Kōrero: Strikes and labour disputes

Auckland tramwaymen's strike, 1908

Auckland tramwaymen's strike, 1908

Crowds jam Auckland’s Queen Street to cheer tramway workers who went on strike in 1908 to protest against the sacking of one of their members without explanation. After four days the men returned to work and a special investigation found their protest was justified. The tramway workers’ union was not registered under the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894, so it could legally go on strike. Such effective direct actions greatly damaged the reputation and authority of the act.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: Otago Witness, 3 June 1908, p. 46

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

Mark Derby, 'Strikes and labour disputes - The Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/photograph/20476/auckland-tramwaymens-strike-1908 (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Mark Derby, i tāngia i te 11 Mar 2010, updated 1 Mar 2016