ABSTRACT
The circumstances under which the majority of Australians became wage-earners shaped their expectations. The wage boards were made permanent and new ones were created to cover other industries. The growth of the Australian trading economy in the second half of the nineteenth century had brought modest comfort to the majority of male wage-earners. Skilled workmen were in keen demand and the major construction projects undertaken by the colonial authorities employed veritable armies of labourers. By direct negotiation with their employers, work groups reached agreement on wages, hours and conditions; and market usually permitted a ‘fair’ or ‘just’ settlement. Arbitration courts were established in New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and Commonwealth— Tasmania and South Australia followed Victoria in preferring wage boards. The declaration of an inviolable minimum wage calculated to meet human and family needs seemed to meet workers’ expectations. The arbitration of disputes and determination of wages by judicial tribunals carried a particular significance in an increasingly diversified economy.
