Wildcat strikes in the Latrobe Valley in the 1960s

Introduced by Naomi Farmer who is a socialist from the Latrobe Valley. Naomi helped to organise community protests in 2014 when a fire raged at the local coal mine and state government authorities did very little to protect locals.

The split in the Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) in 1967 is often understood as a dispute about union finances. However this overlooks the fierce debates about union strategy and the self organisation of rank and file workers in the lead up to the split. This session will detail a rank and file led strike in the Victorian power stations that confronted the leadership of the VTHC and split the union movement.

Cathy Brigden:

Reassessing the Victorian Trades Hall ‘Split’ of 1967-73

https://www.jstor.org/stable/27713748?seq=1

Tom Bramble: Trade Unionism in Australia