Professionals

By the 1880s the successful attainment of the eight hour working day for tradesmen was well know and widespread. Factory workers were also gaining it but middle-class workers complained that although they worked in 'genteel employments' they were required to work long hours and wear expensive clothes.

Clerk (to Workingman): So you are to have a college [the Working Men's College - RMIT]; let me congratulate you. You are indeed a lucky fellow - eight hours a day labour, wages three pounds a week, dress how you like, and half Saturday to yourself. My salary is a pound a week for twelve hours a day, six days a week, and must dress in broad-cloth. Why wasn't I born a workingman?

- The Workingman in Melbourne Punch, 1882

In 1882, when this cartoon was published, the popular opinion that Australia was the 'workingman's paradise' was still prevalent. It was not until the late 19^th century that public servants and white-collar workers began organising. Clerical unions were formed in the early 20^th century beginning with the Victorian Union of Clerks in 1901. Clerical pay was considerably below the basic wage when it was introduced in 1907.

Today, the shift from blue-collar to white-collar unions has accelerated with the changing composition of the workforce and the restructuring of the economy away from manufacturing. Engineers, scientists, teachers, nurses, bank employees and public servants are among the professional workers who belong to unions.

Long hours remain an issue. Among employees now working very long hours, 50 or more a week, are professional and managerial workers 'in occupations involving high levels of personal responsibility and accountability, relatively high earnings and in jobs with no standard working hours'. The extra hours these workers undertake often amount to unpaid overtime.