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1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute
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1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute
The 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute was the largest and most widespread industrial dispute in New Zealand history. Over the period, up to 20,000 workers went on strike in support of waterfront workers protesting against financial hardships and poor working conditions. Thousands more refused to handle "scab" goods. The dispute was sometimes referred to as the waterfront lockout or waterfront strike. It lasted 151 days, from 13 February to 15 July 1951.[not verified in body] During the lockout, the Watersiders' Union was deregistered and its funds and records were seized, and 26 local watersiders' unions were set up in its place.
In reviewing the biography of Jock Barnes, then-president of the Waterside Workers' Union, reviewer Tony Simpson described the lockout as "a key element in the mythologies of the industrial left in this country".
The distance of New Zealand and Australia from their traditional markets meant that ports played a pivotal role in the economies of the countries. The waterfront inevitably became a point of conflict between workers and their unions on one side, and the employers and the state on the other.
During the Second World War due to labour shortages, watersiders and other workers worked long hours, often as much as 15-hour days. However, in working American ships, the waterside workers had also been exposed to new work methods and technologies that were commonplace on American wharves. British shipowners were reluctant to invest in these new methods, and expected watersiders to go back to the traditional methods in use before the war. The union instead resolved to make work practices on wharves change.
Following the war, working hours on the wharves continued to be high, with shipowners expecting up to 59 hours a week be worked. In the immediate post-war period, one of main the goals of the Waterside Workers' Union was to have a guaranteed weekly wage and a 40-hour, five day, work week between the hours of 8am and 5pm, without night or weekend overtime. Dissatisfaction with the Waterfront Industry Commission's refusal to accept the watersiders' proposal led to ongoing waterfront disputes over several years. The Waterside Workers' Union struggle led to criticism from the Federation of Labour (FOL) that the union's actions might not be in the best interests of its members and posed a risk to the whole labour movement.
At the November 1949 general elections, a conservative National party government came to power. While the new government's opposition to militant unionism probably made an industrial confrontation inevitable, the outgoing Labour government's earlier decision to hold a referendum on compulsory military service in August 1949 had been seen by many trade unionists, who opposed conscription as a betrayal of their socialist beliefs.
In April 1950 the Waterside Workers' Union led a walk out of the FOL and set up their own Trade Union Congress, isolating themselves from the wider union movement. Shortly afterwards severe stoppages on the wharves occurred, infuriating most of the general population. In early September, Wellington watersiders refused to work a cargo of lamp-black, with this dispute eventually leading to watersiders at all ports stopping work. On 19 September, the government warned it would declare a state of emergency the following day if watersiders did not return to work the next morning. Late that evening, Labour Party leader Peter Fraser intervened and a deputation of union leaders met with Prime Minister Holland. Although a state of emergency existed between 20 September and 4 October while negotiations took place, this meeting opened the way to a settlement.
On 31 January 1951, the Arbitration Court issued a general wage order to increase wages by 15% for workers covered by the industrial arbitration system. The order took effect on 15 February 1951 but was backdated to awards as they stood at 7 May 1950, and cancelled a 5% interim wage order the court had previously issued in June 1950 that had taken effect from 8 May 1950. Awards for freezing workers and two other unions that had recently received "substantial increases" were excluded. In reaching its decision the Arbitration Court said it had to consider equity for workers, the stability of the New Zealand economy, terms of trade with Britain, as well as inflationary pressure. The compromise decision was recognised as inadequate by the unions' representative, while the employers' representative dissented, considering it inflationary.
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1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute
The 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute was the largest and most widespread industrial dispute in New Zealand history. Over the period, up to 20,000 workers went on strike in support of waterfront workers protesting against financial hardships and poor working conditions. Thousands more refused to handle "scab" goods. The dispute was sometimes referred to as the waterfront lockout or waterfront strike. It lasted 151 days, from 13 February to 15 July 1951.[not verified in body] During the lockout, the Watersiders' Union was deregistered and its funds and records were seized, and 26 local watersiders' unions were set up in its place.
In reviewing the biography of Jock Barnes, then-president of the Waterside Workers' Union, reviewer Tony Simpson described the lockout as "a key element in the mythologies of the industrial left in this country".
The distance of New Zealand and Australia from their traditional markets meant that ports played a pivotal role in the economies of the countries. The waterfront inevitably became a point of conflict between workers and their unions on one side, and the employers and the state on the other.
During the Second World War due to labour shortages, watersiders and other workers worked long hours, often as much as 15-hour days. However, in working American ships, the waterside workers had also been exposed to new work methods and technologies that were commonplace on American wharves. British shipowners were reluctant to invest in these new methods, and expected watersiders to go back to the traditional methods in use before the war. The union instead resolved to make work practices on wharves change.
Following the war, working hours on the wharves continued to be high, with shipowners expecting up to 59 hours a week be worked. In the immediate post-war period, one of main the goals of the Waterside Workers' Union was to have a guaranteed weekly wage and a 40-hour, five day, work week between the hours of 8am and 5pm, without night or weekend overtime. Dissatisfaction with the Waterfront Industry Commission's refusal to accept the watersiders' proposal led to ongoing waterfront disputes over several years. The Waterside Workers' Union struggle led to criticism from the Federation of Labour (FOL) that the union's actions might not be in the best interests of its members and posed a risk to the whole labour movement.
At the November 1949 general elections, a conservative National party government came to power. While the new government's opposition to militant unionism probably made an industrial confrontation inevitable, the outgoing Labour government's earlier decision to hold a referendum on compulsory military service in August 1949 had been seen by many trade unionists, who opposed conscription as a betrayal of their socialist beliefs.
In April 1950 the Waterside Workers' Union led a walk out of the FOL and set up their own Trade Union Congress, isolating themselves from the wider union movement. Shortly afterwards severe stoppages on the wharves occurred, infuriating most of the general population. In early September, Wellington watersiders refused to work a cargo of lamp-black, with this dispute eventually leading to watersiders at all ports stopping work. On 19 September, the government warned it would declare a state of emergency the following day if watersiders did not return to work the next morning. Late that evening, Labour Party leader Peter Fraser intervened and a deputation of union leaders met with Prime Minister Holland. Although a state of emergency existed between 20 September and 4 October while negotiations took place, this meeting opened the way to a settlement.
On 31 January 1951, the Arbitration Court issued a general wage order to increase wages by 15% for workers covered by the industrial arbitration system. The order took effect on 15 February 1951 but was backdated to awards as they stood at 7 May 1950, and cancelled a 5% interim wage order the court had previously issued in June 1950 that had taken effect from 8 May 1950. Awards for freezing workers and two other unions that had recently received "substantial increases" were excluded. In reaching its decision the Arbitration Court said it had to consider equity for workers, the stability of the New Zealand economy, terms of trade with Britain, as well as inflationary pressure. The compromise decision was recognised as inadequate by the unions' representative, while the employers' representative dissented, considering it inflationary.
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