The Labor Council of New South Wales is a representative body of Trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 organisations in the State of New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. As of 2005 there are 67 unions and 8 Rural and Regional Trades & Labor Council

Labour council

A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of labour unions or union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, region, or provincial or state level...

s affiliated to the Labor Council, representing 800,000 workers in NSW. It is registered as the State Peak Council of Employees under Section 215 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW).

The Labor Council was formed by six Unions in 1871, and originally called the Trades & Labor Council of Sydney. In 1894 it changed its name to the Sydney District of Australasian Labour Federation. In 1900 it again changed name to the Sydney Labor Council, changing again eight years later to the Labor Council of New South Wales.

In 2005 it adopted the name Unions New South Wales for all public purposes, but retained the official name Labor Council of New South Wales.

Responsibilities

The Labor Council of New South Wales is responsible for:

• implementing Australian Council of Trade Unions
  Australian Council of Trade Unions
  The Australian Council of Trade Unions is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated unions.-History:The ACTU was formed in 1927 as the "Australian Council of Trade Unions"...
  
   policy within New South Wales.
• co-ordinating union activities and campaigns, involving more than one union.
• providing assistance with research, negotiations and advocacy to affiliated organisations.
• lobbying State Parliament for social and industrial reforms.
• providing a public point of contact for general enquiries on New South Wales unions.
• Ownership of the Sydney Trades Hall
  Sydney Trades Hall
  The Sydney Trades Hall is the historic Trades Hall in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The building was built and owned by the Trades Hall Association, the original trade union affiliates who built the hall in 1888....
  
   was transferred to the Labor Council in 2002, from the original trustees: the Trades Hall Association.

Labor Council Secretaries

• H. M. Ford 1871-1872
• T. White 1872
• A. Cameron 1873 Entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography
• T. White 1873
• F. B. Dixon 1873-1874 Entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography
• A. Cameron 1874 Entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography
• P. Aiken 1874-1876
• T. H. Hall 1876-1879
• W. Helstey 1880
• W. R. Roylance 1880-1882
• J. E. West 1883 Entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography
• F. B. Dixon 1883 Entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography
• T. Symons 1884-1887
• J. J. Cronin 1887-1888
• T. J. Houghton 1888-1891 Entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography
• J. Riddell 1891-1894
• J. P. Cochran 1894-1902
• T. H. Thrower 1903-1904 Entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography
• J. P. Cochran 1904-1910
• E. J. Kavanagh 1910-1918 Entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography
• J. S. (Jock) Garden
  John Garden
  John Smith "Jock" Garden , clergyman, Australian trade unionist and politician, was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Australia.-Early life:...
  
   1918-1922 Entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography
• J. Howie 1922
• J. S. (Jock) Garden
  John Garden
  John Smith "Jock" Garden , clergyman, Australian trade unionist and politician, was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Australia.-Early life:...
  
   1923-1934 Entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography
• R. A. King 1934-1958
• J. D. Kenny 1958-1967 Entry in Australian Dictionary of Biography
• Ralph Marsh 1967-1974
• John Ducker 1975-1979
• Barrie Unsworth
  Barrie Unsworth
  Barrie John Unsworth was an Australian politician, representing the Australian Labor Party in the Parliament of New South Wales from 1978 to 1991. He served as the 36th Premier from July 1986 to March 1988.-Early years:...
  
   1979-1983
• John MacBean 1984-1988
• Michael Easson
  Michael Easson
  Michael Bernard Easson AM , is an Australian businessman and former union leader.Easson graduated with First Class Honours in Politics from the University of New South Wales in 1976 and completed management and finance programmes at Harvard and Stanford Business School University Business Schools...
  
   1989-1994
• Peter Sams 1994-1998
• Michael Costa 1998-2001
• John Robertson
  John Robertson (New South Wales politician)
  John Cameron Robertson MP , an Australian politician, is the Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales and the Leader of the Opposition. Robertson is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Blacktown for Labor since 2011...
  
  2001-2008
• Mark Lennon 2008-