Trades Hall secretary reflects on years of service, solidarity

OUTGOING Ballarat Trades and Labour Council secretary Brett Edgington said he has many achievements to look back on over his ten years in the role.

From helping to secure state industrial manslaughter laws following the Delacombe trench collapse in 2018, to introducing live music into Trades Hall’s nearly 140-year-old venue, Mr Edgington has a long list of wins on a local level and beyond.

Taking on the job in 2014, he said Ballarat’s workplace and political culture was very different to what it is now.

“People would come in almost daily with these horrific stories of wage theft, underpayment, non-payment of superannuation,” he said.

“We really focused on that in Ballarat and that led to State and Federal parliamentary enquiry into wage theft to the point the State Government introduced laws involving wage theft that can result in jail time for bosses.”

Mr Edgington announced last month his decision to step down from his secretary role, which will come into effect in late January.

He cited personal health reasons and the need to break away from the demands of union management, workplaces, and politics.

“This role is always one where you sort of become the Trades Hall secretary in every aspect of your life,” he said.

“I’m at the age in my life where it’d be lovely to get a factory job, finish at 5pm and be able to walk away, not having to answer emails at 3am dealing with all myriads of situations that arise.”

Despite stepping away from Trades Hall, Mr Edgington said unionism will continue to play a role in his life.

Growing up in Geelong, he first became involved with them as a young actor through the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, then a mandatory requirement to work on stages and sets, before moving to Ballarat in 1990 to study at Federation University.

Union ideals held a heavy presence for him from a young age.

His father, a TAFE teacher, actor, and performer, was a unionist, while his grandfather “was probably the strongest influence” as a housepainter and a member of the Operative Painters’ and Decorators’ Union, and the Australian Workers’ Union.

“He’d always been a staunch union member,” Mr Edgington said. “He would’ve killed me if I’d ever not been in a union.

“It’s a legacy to be really proud of. One thing about our movement is there’s really no ‘I’ in it, it’s a ‘we.’ I can’t function without all the other people involved.

“And that’s the whole concept behind unions: it’s people standing together in unity and strength, and solidarity.”