Queensland Teachers' Salaries: A Case Study in Militancy

Abstract

Teachers seem to be amongst the more willing of white-collar employees to participate in direct action over political and industrial issues. For this reason the phenomenon of teacher militancy deserves special study. This paper provides a case study of an attempt by the leadership of the Queensland Teachers Union to organize a state-wide teachers' strike as part of a salaries campaign conducted during 1974. Internal procedures leading to the formulation of a salaries claim and the organization of the subsequent campaign are discussed as is the Union's relationships with its principal targets. Data for the case study are gathered by such methods as document analysis, personal interview and participant observation.

The events are interpreted in terms of the Queensland Teachers Union's in ternal characteristics, alternative sources of influence, tactics and outcomes. This in turn enables a judgment of the Queensland Teachers Union's political and industrial effectiveness. Implications for the Union and for the development of teachers' industrial relations in Queensland are also briefly considered.

The case study shows that the Union was unable to sustain a conflict over the issue and was unable to influence significantly either the Queensland Public Service Board or the Industrial Commission of Conciliation and Arbitration. Intramural conflict, which was facilitated by the Queensland Teachers Union's organizational structure, is shown to have been a significant constraint on the successful outcome of this foray into widespread teacher militancy in Queensland.