Tasnor Ivan "Tas" Bull (31 January 1932 – 29 May 2003) was an Australian trade union leader, serving as General Secretary of the Waterside Workers' Federation from 1984 to 1993.

Biography

Tas Bull was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1932. His first name was a combination of Tasmania and Norway, the respective birth places of his mother and father. He grew up in a working-class household in Tasmania. His father, an electrical contractor, had been a seaman. He was raised a member of the

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. He went to sea in 1946 and became active in the

Seamen's Union of Australia The Seamen's Union of Australia (SUA) was the principal trade union for merchant seamen in Australia from 1876 to 1991. The SUA developed a reputation as one of the most militant trade unions in Australia and was closely associated with the ...

(SUA), then aligned with the Communist Party of Australia (CPA), which Bull joined in 1951. He left the CPA in 1959, following the suppression of the Hungarian revolution by the Soviet Union. After his marriage Bull became a waterside worker in

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, joining the powerful Waterside Workers' Federation (WWF), and was soon a job delegate. Later he worked in Melbourne, then Sydney, becoming an experienced negotiator. In Sydney he undertook an industrial law course at

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

Law School. In 1967 he was elected a Vigilance Officer; in 1971 he was elected Federal Organiser, and later Assistant General Secretary. In 1984 he succeeded

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as General Secretary, a post he held until 1992. He also became prominent in the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). He became an ACTU Vice President in 1987, and Senior Vice President in 1991. Bull led the WWF during the period of radical change on the waterfront. Technological change was greatly reducing the size of the workforce, while at the same time there was political pressure to reform waterfront work practices to make the Australian transport sector internationally competitive. In response a process of waterfront reform was begun by the Hawke Labor government. Bull co-operated with the reform, while defending his members' interests. In 1993 the WWF amalgamated with the SUA to form the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA). Bull was also active in international trade union affairs. From 1972 onwards he worked with the

International Transport Workers' Federation The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a democratic global union federation of transport workers' trade unions, founded in 1896. In 2017 the ITF had 677 member organizations in 149 countries, representing a combined membership ...

, and for ten years until 1993 represented the Asia/Pacific region on its executive board. Following his retirement in 1993 Bull remained active in various left-wing and union causes, and published his autobiography ''Life on the Waterfront'' in 1998. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bull, Tas 1932 births 2003 deaths Australian trade union leaders People from Sydney Australian sailors Australian waterside workers