Kenneth Hugh (Ken) McLeod (1923-2021) chemist, trade union official and ABC board member
Birth: 10 March 1923 at Kensington, Victoria, son of John McLeod (1877-1954), a mercer, born at Clunes, Victoria, and Blanche Sarah, née Seabrook (1882-1972), born at Hobart, Tasmania. Marriages: (1) 1947 in Victoria to native-born Gertrude Jean (Jean) Macgowan (1921-1987), a clerk. They had four children. (2) details unknown to Margaret Elizabeth. Death: 12 June 2021 in Victoria. Religion: Presbyterian (on RAAF service record).
- Educated at Moreland Central School from 1928 to 1937, University High School from 1937 to 1940 and Melbourne Technical College in 1941-1942. Was a member of the Brunswick Hockey Club and the University High School Old Boys Athletic club.
- Was a laboratory assistant, 6 feet, 1¼ inches tall (186 cm), employed by Melbourne City Council, when he enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force on 4 December 1942. Became a leading aircraftsman radar operator. Was discharged on 22 January 1946.
- Worked as a chemist after World War II.
- Federal Secretary of the Australian Insurance Employees’ Union (AIEU) from 1962 to 1985. Designed the successful equal pay campaign for AIEU in the mid-1970s gaining equal pay for women in the insurance industry.
- Assisted in formulating flextime agreements allowing for greater flexibility of hours for insurance workers. Positively influenced severance payments and arrangement on prior consultations.
- Played central role in affiliating AIEU with Australian Council of Trade Unions in 1979. Initiated affiliation of AIEU with the clerical and professional trade union international, the Federation of Commercial, Clerical Professional and Technical Employees.
- Chairman of ACTU Technological Change Committee 1978-1985. Member of council and programme and projects committee, Trade Union Training Authority. Member Advisory Council, Exports Payment Insurance Corporation. Member of First Board, Exports Finance and Insurance Commission.
- Member, General Insurance Advisory Committee to Treasurer 1973-1983. Member of Committee on Technological Change and member of several working parties, Australian Science and Technological Council. Committee member of Implications of New Technologies for Work Organisation and Occupational Health and Safety, International Labour Office.
- Member of the Board of Directors of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 1985 to 1989. Associate member, Industrial Assistance Committee 1985; Member, Advisory Council for Centre for Technological and Social Change, University of Wollongong, 1985.
- Appointed AM (member of the Order of Australia) on 8 June 1987 for service to industrial relations.
Sources
Premium, No.8 1985.
Citation details
'McLeod, Kenneth Hugh (Ken) (1923–2021)', People Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/mcleod-kenneth-hugh-ken-34731/text43704, accessed 14 November 2024.