The National Union of Workers of Australia was formed by a progressive amalgamation of unions from 1989 onwards in a time when all Australian unions were merging, with varying degrees of success. These unions merged into the one larger union in order to pool together their expertise and resources, so they could provide members with a larger range of quality services. The six unions which form the NUW were established in the early part of last century and have been at the forefront of workers' achievements for nearly 100 years: