Queensland researcher traces birth of unionism back to convicts

“Very early on, we have records of convicts organising strikes, withdrawing their labour and absconding. These actions challenged colonial authority and, in doing so, convicts effectively identified themselves as labourers as much as convicts.

“Although parallels were sometimes drawn between convict Australia and slave societies, convicts didn’t see themselves as akin to slaves.

“For the whole, convicts were a labour force, and very often we get convicts standing up for their rights and rebelling in one way or another.

“This organisation is what we can see as the foundation of unionism in Australia.

“Trade unionism links are very strong, and [they are] the foundations of this project. Unionism is very strong and prevalent in politics…