The Formative Years of Management Control at the Newcastle Steelworks, 1913-1924

Abstract

Australia's transformation from a rural economy to an industrial nation hinged upon the establishment of a viable steel industry. As a result, the opening of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company's (BHP) Newcastle Steelworks in 1915 was one of the critical events in the development of Australian industrial capitalism. Although the history of the steel industry is well documented, the nature of management strategy and labour response has been largely ignored. This reflects a more general neglect of the evolution of labour management in Australian industry, particularly the employer's role in controlling the work environment and the actions of labour. This paper analyses the origins of management's control over its workforce in one of Australia's first large-scale private-sector industries. It examines how such control was achieved and maintained, and what factors shaped the nature of control over time. The years 1913-1924 were critical in the formation of BHP's basic policies on industrial relations. Whilst there were changes in the control strategies of BHP management in later years, the general theme of control was established during this period.1 The paper is structured around four periods: the establishment of control during construction and early production at the Works (1913-1916); a period of conflict culminating in the 1917 strike and a turning point in the nature of control (1916-1917); the consolidation of control and the fostering of a company union (1918-1921); and a period of economic crisis and rationalisation for the company (1922-1924).