The Mount Isa Mines Strike was a strike at Mount Isa, Australia from 1964 to 1965. Although starting as a simple dispute over wages, it quickly turned into a complex struggle for control of trade unions, being a contest for control of the mine either by the IWW, communist-controlled unions, liberal unions and the desire of the mining corporation to have little union influence at all.
Background
At the time, Mount Isa Mines was one of the largest mines in Australia, producing copper, zinc, lead and silver. As it was a hugely-profitable operations and required many workers, there had been unrest in the past over pay and bonuses disputes, and the strike erupted when the mine rejected the unions push for a $4 an hour wage increase during collective bargaining sessions.[1]
Events
The striking miners employed many tactics during the strike, notably go slows. There had also been a car chase at some point, killing an unknown individual. The miners were led by IWW member Pat Mackie, who was born in New Zealand and spoke with an American accent, leading the news to say that he was a foreign agent trying to make it easy for China to invade Australia. He was eventually expelled from the Australian Workers' Union and fired from the site, whilst local police were given the power to search houses without a warrant and seize strike materials.[1]
Results
The strike eventually resulted with the police loosing many of the legal powers and the original demands of the strikers being met.[1]