Symposium and thematic section of Labour History Working Life, Enterprise and Arbitration Labour and business history from the proceedings of Australian arbitration in the Commonwealth and state jurisdictions. Symposium: Friday, 10 November 2006 Publication: Labour History November 2007 Aims To highlight the rich and complex history of Australian working class experience and business enterprise as revealed in the transcripts of Commonwealth and State arbitration proceedings. The publication of papers in Labour History coincides with the centenary of the Harvester judgement. This is intended as an ambiguous commemoration, reflecting the ambiguities of a judgement that drew inspiration from the evidence presented in the proceedings while judiciously overlooking key issues and contradictions – the inadequacies of a seven shilling per day minimum wage, the inability of Sunshine Harvester workers to present evidence for fear of employer victimisation, Higgins concern to protect an Australian enterprise and the prerogatives of its managers. Harvester clarified Higgins’ intention to use the Court to play a role in Australian nation building and to uphold managerial prerogative while acknowledging a selective range of rights for a predominantly male workforce and their union representatives, an approach that was followed by Higgins’ successors in the Commonwealth and state jurisidictions. The Harvester case also revealed the forensic interrogative approach that was adopted thereafter by the Court, and which produced resonant and compelling accounts of working class experience and business enterprise available in few other sources and rarely in such comparable detail. The project aims to highlight a vital source for labour and business history too often neglected by historians and social scientists. The project also argues that focusing on the transcripts of evidence may significantly alter the interpretative perspective and challenge prevailing assumptions about the nature and influence of Australian arbitration. Publication Thematic section of Labour History, November 2007. It is a requirement that papers accepted for inclusion in the conference and subsequently considered for publication be substantially sourced from evidence from the transcripts of the Commonwealth arbitration system or the state tribunals. Manuscripts will be subject to peer review prior to publication. Convenor: Dr. Mark Hearn Work and Organisational Studies School of Business University of Sydney Mark.Hearn@humn.mq.edu.au worksite home