The National Union of Workers (NUW) is a large Australian 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...

 formed in 1989.

History

The National Union of Workers of Australia was formed by a progressive amalgamation of unions from 1989 onwards in a time when all Australian unions were merging, with varying degrees of success. These unions merged into the one larger union in order to pool together their expertise and resources, so they could provide members with a larger range of quality services.

The six unions which form the NUW were established in the early part of last century and have been at the forefront of workers' achievements for nearly 100 years:

• Federated Storemen and Packers Union (Est. 1912)
• Federated Rubber and Allied Workers Union (Est. 1908)
• Federated Cold Storage and Meat Preserving Employees' Union (Est. 1908)
• Federated Millers and Manufacturing Grocers Union
  Federated Millers and Manufacturing Grocers Union
  Federated Millers and Manufacturing Grocers Union was an Australian trade union. It represented workers in food processing and manufacturing industries.- Formation :...
  
   (Est. 1909)
• Commonwealth Foremen's Association (Est. 1912)
• United Sales Representatives and Commercial Travellers Guild (Est. 1888)

Coverage

The National Union of Workers covers workers in the following industries:

• Warehousing and distribution
  Distribution (business)
  Product distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. An organization or set of organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user.The other three parts of the marketing mix are product, pricing,...
  
  
• Food manufacturing
• Rubber
  Rubber
  Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
  
  , plastic
  Plastic
  A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
  
   and cable-making
  Cable
  A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
  
  
• Dairy
  Dairy
  A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
  
  
• Cold storage
  Refrigeration
  Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
  
  
• Poultry
  Poultry
  Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
  
  , fish
  Fish
  Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
  
   and game
  Game (food)
  Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
  
   processing
  Food processing
  Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
  
  
• Skin and hide
  Tanning
  Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
  
  
• Wool
  Wool
  Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....
  
  
• Oil
  Oil
  An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
  
  
• Pet food
  Pet food
  Pet food is plant or animal material intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food...
  
  
• Pharmaceutical manufacturing
• Milling
  Mill (grinding)
  A grinding mill is a unit operation designed to break a solid material into smaller pieces. There are many different types of grinding mills and many types of materials processed in them. Historically mills were powered by hand , working animal , wind or water...
  
  
• Market research
  Market research
  Market research is any organized effort to gather information about markets or customers. It is a very important component of business strategy...
  
  
• Merchandising
  Merchandising
  Merchandising is the methods, practices, and operations used to promote and sustain certain categories of commercial activity. In the broadest sense, merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of products to a retail consumer...
  
   and sales representatives
  Sales
  A sale is the act of selling a product or service in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity....