Civil Construction Corps Wage Records

Full description

The Civil Constructional Corps (CA 681), under the control of the Director General of the Allied Works Council (CA 497), was formed in April 1942 as part of that Councils responsibility to carry out works necessary for war purposes and secure the materials and workforce for those works. This organisation and its superior agency, under the auspices of Department of the Interior [II] (CA 31), were seen as of great importance to the Allied (Australian and American) war effort in that the Council amalgamated under one form of administration all Commonwealth construction activities. Many, if not most of the members of the Civil Constructional Corps in Victoria were employed on Country Roads Board projects as well as on projects for the Allied Works Council and the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission (VA 723).

In 1943, the Country Roads Board reported in the Thirty-First Annual Report that:

In July 1942 the Director-General of the Allied Works Council authorized the Board to undertake on behalf of the Council the responsibility for the pay organization of the Civil Constructional Corps.

The duties comprise not only payment of the wages of members of the Civil Constructional Corps, but allotments made by members in Victoria and other States to their dependants residing in Victoria.

This series consists of the records created by the Country Roads Board in carrying out this delegated responsibility, ending with the abolition of the Allied Works Council and its associated agencies as of 16 Feb, 1945. It provides a continuous record of those individuals, from all parts of Victoria and interstate, who were part of the Civil Constructional Corps, an overview of the locations where they were employed and the occupations and projects in which they were employed.

For each individual there was a summary card headed: Commonwealth of Australia, Civil Constructional Corps, Employment Record. At the top of this card there were designated spaces for the entry of the individuals Corps No., Full Name, Address, Date Enrolled, details of Next of Kin (including relationship), whether or not a Returned Soldier and spaces for Identification Card No., Pay Book No., and Tax.

Across the card are a series of columns which when completed show the individuals work history. These were headed: Pick-Up, Classification, Employing Authority, Locality, Works No, Wage Schedule Reference, Tax Instalments (This period and Progressive), Rates (divided between Wages and Allowances), Period Ended (date), Earnings (Wages and Allowances) and Progressive Gross Earnings. For individuals whose wage details for the year required more than one card, an Employment Record Follower card with the same headings, but with personal details except for name omitted, was used. In the Classification column was entered the occupation of the individual on a particular job and later, details of leave taken whether recreational, sick or due to public holidays or other and any other information related to membership of the Corps (e.g. callup for military service).

The National Archives of Australia hold a number of series related to the personnel and management of the Civil Construction Corps in Victoria including CRS B4227 Enrolment forms for members of the Civil Constructional Corps enlisted in Victoria.