Changing the rules: the nil wage order and New Zealand industrial relations in the 1960s

Abstract

This thesis examines the literature surrounding the 1968 Nil Wage Order with particular reference to two key issues neglected by the existing historiography: the underlying dichotomy between perception and fact that exists in much of the primary material, particularly that dealing with the issue of stability; and the impact of personality and influence upon the functioning of the Arbitration Court. The central argument of the thesis is threefold: That the disillusionment of the 1960s was the result of a build-up of tensions within the system that can be traced back to the introduction of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act in 1894, and particularly to the Waterfront Dispute of 1951; That the Government in the 1960s deliberately fostered a myth of stability that ran contrary to the empirical evidence, and the breakdown of this myth in 1968 caused a degree of economic panic which had a major impact on the 1968 hearing and surrounding events; And that the conciliation and arbitration system as it existed in the 1960s was open to influence and guided by individual personality, compromising the impartiality of the Arbitration Court. This thesis argues that it was the combination of these factors which led to the 1968 Nil Wage Order and its aftermath, and consequently to the eventual collapse of the conciliation and arbitration system in New Zealand.