1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute

Industrial dispute February 2013 December 2020 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 FebruaryWar on the wharves – 1951 waterfront dispute https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/the-1951-waterfront-dispute/war-on-the-wharves 2024-09-05 NZ History The Waterside Workers' Union protested by refusing to work overtime from 13 February. The shipping companies in turn refused to hire them unless they agreed to work extra hours. When no agreement could be reached, union members were locked out. to 15 July 1951.December 2022 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.Hayward Janine Shaw Richard Historical Dictionary of New Zealand 20 October 2016 Rowman & Littlefield Lanham, MD Google Books 978-1-4422-7439-6 360 Third https://books.google.com/books?id=zbewDQAAQBAJ 20 December 2022 en Waterfront dispute (1951) 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".Simpson Tony Review: Never a White Flag: The Memoirs of Jock Barnes, Waterfront Leader Kōtare: New Zealand Notes & Queries 6 June 1998 1 1 109–110 10.26686/knznq.v1i1.592 https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/kotare/article/view/592/404 18 December 2022 Victoria University of Wellington Wellington, NZ en PDF 1174-6955 free Background 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.Haigh David Stood Loyal Right Through Whanake: The Pacific Journal of Community Development 2017 3 1 21 https://www.unitec.ac.nz/whanake/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Stood-Loyal-Right-Through.pdf 5 January 2023 Unitec Institute of Technology Auckland, New Zealand en 2423-009X They had experienced the new methods of cargo working which were introduced by the Americans, such as fork-lifts, trailers, jitneys and all the modern methods being used on American waterfronts ... 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.Waterside Wages https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD19470109.2.78.8 17 December 2022 Evening Star paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 25995 9 January 1947 6Congestion Of Shipping Grows In Auckland: Overtime Dispute https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GISH19490815.2.85 17 December 2022 Gisborne Herald paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 23024 LXXVI 15 August 1949 6 In the immediate post-war period, one of the main 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.40-Hour Week on Wharf https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19461130.2.96 17 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz P.A. 25046 LXXXII 30 November 1946 8 Dissatisfaction with the Waterfront Industry Commission's refusal to accept the watersiders' proposal led to ongoing waterfront disputes over several years.Editorial Work the Wharves or - ? https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19470109.2.29 17 December 2022 Wanganui Chronicle paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 9 January 1947 4 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.Negotiation Squabble https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ESD19470109.2.78.6 18 December 2022 Evening Star paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 25995 9 January 1947 6 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,Strike Thought Inevitable https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19510522.2.47 18 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz New Zealand Press Association 26427 LXXXVII 22 May 1951 6 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.Richardson Len Coal, Class & Community: The United Mineworkers of New Zealand, 1880-1960 1995 Auckland University Press 978-1-86940-113-9 285–287 Google books https://books.google.com/books?id=xJTILvuFXwoC&pg=PA285 17 December 2022 enWatersiders Hint at Labour Politicians' Betrayal of Labour https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19480925.2.65 17 December 2022 Wanganui Chronicle paperspast.natlib.govt.nz PA 25 September 1948 6Editorial A Betrayal https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT19490525.2.17 17 December 2022 Otago Daily Times paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 27089 25 May 1949 4Overseas Comments on N.Z. Election: Effect of Conscription Issue https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19491203.2.85 17 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz N.Z. Press Association 25977 LXXXV 3 December 1949 7 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,Lampblack at Wellington https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19500909.2.74 18 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz New Zealand Press Association 26213 LXXXVI 9 September 1950 6 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.Press Parliamentary Reporter Waterfront Strike https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19500920.2.45 18 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 26222 LXXXVI 20 September 1950 6 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 OctoberState of Emergency Ended https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19501005.2.119 18 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz New Zealand Press Association 26235 LXXXVI 5 October 1950 8 while negotiations took place, this meeting opened the way to a settlement.Sinclair 1976 282Carbon Black Cargoes: Agreement Reached on Handling https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19500929.2.46 18 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz New Zealand Press Association 26230 LXXXVI 29 September 1950 6 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.Wages Increased 15 Per Cent https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19510201.2.53 20 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 26335 LXXXVII 1 February 1951 6 New Scales To Operate On February 15: MAJORITY DECISION OF ARBITRATION COURT 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.Waterfront Strike: Chronology of Events https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19510720.2.94 20 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 26478 LXXXVII 20 July 1951 8Court Grants Wages Increase https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19500612.2.56 20 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz "The Press" Special Service 26136 LXXXVI 12 June 1950 6 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.Court Gives Reasons https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19510201.2.58 20 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 26335 LXXXVII 1 February 1951 6 The compromise decision was recognised as inadequate by the unions' representative, while the employers' representative dissented, considering it inflationary.Editorial The Wage Order https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19510201.2.51 20 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 26335 LXXXVII 1 February 1951 6 The dispute The wage increase ordered by the Arbitration Court did not apply to waterside workers, whose employment was controlled by the Waterfront Industry Commission.War on the wharves – 1951 waterfront dispute https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/the-1951-waterfront-dispute/war-on-the-wharves live https://web.archive.org/web/20081014092427/http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/the-1951-waterfront-dispute/war-on-the-wharves 14 October 2008 2 June 2009 NZHistory.net.nz New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Manatū Taonga 3 en New Zealand history (nzhistory.govt.nz) The shipping companies that employed the watersiders instead offered 9%, the difference between the 6% wage increase that had previously been awarded to the watersiders after the interim wage order and the general wage order.Derby Mark 1 March 2016 First published 11 March 2010 Strikes and labour disputes - The 1951 waterfront dispute https://teara.govt.nz/en/strikes-and-labour-disputes/page-7 22 December 2022 teara.govt.nz (Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand) New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu Taonga 7 en The watersiders then refused to work overtime in protest, and the employers placed the men on a two-day penalty. The workers called it a lockout, the employers called it a strike. When the Waterside Workers' Union refused to accept arbitration, the government could make a stand on the principle of defending industrial law and order.Sinclair 1976 282 On 8 February 1951, in protest to the employers wage offer, the Wellington and New Plymouth branches of the Waterside Workers Union unilaterally decided to impose overtime bans at their ports and asked other branches to do the same.Work at All Ports May Stop https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19510214.2.49 6 January 2023 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz New Zealand Press Association 26346 LXXXVII 14 February 1951 6 The union executive met on 13 February to consider the responses from branches about the wage increase, and at 2 PM sent telegrams to all branches advising to impose an overtime ban from 5 PM. Upon being advised of this, the employers advised that if the overtime ban continued the next day then the workers would be stood down for two days as a penalty, and could only be eligible for work again on Saturday morning. While workers at Auckland and Wellington were not asked to work overtime on 14 February due to Harbour Board employees at those ports holding meetings, workers at other ports were penalised for refusing overtime.Most Ports to be Idle To-Day https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19510215.2.52 7 January 2023 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz New Zealand Press Association 26347 LXXXVII 15 February 1951 6 On 15 February, workers at Auckland and Wellington ports also refused overtime and were penalised.Waterfront Dispute https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19510216.2.46 7 January 2023 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz New Zealand Press Association 26348 LXXXVII 16 February 1951 6 The union claimed that the employers actions were a lockout because while union members were willing to work 40 hours a week, the employers were only allowing them to work 16 hours a week. The Minister of Labour Bill Sullivan then invited representatives of both the union and employers to meet with him and the then Acting-Prime Minister Keith Holyoake on the morning of the 16th in an attempt to resolve the dispute. Political response The lockout was a major political issue of the time. The National government, led by Sidney Holland and the Minister of Labour Bill Sullivan, introduced heavy handed emergency regulations,Waterfront Strike Emergency Regulations 1951, via New Zealand Legal Information Institute and brought in the navy and army to work the wharves and also deregistered the Waterside Workers' Union under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. Under the emergency regulations Holland's government censored the press, made striking illegal, and even made it illegal to give money or food to either strikers or their families. The proclamations have been described as "the most illiberal legislation ever enacted in New Zealand".Bromby Robin An Eyewitness History of New Zealand Currey O'Neil 1985 210 In a surprise move, the FOL, which was supported by the majority of unions, backed the government. FOL President Fintan Patrick Walsh was of the opinion that the manner of the strike threatened the existing arbitration system necessitating their defeat.Fintan Patrick Walsh Pat Walsh 4w4 23 April 2017 The watersiders held out for 22 weeks, supported by many other unions and sympathy strikers, but ultimately conceded defeat. The miners and seamen who held sympathy strikes were likewise beaten. As a result, the Waterside Workers' Union was split up into twenty-six separate "port unions" to deliberately diminish its influence.Sinclair 1976 286 Many watersiders and other unionists involved were blacklisted (e.g. Jock Barnes and Toby Hill) and prevented from working on the wharves for years afterwards. Snap election thumb|250px|A cartoon comparing Holland's reaction to the strike to Nazism 1951 New Zealand general election Holland condemned the action as "industrial anarchy", and explicitly sought a mandate to deal with the lockout by calling a snap election. The opposition Labour Party, now led by Walter Nash, attempted to take a moderate position in the dispute, with Nash saying that "we are not for the waterside workers, and we are not against them". Labour's neutral position merely ended up displeasing both sides, however, and Nash was widely accused of indecision and lack of courage. The government was re-elected with an increased majority in the ensuing 1951 election.Gustafson Barry 5h30 Holland, Sidney George 30 October 2012 Barry Gustafson Aftermath Militant unionism in New Zealand was crushed in the wake of the strike, and the union movement remained fractured for years between the FOL and the defeated militants. The Labour Party was likewise split between the ardent anti-Communists, led by Bob Semple and Angus McLagan, and the moderates, such as Walter Nash and Arnold Nordmeyer. There was a concurrent tension between the FOL and the Labour Party for many years following the strike.Sinclair 1976 282 Much later it emerged that the families of both Keith Locke and Mark Blumsky were under surveillance by the Police Special Branch (now the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service). http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/archive/national-news/333546/Secret-strike-files-opened Secret strike files opened Stuff/Fairfax 27 March 2008 Loyalty cards After the dispute was over, the deregistered Waterside Workers' Union issued loyalty cards to those who had remained loyal to the union during the dispute.151 days in 1951 remembered https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19760723.2.42 21 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz PA 23 July 1976 4 Many retained their cards, and at an anniversary dinner in 1976 admission was by "card only". Official history In the wake of the dispute, Dick Scott, editor of the union's magazine "Transport Worker", wrote a book about the strike on behalf of the deregistered union titled 151 Days - Official History of The Great Waterfront Lockout and Supporting Strikes, February 15 - July 15, 1951.1951 strike recalled https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19780201.2.75 21 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 1 February 1978 7 The New Zealand Federation of Labour annual conference in 1954 condemned the book for its derogatory statements and factual omissions.Record of Wharf Strike: Labour Federation Condemns Book https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19540508.2.111 21 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz New Zealand Press Association 27344 XC 8 May 1954 8 Scott's credentials to attend the conference as a union delegate were also challenged, and he was called upon to withdraw and apologise, which he refused to do, and was censured as a result.Delegate to N.Z. Labour Body: Federation Considers Credentials: Views on Wharf Strike https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19540507.2.144 21 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz New Zealand Press Association 27343 XC 7 May 1954 14 The book was reprinted in 1978.The outside back cover of the reprinted book "151 Days," by Dick Scott, showing his card of loyalty issued by the New Zealand Waterside Workers' Union. https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19780201.2.75.1 21 December 2022 Press paperspast.natlib.govt.nz 1 February 1978 7 See also New Zealand Organised labour 1950s Jock Barnes Toby Hill Fintan Patrick Walsh Huntly rail bridge bombing 1913 Great Strike References Further reading Barnes, Jock Jock Barnes Bramble, Tom Never a White Flag: The Memoirs of Jock Barnes, Waterfront Leader 1998 Victoria University Press Wellington 0-86473-344-5 https://books.google.com/books?id=egNPw045xjcC Google Books Bassett, Michael Michael Bassett Confrontation '51: the 1951 Waterfront Dispute 1972 Reed Hotere Andrea Gillian 1989 The 1951 Waterfront Lockout in Port Chalmers Bachelor of Arts University of Otago Scott, Dick Dick Scott (historian) 151 Days 1952 2001 Penguin 0-7900-0783-5 Sinclair Keith Keith Sinclair Walter Nash 1976 Oxford University Press Auckland 0-19-647949-5 External links The 1951 waterfront dispute at NZHistory.net.nz Derby, Mark (11 March 2010, Updated 1 March 2016) Strikes and labour disputes - The 1951 waterfront dispute at Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand New Zealand Waterfront Dispute, 1951 Waterfront dispute Category:Labour disputes in New Zealand Category:Maritime strikes