Voices from the Ships: Australia's Seafarers and their Union

Australia’s seafarers claim a long and distinguished history of political activism and union organisation. Theirs is more than just a job. It is a way of life in which union membership is inseparable from their identity as world citizens. For more than fifty years a commitment to a socialist vision of world peace and democracy, combined with strong and continuous leadership, made the Seamen’s Union a distinctive force in Australian industrial and political history. In their struggles to replace harsh conditions with safe and liveable workplaces, financial security and dignity, the SUA fought for principles of equality, democracy and social justice for all workers and all people. In Voices from the Ships seafarers tell their story of these events and the role that unionism played in changing their lives for the better.