The Sydney Opera House Work-In was an episode of workers' control that occurred in Sydney, Australia in 1972.
Background
The Construction of the famous Sydney Opera House took place between 1959 and 1973, or a period of 13 years. In 1972, management had fired a worker and in response the workers demanded the rehiring of said worker and a wage increase of 25%. Management refused these requests, and were all fired. In response, the workers broke into the construction site with a crowbar and brought their own toolboxes.[1]
Events
Workers elected a foreman and safety officer, and when the Department of Public Works refused to provide engineers, they simply reorganized and did jobs that did not require engineers. Foreman tried to order the workers around and threatened to fire them, but were simply told to go jump into the harbour. Productivity skyrocketed as workers did the same work which previously took fourty-eight hours in thirty-five (or a 27% increase), something management had considered impossible. This was a result in improved morale, efficient organization and less people skipping work. This frightened management so much that they promised greater and greater wage increases and better working conditions, but the workers kept saying no until they got better and better deals.[1]
Results
The workers agreed to end their work-in when management agreed to give them a 25% wage increase, the right to elect their foremen, four weeks annual leave (later encoded into Australian law for all workers in 1974)[2] and a large payment for their troubles. The workers were extremely satisfied with this, and ended their work-in.[1]
See Also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Immanuel Ness (2014) New Forms of Worker Organization: The Syndicalist and Autonomist Restoration of Class Struggle Unionism - Chapter 10: Doing without the boss: Workers' Control Experiments in Australia in the 1970s
- ↑ https://worksite.actu.org.au/the-history-of-annual-leave/