The 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute is the largest and most widespread industrial dispute in New Zealand history. Twenty thousand workers went on strike in support of the waterfront workers. Thousands more refused to handle "scab" goods. The dispute, sometimes referred to as the waterfront lockout or waterfront strike, lasted 151 days—from 15 February to 15 July 1951. haydens gay. Scab can refer to the following: Look up scab in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A lockout is a work stoppage in which an employer prevents employees from working. ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 196th day of the year (197th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1951 (MCMLI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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 point of conflict between workers and their unions on one side, and capital (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. Following the war, wages fell far behind the cost of living, and working hours continued to be high. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

The waterside employers, the Waterfront Industry Commission, failed to abide by an Arbitration Court general wage order, saying the watersiders could live off overtime. The watersiders then refused to work overtime, and the employers locked them out.

The watersiders’ union had strong leadership. President Jock Barnes and secretary Toby Hill spearheaded trade unionism in New Zealand. The government and employers hated them because of it. The employers, through the newspapers which they owned, carried out long campaigns against the watersiders trying to isolate them from other workers. The employers were determined to smash the watersiders' union and set out to provoke a dispute which they thought they could win. Harold Jock Barnes (1907 - 2000) was a New Zealand trade unionist, leader of the Waterside Workers Union from 1944 to 1952. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers...

The strike was a major political issue of the time. The government, led by Sidney Holland of the National Party, introduced Emergency Regulations, and brought in the army to work the wharves. Holland condemned the action as "industrial anarchy", and explicitly sought a mandate to deal with the strike in the 1951 elections. The government was re-elected with an increased majority. The opposition Labour Party, 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. Sir Sidney George Holland, GCMG, CH, (October 18, 1893-August 5, 1961) was Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 13, 1949 to September 20, 1957. ... The New Zealand National Party (National or the Nats) currently forms the second-largest (in terms of seats) political party represented in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus functions as the core of the parliamentary Opposition. ... The 1951 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliaments 30th term. ... The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. ... Sir Walter Nash, GCMG, CH (12 February 1882–4 June 1968) served as Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1957 to 1960 and was also highly influential in his role as Minister of Finance. ...

According to writer Tony Simpson the dispute is "a key element in the mythologies of the industrial left in this country [New Zealand]".^[1]

References

Further reading

• 151 Days Dick Scott, published the New Zealand Waterside Workers Union.
• Never a White Flag Jock Barnes (edited by Tom Bramble), published by Victoria University Press.

External links

• 'The Other Side of the Story' Protest and Dissent in the 1940s and 1950s NZHistory.net