ABSTRACT
Government played a substantial role in the colonies, providing essential physical, economic and administrative infrastructure, including a legal regime privileging private property and subordinating workers, land-distribution policies and the provision/allocation of labour. In the convict period government directly engaged in construction, manufacturing and other activities. Much construction prior to 1840 was undertaken by government-convicts. Government-convicts engaged in other activities also took collective action. Free-labour taking collective action included labourers, council workers, police, soldiers, watchmen, clerks and postal workers. Unemployed workers engaged on relief-work during economic downturns also took collective action. Collective action also occurred amongst free government workers; much of it was multi-workplace because employment conditions were usually determined centrally. Centralized determination of employment conditions by government predisposed workers to multi-workplace agitation. Aside from mutual insurance, formal organization was not an option. There were several attempts at formal organization, all focusing on mutual insurance.
