trade unions

Labour Day

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  Celebrated on the fourth Monday in October, Labour Day commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day, a right that carpenter Samuel Parnell had famously fought for in 1840. Our first Labour Day was held on 28 October 1890, and it has been a statutory public holiday since 1900.

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• Page 1 - Labour DayCelebrated on the fourth Monday in October, Labour Day commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day, a right that carpenter Samuel Parnell had famously fought for in

The 1913 Great Strike

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  The Great Strike of 1913 was in fact a series of strikes between mid-October 1913 and mid-January 1914. It was one of New Zealand’s most violent and disruptive industrial confrontations.

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• Page 2 – Class war comes to the workers' paradise 1890-1913

  History of New Zealand's employment relations, 1890-1913.

• Page 3 – Outbreak of the 1913 strike

  The 1913 Great Strike was sparked off by two relatively small strikes.

• Page 4 – The 1913 strike in Wellington

  Because the strike threatened their livelihoods, rural men were keen to volunteer as special constables.

• Page 5 – The 1913 strike in Auckland

  Watersiders in Auckland began to strike in support of those in Huntly and Wellington.

• Page 6 – The 1913 strike in the South Island

  Although the 1913 strike had its biggest impact on Auckland and Wellington, the South Island's cities and mining towns were also affected.

• Page 7 – The defeat of the 1913 strike

  The seizure of the wharves in Wellington and Auckland greatly reduced the strikers’ industrial power. Similar takeovers by ‘scab’ arbitration unions soon happened in other

The 1951 waterfront dispute

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  The 1951 waterfront dispute was the biggest industrial confrontation in New Zealand’s history. Although it was not as violent as the Great Strike of 1913, it lasted longer – 151 days, from February to July – and involved more workers.

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• Page 3 – War on the wharves

  With New Zealand’s vital export trade at stake when the wharves came to a standstill, the government declared a state of emergency on 21 February.

• Page 4 – Division and defeat

  The watersiders’ militancy had isolated them from most unionists and Walter Nash’s Labour Party Opposition sat uncomfortably on the fence, denouncing government

1947 Greymouth beer boycott

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  What would it take for West Coasters to boycott their beloved beer? Greymouth hotel-keepers found out in 1947, when an organised attempt to raise the price of beer sparked one of the most effective consumer boycotts ever seen in New Zealand.

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• Page 4 – Industrial action

  After the first week of the Greymouth beer boycott it became clear that the Licensed Victuallers' Association (LVA), supported by the breweries, was not going to yield.

Merchant marine

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  On 3 September New Zealand honours Merchant Navy Day. Here we explore the little-known but vital role played by the merchant marine during the First World War, when these civilian seafarers often found themselves in the front line of the war at sea.

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• Page 8 - Politics, patriotism and protestAlthough New Zealand seafarers served in many hostile theatres, some questioned the politics of the