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The 1951 New Zealand waterfront dispute was the largest and most widespread industrial dispute in New Zealand history. During the time, up to twenty thousand 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[1][failed verification] 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.[2]
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".[3]
- ^ "War on the wharves – 1951 waterfront dispute". New Zealand History Online. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
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.
- ^ Hayward, Janine; Shaw, Richard (20 October 2016). "Waterfront dispute (1951)". Historical Dictionary of New Zealand (Third ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 360. ISBN 978-1-4422-7439-6. Retrieved 20 December 2022 – via Google Books.
- ^ Simpson, Tony (6 June 1998). "Review: Never a White Flag: The Memoirs of Jock Barnes, Waterfront Leader" (PDF). Kōtare: New Zealand Notes & Queries. 1 (1). Wellington, NZ: Victoria University of Wellington: 109–110. doi:10.26686/knznq.v1i1.592. ISSN 1174-6955. Retrieved 18 December 2022.