions about the policies and directions the QCU takes in carrying out the interests of its member unions. Sometimes federal unions or unions in other states and territories may not be affiliated with their own state or federal counterparts of the QCU, which nevertheless are affiliated in Queensland. For example, on 4 July 2011 the

Independent Education Union of Australia The Independent Education Union of Australia (IEU), with a current membership of over 75,000, is the federally registered industry union representing all employees working in non-government schools and institutions across Australia. Included in ...

disaffiliated from the

ACTU The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

(the federal peak body) due to concerns relating to education policy but is affiliated with the QCU in Queensland. The ACTU maintains a national directory of affiliated unions and union officials. Because of widespread amalgamations in the period 1983–1999ACT – About trade unions
Retrieved 17 March 2014. and still continuing, names of trade unions have changed, with some retaining parts of their former identities, often seen in historical banners on Labour Day. *

Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Employees The Australian Federated Union of Locomotive Employees (AFULE) is an Australian trade union representing railway workers. It was formerly a national union which largely merged into the Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union in 1992; however, ...

The A.F.U.L.E. is a craft union representing Traincrew in Queensland. *

Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers The Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers (AIMPE) is both an Australian professional association and a trade union. They are registered with the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and are affiliated with the Australian Cou ...

Representing the industrial and professional interests of marine & power engineers. *

Australasian Meat Industry Employees' Union The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (also known as the Meatworkers Union) is an Australian trade union representing workers in the meat industry including in abattoirs, butchers, and smallgoods manufacturers. Structure The AMIEU ha ...

Queensland Branch. Representing workers in the meat industry including abattoirs, poultry sheds and the retail sector. *

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), or more fully the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, is an Australian trade union. The AMWU represents a broad range of workers in the manufacturing se ...

Representing manufacturing workers in food and confectionery, metal and engineering, printing and packaging, technical, supervisory and administrative areas and vehicle building. *

Australian Services Union The Australian Services Union (registered as the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union) is a trade union representing workers in a variety of industries. The ASU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade ...

Central and Southern Queensland Clerical and Administrative Branch. Representing worders in clerical administration including PAs, clerks, receptionists, admin officers, call centre operators, customer service officers, reservation agents and telemarketers. *

Bacon Factories Union of Employees Queensland Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

Representing workers in the food manufacturing industry. *

Communication Workers Union of Australia The Communication Workers Union of Australia is a trade union in Australia. It is a division of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union of Australia. It was formed in 1992 as a standalone Union following the merger of the Australi ...

A division of the Community and Public Sector Union covering workers in telecommunications and postal industries. *

Community and Public Sector Union CPSU, the Community and Public Sector Union (more commonly known as the CPSU) is a national trade union in Australia. The union came into existence on 1 July 1994 with the amalgamation of the Public Sector, Professional, Scientific, Research, T ...

Covering workers in the public sector, telecommunications, call centres, employment services, commercial broadcasting, the aviation industry and science and research. *

Electrical Trades Union of Australia The Electrical Trades Union of Australia (ETU) is an Australian trade union. The ETU is a division of the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), and is the largest of the three divisions. Under State Government laws, the union ...

A division of the Community and Public Sector Union representing workers in electrical contracting and construction, electricity supply, manufacturing, transport and general trades. *

Financial Services Union The Financial Services Union (FSU) is a trade union representing staff in the finance sector in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, and those employed by Irish financial institutions in Great Britain and overseas. History The origins of th ...

Covering workers in financial institutions, banks and across the financial services sector. *

Queensland and NT Branch representing principals, teachers and other education staff working in non-government schools and colleges, early childhood centres, and other non-government educational institutions. * Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance Covering the media, entertainment, sports and arts industries. *

Maritime Union of Australia The Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) was a union which covered waterside workers, seafarers, port workers, professional divers, and office workers associated with Australian ports. The MUA was formed in 1993 with merger of the Seamen's Union ...

Queensland. Covering stevedoring and dock workers (wharfies) divers, workers on ferries, in offshore oil and gas, port services and shipping. *

National Tertiary Education Union The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) is an Australian trade union for all higher education and university employees. It is an industry union, and the only union working exclusively in the Australian university sector. Overview NTEU ...

Queensland Division. Members in tertiary education including universities, TAFE colleges, research institutes and adult education providers. * Queensland Nurses and Midwives' Union The union for nurses and midwives in public and private health and aged care in Queensland. * Plumbers Union Queensland Representing plumbers in state and local government, construction, major projects, maintenance and residential. *

Queensland Police Union ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Representing Queensland police officers. *

Professionals Australia Professionals Australia, formerly the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia (APESMA), is an Australian trade union registered under state and federal industrial relations acts. It is affiliated with the Austral ...

A network for professionals including engineers, scientists, pharmacists, architects, managers, contractors and consultants. * The Services Union Representing workers in Local Authorities (including Brisbane City Council), Social and Community Sector (SACS), Energy, Rail, Ports and North Queensland Clerical and Administrative Industries. *

Queensland Teachers' Union The Queensland Teachers' Union is an Australian trade union with a membership of more than 46,000 teachers and principals in the Queensland Government's primary schools, secondary schools, special schools, senior colleges, TAFE colleges and othe ...

representing teachers in primary, secondary and special schools, senior colleges, TAFE colleges and other educational facilities. *

Rail, Tram and Bus Union The Australian Rail Tram and Bus Industry Union (RTBU) is an Australian trade union representing rail, tram and bus workers. The RTBU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Intern ...

covers employees of Queensland Rail, QR National, Brisbane City Council, GoldLinq, PNQ, Transfield, QRX and more. *

Transport Workers Union of Australia The Transport Workers' Union of Australia (TWU) is a trade union with members throughout Australia. It has 5 main branches based in: Australian Capital Territory/New South Wales; Queensland; Victoria/Tasmania; South Australia/Northern Territory ...

Covering members in aviation, passenger transport, local government, waste, cash in transit and oil and gas. *

Together (union) Together is a trade union covering workers in the public and private sectors in the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest areas of coverage is the state public sector, including clinical and administrative staff in Queensland Health, state ...

Representing public sector workers, formed by the amalgamation of the Queensland Public Sector Union and the Australian Services Union with offices in Brisbane, Bundaberg, Cairns, Maryborough, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Townsville. * United Firefighters Union Queensland * United Workers Union was formed in 2019 after a national merger between United Voice (with around 60,000 members in Queensland) and the National Union of Workers, covering workers who feed you, educate you, provide care for you, keep your communities safe and get you the goods you need.

Labour Day

On 1 March 1858, stonemasons working for

John Petrie John Petrie (15 January 1822 – 8 December 1892) was a Scottish-born politician, architect, stonemason and building contractor in Brisbane who became the city's first Mayor. Private life John Petrie was born 15 January 1822Toowong Cemetery ...

won the ''

eight-hour day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the 16 ...

'', which was first commemorated on 1 March 1865. Initially only those workers who had achieved an eight-hour day were allowed to march in Eight Hour Day processions. By 1890, at least 11 unions had achieved significant reduction in hours and improvement of conditions and all workers were allowed to participate in the march from 1890. During the 1891 Shearers Strike in Barcaldine, striking shearers held a procession on May Day, 1 May 1890, with the first Brisbane May Day march in 1893. Eight Hour Day was formally changed to the first Monday in May in 1901, when it was gazetted as a public holiday by the Queensland government. In 1912 the day was renamed ''Labour Day''. The Labour Day march in Brisbane is an organised procession of the Australian labour movement which parades through the streets of Brisbane ending at a park where a festival takes place to entertain participants and their families.

References