By Margaret Perrott
WOLLONGONG — "There is nobody like Fred" is accepted by all progressive movements in the Illawarra. Known as "Dad" to local Kooris and activists — blood brother to the Jerringa people and an honorary life member of the Illawarra Aboriginal community; chair of the Wollongong May Day Committee for 20 years and life member; the first life member of the Miners Federation (now CFMEU); life member of the Miners' Women's Auxiliary — Fred Moore has been involved in workers' struggles for 65 years.
Born in 1922, one of eight children and son of a "dusted" miner, Fred started work at 14, in surface mining in Cobar. The son and grandson of militant workers and a descendant of William Moore, transported for seven years' hard labour in the Sirius (First Fleet), Fred has been a leader in struggles for peace, democracy, international solidarity, workers' rights, women's rights, indigenous peoples' rights and socialism, since his first May Day march in 1932.
For the past 10 years, he has been collecting the oral history of mining communities in NSW while continuing to advise and take an active part in struggle. He spoke at the December 19 Wollongong rally against racism.
"All my life I seem to have been in some sort of struggle", Fred says. "Even as a boy I was involved in the struggles with the community — not only the miners, but the community, regarding the soup kitchens and all those things.
"We were always sort of under threat, because our parents were involved with communist movements and extreme parts of the labour movement — so always we were having to fight for everything.
"We fought in the mines for the shorter working week and better work cover (safety) and compensation. At one time we had very few conditions. And it's just as hard to try and retain them as it was to win them."
Looking back, Fred sees safety as one of the key struggles of the miners. "There were so many fatalities in the mines. It would be nothing to have maybe 20-30 people killed in a year in the mining industry — and that without explosions, that would have been individuals, two and three people killed in groups.
"Men had to lose time [in industrial action] for safety. Better safety conditions, better bath house facilities and everything — they all had to be won. Nothing was given at all."
He is also proud of the miners' tradition of involvement in wider struggles. "It was campaigns, demonstrations to help other people like the demonstrations on Cuba, the fight for retaining Medibank, the jailing of Clarrie O'Shea — all these were fights that the miners were involved in."
Fred recalls the struggle for Aboriginal rights in the 1960s, and against apartheid in the 1970s. He gives credit to the young students who took part in the "freedom rides" and the movement against the Springbok tour: "The students were number one. I'd never seen such courage.
"All over the world the students take up the people's struggles — like the school students in South Africa, and today, the Indonesian students, leading struggles that sometimes trade unions should be leading. I have great confidence in the courage of the young people."
Fred is also a long-time supporter of women's rights. "The decision to strike was always made in the kitchens", he says. "If the women felt strongly enough to make ends meet and keep the family running on without wages, then the action went ahead."
As one of the first supporters of the Wollongong Women's Centre, Fred enlisted the trade union movement to pressure companies to provide material aid. He recalls times when, because he wore overalls when doing odd jobs for the "new women's centre", neighbours demanded that they also get lawn mowing services from the local council.
He has always tried to help, but not infringe on women's space. He supports women's right to choose, equal pay for equal work and the right of women to organise. As usual, Fred attended the International Women's Day luncheon and march this year in solidarity with women.
When I spoke with Fred, Howard's work for the dole scheme for young people was in the news. Fred agreed that a 30-hour work week is "long overdue" and a better idea.
"That was the idea of winning the shorter working week: to make more work for people, not to work long overtime. The 35-hour week meant exactly that.
"I'm very confident in the class struggle of all workers. When they're ready, they'll throw up their own resistance to these things and fight back. But they've got to have good leadership to do these things."
That raises the question of where the leadership will come from.
"I think that the working class do throw up their leaders. A lot of the trade unions lack a little bit for leadership, but there are good people in there, who quite often understand the position better than the leaders.
"I'm very confident of the miners' leadership on a national level, because I think they are internationally involved and make common cause with other workers throughout the world."
Fred has been promoting international solidarity for many years. He was president of the Cuba Friendship Society, active in the GDR Friendship, Vietnam Friendship and Chile Solidarity movements for many years. Recently, he has supported the Philippine and Indonesian workers' struggles and the battle for independence of the East Timorese.
Fred attended the rally against the government's industrial relations bill on August 19 in Canberra. He was not at all alarmed, like some union leaders, about the confrontation at the doors of Parliament House.
"The only bit of excitement about it was when the people shook the doors", Fred said. "I wasn't so impressed with Jenny George and all the speeches, and I think without that [door shaking], it might have been a fizzer. We, the miners, are not in the position to get too critical because we, along with other people, went up and kicked the bloody doors in in 1982."
From his own experience, Fred draws the conclusion: "Nothing was ever given. Everything had to be won, and sometimes with blood. People got knocked down, and they got up again and again, and they fought on. They demonstrated and protested and did everything to try to break through the harsh attitudes of all governments — whether it was Labour or Liberal.
"The miners and workers have had to fight these governments, and sometimes they may trade under the name of Labor. But it's a very fine line between Labor and Liberal when it comes to these sort of disputes."