Talk:1985 Rockhampton state by-election

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Cutting and pasting from my user subpage as I'm going to delete it - the page numbers refer to the cited "Political Chronicle" from the article.

Lengthy section on power industry dispute p498-500. Long and short: "There have occurred over the last several years a series of disputes between Queensland‘s power industry workers and the state government, and during the first half of 1985 these continuing difficulties exploded into a full-scale bitter confrontation between Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen’s government and the state’s trades union movement." 8 Jan 85 - State Industrial Commission recommended draft agreement be accepted by SE Qld Electricity Board and Electrical Trades Union. ETU rejected it. 17 Jan - 800 workers went on strike. Early Feb - threatened with dismissal and $1000 fines. State Govt declared state of emergency on 7 Feb. Other unions joined in, negotiations collapsed, load-shedding imminent. SEQEB sacked 1000 striking workers on 11 Feb and advertised for replacements. 13 Feb Govt rejected SIC recommendation to accept compromise. At this point, coal handlers at power stations went on strike. Cost to Qld est 20 Feb at $230m. Both sides engaged in extensive advertising campaigns. Was resolved 21 Feb but without reinstatement of workers.

Orderinchaos 14:48, 13 February 2010 (UTC)[reply]