Document analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Document analysis - Essay Example The AEU was a progressive and politically active union, and a number of factors contributed to its success. Though women were not highly represented in metalworking, the AEU was able to make progress because of its competitive organization and dedication. Diane Fieldes ranks as indicators of success in this particular case, â€Å"The distribution of metalworkers throughout the economy (by 1970 metal trades unionists were 17 per cent of all unionists), and the traditional role of the fitter’s rate as representative of all craftsmen’s wages [†¦ ]In the early 1970s, whatever happened in the metal industry was a standard to which other unions aspired (Fieldes, 4). In the early seventies, women all over the world were beginning to exercise their public rights, as they pertained to labour and otherwise. The fact that this case was brought to bear is extremely indicative of the thinking of the times: women working outside the home had begun to consider themselves entitled to an equal and fair wage, begun to feel that the concept of the family wage was outdated and furthermore, that this same concept was the source of injustice. In addition to the 1972 decision, the 1970s saw other important steps for women in the labor force. As Dalton, Draper, Weeks, and Wiseman write, As a result of long, hard lobbying by women unionists, the 1977 Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) adopted the Working Women’s Charter, and in 1979 obtained maternity leave as a right in industrial awards (11). Society in general was beginning to be receptive to such notions. Fieldes remarks that the metalworkers union was not noted for its inherent progressiveness, nor for its majority female membership, but rather for its competitive organization and discipline: The final factor of note in the metalworkers’ union’s campaign for equal pay is the composition of the union’s membership. In March 1969 the