Lockout (ATOM Study Guide)

Lockout (Jason van Genderen, 2007) is the story of the 1929-30 lockout of coalminers in the Northern District coalfields of New South Wales.

The 56-minute film shows how one group's legal rights won for them by a strong union were abused by a biased legal and political process.

The demand for coal was collapsing worldwide, and the coal owners in the northern coalfields of NSW announced that they would cut wages and reduce the miners' employment conditions.

The union disagreed, and the miners found themselves locked out of the mines until they would agree.

This caused great hardship for the miners and their families, and resulted in a day of violence when police fired on and bashed protesting miners, killing one man.

The miners found themselves opposed both to the conservative New South Wales government, but also the new Federal Labor government of James Scullin. The governments did not apply the law as it stood, and as a result deliberately supported the powerful mine owners against the workers.

After fifteen months a compromise agreement was reached, with the workers having to accept pay cuts, but the employers having to drop their demand to be able to de-unionize the work force.

The story is told by a mining historian, and by a few remaining eye-witnesses to and participants in this historic event. Three died before completion of the film.

While the film is about the events of 1929, the social forces and issues that it focuses on are still relevant to Australia today.