The Third Intercolonial Trades Union Congress was a meeting of
trade union delegates held 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 ...
,
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 ...
in October 1885, succeeding congresses in 1879 and 1884. It was the first of these congresses to have representatives from every colony, except
Western Australia, and every trade and industry. It had 99 delegates, including two delegates representing the Victorian Tailoresses Union, who were the first women at a congress. The unions involved claimed a membership of 150,000. It passed resolutions calling for the establishment of a federation of unions, the introduction of
tariff protection, the introduction of payment of members of
parliament, the extension of the
franchise to sailors, the exclusion of
Chinese labour (foreshadowing the
White Australia policy) and the abolition of
assisted immigration. The report of the congress was written by
John Norton.
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References
Australian labour movement
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