The events below highlight key points in maritime union history during the period 1972-1992. To learn about each event in more detail, follow the "read more here" link:

Solidarity: The Fight Against Apartheid: The struggle to dismantle the racist system of apartheid in South Africa had grown into a worldwide international campaign of boycotts and embargoes by the 1980s. The SUA made many contributions to this struggle, particularly in its involvement in the oil boycott...(read more here)

Flags of Convenience:...(read more here)

Chile: International Solidarity: In September 1973, the democratically-elected government in Chile of Salvador Allende was overthrown in a bloody military coup led by General Pinochet and backed by the US CIA. The SUA and WWF imposed a boycott on trade with Chile--a ban that would until the end of the Pinochet regime in 1989. It became the longest boycott in the history of Australia and a far-reaching impact on the country's export of wheat for which chile had become a major customer...(read more here)

The Prices and Incomes Accord (1983): The Prices and Incomes Accord was an agreement between the ACTU and the ALP government of Prime Minister Bob Hawke and Treasurer Paul Keating. The basic agreement held that unions agreed to restrict wage demands and, in turn, the government pledged to minimise inflation, take action on the social wage, and increase spending on education as well as welfare...(read more here)

Dignity: Seafarers Retirement Fund: Of all the achievements the SUA made in working within a capitalist economy, the provision of a successful retirement fund was the most remarkable...(read more here)

Be the first to comment
