Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(Aus.) non-union.

1892		‘Banjo’ Paterson ‘A Bushman’s Song’ in Man from Snowy River (1902) 127: So I saddled up my horses, and I whistled to my dog, / And I left his scabby station at the old jig-jog.
1901		Albany Advertiser (WA) 1 Oct. 3/7: He could not catch the words used, be only noticed they related to the union. [...] Witness did not bear the words ‘a Scabby b—d’ used, nor did he hear anyone say ‘We are not going to do 14 days over that b—d for nothing’.
1909		Port Pirie Recorder (SA) 21 Aug. 4/2: Samuel Spurling, said he worked as foreman in the railway yard and on the date mentioned accused passed by and called out " You pair of scabby ; you have to work for 7s 6d.
1910		Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW) 27 Aug. 4/5: Can. you inform me how it is possible to obtain bread at the union shops, made by union labor, when the union employees are out on strike? [...] I will not say ‘scabby’ union bread, but wiii give my patronage to Messrs. Nelson and Co., wno have not broken faith with their customers.
1918		‘Scabby Cousin Jack’ in Lingenfelter et al. Songs of the Amer. West (1968) 173: The principles of unionism, / Certainly you lack; / But what can be expected / From a scabby Cousin Jack!
1925		G.H. Mullin Adventures of a Scholar Tramp 48: To hell with you and your lousy job [...] Your nose is scabby!
1935		Red Star (Perth) 29 Mar. 2/3: The two men [...] were more than justified in refusing to pick burr at the scabby rates offered [AND].
1950		(con. 1936–46) K.S. Prichard Winged Seeds (1984) 234: If you put on any scabs, we’ll see how many unionists will drink in your scabby pub, Mr Dougherty!
1959		D. Hewett Bobbin Up (1961) 33: ‘Never missed a day’s work in me life.’ [...] ‘Scabby ol’ bastard,’ Len muttered.
1971		F.J. Hardy Outcasts of Foolgarah (1975) 170: Scabby Jack had no such squeamishness. ‘Even if there is a lower tender than mine, I still get the contracts’ [Ibid.] 185: Of course, Scabby Jack Slyme was the prime mover, employing soul-mate scabs on the garbage, shot and piss contracts.
1985		J. Schultz Steel City Blues 25: In the Combined Mining Unions, the Burragorang Valley is also known as ‘scabby valley’, the miners not being noted for their industrial militancy .