The Rail, Tram and Bus Union Victorian Branch or RTBU Victoria is the state branch of the RTBU in Victoria. Originally formed in 1993 as the Victorian branch of the Public Transport Union (an amalgamation of several smaller trade unions representing workers in public transport industries) and renamed the RTBU in 1998, the RTBU Victoria today represents nearly 8000 members across Rail Operations, Tramways, Locomotive, Infrastructure and Administrative areas of Victoria's public transport industry.
Beginnings and original affiliates
The formation of Rail, Tram & Bus Union in 1998, formed as the Public Transport Union five years earlier, was the product of several older public transport unions amalgamating together in Victoria and nationally. Each of these unions had their own unique history and traditions prior to amalgamation.
Australian Railways Union
The Australian Railways Union (ARU) represented workers in railways and transport and was the largest of the public transport unions amalgamating into the PTU. Prior to unifying as a national union in 1921, the first rail workers’ union was the Victorian Railways Union (VRU) formed in 1911. The VRU was unique as the first ever industry-wide union formed in Australia for all workers in the railways including drivers, station staff, labourers and maintenance workers.
The Victorian ARU's headquarters from 1916 was the historical Unity Hall building on 636 Bourke Street, Melbourne. Unity Hall served as a meeting place both for the ARU and the Victorian union movement for much of the 20th century until it was sold in 1999 due to financial burdens suffered by the union in the Kennett era. The building remains a heritage-listed site.
The Victorian ARU was controlled by left-wing and militant forces in the labour movement virtually from its outset, coming under the control of unionists aligned with the Communist Party of Australia (CPA) in the 1930s, and remained so for much of its existence – the ARU's political alignments under the CPA were such that it disaffiliated from the Australian Labor Party in 1943 for what it perceived as the party's unsatisfactory policies on employment in the railways before re-affiliating in 1953.
National Union of Rail Workers
The National Union of Rail Workers of Australia (NURWA) also represented train drivers and rail workers. The union originally registered under the name National Union of Railwaymen (NUR) in March 1933 before being de-registered four months later. The NUR later revived itself in December 1938 and proceeded to merge with several smaller craft unions, including the Government Railways Transport Staff Association, the Department of Main Roads Employees’ Union and the Government Tramway Electrical Branch Workers’ Association. The NUR renamed itself the National Union of Rail Workers of Australia in 1982 and continued under this name until amalgamation in 1993. The NURWA was a relatively small union compared with the ARU with a national membership of a few hundred by 1993.
Australian Tramways & Motor Omnibus Employees’ Association
The Australian Tramways & Motor Omnibus Employees’ Association (AT&MOEA or ATMOEA) represented drivers and conductors in the tramways. The union was formed in 1910 as the Australian Tramways’ Employees Association before changing its title to ATMOEA in 1934. Like the ARU, the ATMOEA in Victoria was politically dominated by the CPA – when the party split in 1964 over allegiances to the Soviet Union or People's Republic of China, the ATMOEA's Victorian leadership became aligned with the pro-Beijing and Maoist Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) or CPA-ML. The ATMOEA was briefly de-registered in 1950 but re-formed under the same name that year.