In April 1998, Australia suddenly erupted into industrial war. Security guards with dogs and balaclavas swarmed docks across the country, threw out all 1,400 unionised workers at Patrick Stevedores, and then replaced them with a non-union workforce. Blockades sprang up at major ports, thousands of workers walked off the job to support the sacked wharfies, and the country seemed poised on the brink of a general strike.

This moment was the culmination of a years-long plan by the federal government and major employer associations to completely destroy waterfront unionism in Australia. As an island nation, Australia’s entire economy is heavily dependent on a small number of ports, and the workers in those ports have extraordinary strategic power. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, waterfront workers had used that power to not only heroically fight for and win improved working conditions, but to support struggles by other workers across Australia and the world. It was this proud tradition that the government set out to annihilate in 1998.

This was one of the most significant battles between workers and their employers in Australian history, and in this episode we’re joined by Tom Bramble, a retired industrial relations academic, to discuss and analyse the dispute. Tom is the author of War on the Waterfront, a gripping history of the confrontation, as well as several other works on trade unionism in Australia.

You can read War on the Waterfront here, and you can also buy Tom’s book on the history of Australian trade unionism here, while you can read his thesis about rank-and-file car industry workers here. Sign up to our Patreon now to have the chance to get a free copy of Tom’s book and support our podcast! 

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Opening and closing music courtesy of Glitter Rats. People’s History of Australia logo design courtesy of Nissenbaum Design design.