Industrial Relations on the Snowy Mountains Project: The Development of a System of Conciliation

Annual Report of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority for Year Ended 30th June, 1950, p. 7.

Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act 1949, No. 25, 1949.

Australian mountains are not high as compared with mountains elsewhere in the world. The highest peak in Australia is Mt Kosciusko, 7,314 feet, located in the Snowy Range.

Annual Report, June 30, 1950, op. cit., pp. 7-8.

The functions of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority, created in s.7 (1) of the Act, are: (a) to generate electricity by means of hydro-electric works in the Snowy Mountains area; and (b) to supply electricity so generated to the Commonwealth (i) for defence purposes, and (ii) for consumption in the Australian Capital Territory.

Part III, 16, of the Act.

Sec. 51 (VI) of the Commonwealth Constitution states that the Parliament shall, subject to the Constitution, have power to make laws for peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to "the naval and military defence of the Commonwealth and of the several States, and the control of the forces to execute and maintain the laws of the Commonwealth".

Interview, December 20, 1969, with Sir William Hudson, Commissioner of the Snowy Mountains Authority from August, 1949, until his retirement in April, 1967.

Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act 1958, No. 31, 1958.

Interview with Sir William Hudson, op, cit.

Files of the Snowy Mountains Authority, I.B.204/1, Industry Award, Negotiations with A.C.T.U. and A.W.U., letters and memoranda from March 17, 1950, to February 19, 1951.

Annual Report, June 30, 1950, op. cit., p. 13.

Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act 1951, No. 47, 1951.

Files of the Snowy Mountains Authority, I.B.204A/1, memorandum from Chief Industrial Officer to Commissioner, May 1, 1952.

Ibid., letters and memoranda from May 12, 1952, to August 5, 1953.

77 C.A.R. 477, 486, 496, 499, Basic Wage and Standard Hours Inquiry 1952-53.

(1954) 79 C.A.R. 50, The Australian Workers' Union and the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority (No. 234 of 1953). According to Mr C. T. Oliver, Secretary of the N.S.W. branch of the A.W.U., the union was glad to have an excuse to withdraw, because it felt that an industry award from the Commonwealth Arbitration Court would not be as favourable to it as the awards which would be made by the N.S.W. Industrial Commission. (Interview of January 15, 1970.)

Files of the Snowy Mountains Authority, I.B.204A/1, letters and memoranda from September 23, 1953, to April 12, 1955.

Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act 1956, No. 45, 1956.

Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1956. The amendments also added Division 5 to Part III of the Act which gave the Commonwealth Commission power to prevent or settle industrial disputes arising on "Commonwealth Projects". For this purpose the term "industrial dispute" was defined as a dispute as to industrial matters, whether or not the dispute extended beyond the limits of any one State. The immediate reason for the addition of Division 5 was not the constitutional problem facing the Snowy Mountains Project. Rather, it was a situation which had arisen elsewhere. The question whether Division 5 would apply to the Snowy Mountains Project never has been decided.

Interview with Mr Richard Mortlock, former Chief Industrial Officer for the Snowy Mountains Authority, present Administrative Officer for the Employers' Federation of N.S.W., January 15, 1970.

Interview with Sir William Hudson, op. cit.

Files of the Snowy Mountains Authority, I.B.204A/1, letters and memoranda from April 20, 1955, to September 19, 1956. See also File No. 55/708, Department of Labour and National Service.

Ibid., letters and memoranda from August 15, 1956, to May 30, 1957.

(C'wealth) Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act 1958, No. 31, 1958; (N.S.W.) Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act 1958, No. 20, 1958; (Vic.) Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Agreements Act 1958, No. 6180. According to Sir William Hudson, the claims of South Australia were satisfied by an informal agreement giving South Australia 3-13ths of the water during dry periods when it was needed. Under the formal agreement, N.S.W. and Victoria are to receive peak load power from the Snowy Mountains at a cost no higher than the States could produce thermal power of equivalent amount with the most modern plant using coal as fuel. The States also are to receive 2,000,000 acre-feet of water free, although provision of this water cost the project an additional $160,000,000.

The A.W.U. contended in 1958 (and still contends) that even with the Commonwealth-States agreement the legislation is unconstitutional and will remain so until a referendum to the people decides otherwise. The A.W.U. argues that the Commonwealth-States agreement is interstate, and thus cannot give constitutionality to the actual construction on the project which is intra-state. Mr C. T. Oliver, Secretary of the N.S.W. branch of the A.W.U., stated in an interview on January 15, 1970, that the A.W.U. is still ready to take the constitutional issue to court any time that the union should find it necessary to do so. He stated further that the A.W.U. never was afraid that a shutdown of construction with the consequent loss of jobs would occur if the court declared the project unconstitutional. The A.W.U. was confident that some other way, such as channelling the money through N.S.W., would be devised to keep the project going. If this particular possibility were selected, industrial relations matters still would stay with the N.S.W. Industrial Commission, which was what the A.W.U. was fighting for.

Interview with Sir William Hudson, op. cit. Sir William Hudson's attitude toward Judge Taylor has changed greatly over the years. At one time he told Judge Taylor, "You cost me $250,000 every time I see you." Now he feels that Judge Taylor did a remarkable job of conciliation to the great benefit of the project. Not everyone changed his attitude as Sir William did, however. Two of those who were interviewed feel that Judge Taylor's influence on the Snowy Mountains Project has done the country a great deal of harm. His generosity in wages and conditions has raised the expectations of labour which will be reflected elsewhere, thus adding to the momentum of the inflationary spiral. They said, "The contractors on the Snowy could afford Judge Taylor because of the rise-and-fall clauses; the Authority could afford him because of the efficiency with which the work was done; but the big question is, could Australia afford Judge Taylor?"

Files of the Snowy Mountains Authority, I.B.204A/1, letters and memoranda from September 15, 1958, to June 16, 1960. See also File No. 67/3925. Department of Labour and National Service.

Files of the Snowy Mountains Authority, I.B.297A/1, letters and memoranda from February 11, 1966, to June 30, 1969. See also Files No. 62/1759 and 66/2015, Department of Labour and National Service.

The 21 other cases were before the Commonwealth Commission or the Public Service Arbitrator. In addition, between September, 1966, and May, 1968, there were five cases before the Commonwealth Commission and seven before the N.S.W. Industrial Commission.

Files of the Snowy Mountains Authority marked "Cases of Industrial Commission of New South Wales", Vols. I, II, III, IV, and "Decisions of Independent Arbitrator, S. C. Taylor".

Apparently most working conditions, food and lodgings, and accident and safety problems were settled relatively early in the project's life.

Interview with Mr D. J. McCallum, Industrial Officer, Snowy Mountains Authority, December 15, 1969.

Interview with Mr P. Clancy, Secretary of the Building Workers' Industrial Union, December 5, 1969.

"The Friendly Judge," The Australian, November 15, 1966, p. 7.

Annual Report of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority for the Year Ended 30th June, 1966, p. 28.

Interview with Mr Justice S. C. Taylor, former President of the N.S.W. Industrial Commission, present Independent Arbitrator for the Snowy Mountains Project, November 28, 1969.

Industrial Commission of N.S.W., Coram: Taylor J. Dispute Between Australian Workers' Union and Humes Limited Re Payment of Special Rates to Employees Engaged on Murray I Penstock Construction, December 22, 1965.

Application of the A.W.U., Re Payment of Penstock Rate to Plant Operators on Murray I Penstock Construction and on Murray 2 Penstock Line, November 28, 1967.

Morrison-Knudsen and A.W.U., Dispute Regarding Dismissal of John O... and Four Others, October 6, 1966.

In the Matter of Members of the Boilermakers' and Blacksmiths' Society and Humes Limited, Talbingo, re Wage Rates for T. 3 Pipe Assembly Platform Erection, August 19, 1969.

Statement on November 4, 1966, by Judge Taylor to Mr M..., union representative of the A.W.U. on the Jindabyne job, John Holland (Constructions) Pty. Ltd. The case involved a work stoppage which lasted two hours. Judge Taylor suggested that these remarks be circulated by the Authority to all job representatives throughout the area.

Annual Report of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority for the Year Ended 30th June, 1953, p. 17. See also the Report for 1955, p. 4; for 1959, p. 25; for 1963, p. 19.

According to the Authority's files, the first cases to be presented to the N.S.W. Industrial Commission were in 1953.

Interview with Sir William Hudson, op. cit., December 20, 1969; with Mr C. T. Oliver, Secretary of the N.S.W. branch of the A.W.U., January 15, 1970; with Mr Richard Mortlock, op. cit., January 15, 1970.

During construction, records were broken in tunnelling, in placing earth fill, etc. Not only was little time lost, the workers evidently expended maximum effort and achieved a remarkably high rate of production.

Interview with Mr C. T. Oliver, op. cit., January 15, 1970.

Interview with Mr Richard Mortlock, op. cit., January 15, 1970.

Annual Report of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority for the Year Ended 30th June, 1965, p. 30.