Hands across the pacific

Mana (Auckland), Volume 2, Issue 4, 18 May 1978, Page 4

Hands across the pacific

About fifty years ago, when Western Samoa was still a New Zealand colony (or “Mandate”), a national independence movement called the Mau arose, which campaigned under the slogan of “Samoa mo Samoa”, or “Samoa for the Samoans”. The Mau promoted resistance to New Zealand rule by means of civil disobedience, refusal to pay taxes, and mass demonstrations. Its campaign reached a tragic climax on 28 December 1929, when New Zealand policemen shot into a crowd of demonstrators in Apia, wounding 30 and killing eight, including the High Chief Tamasese. Ten days later, at the monthly stopwork meeting of the Auckland Seamen’s Union on 7 January 1930, the Apia massacre was discussed. “Indignant reference,” read the Minutes, “was made by several members re the recent shooting of Samoans at Apia, and the report that one or more men of war were to be sent to Samoa, presumably with the object of shooting a few more natives, and forcing the rest into submission. In the event of any of the cruisers going it was certain that she would be followed by the Admiralty oil tanker ‘Nucula’. A serious question thereby arose as to whether the Union could be a party to the shooting of the Samoans by manning the ‘Nucula’. It was pointed out that the carrying of fuel for the warships was no different, in effect, to carrying munitions.” Following on this meeting, the Executive Council of the Seamen’s Union denounced the government’s intention to send what it called “armed Black and Tans” for the purpose of “terrorising by force of arms the natives of Western Samoa”, and resolved to declare black any vessel used to convey military police forces to Samoa. Ships were delayed, though the government was able to use the navy to suppress the Mau and drive it underground. The seamen’s resolution was quoted in labour papers throughout the world as an example of solidarity in action; it is also perhaps the first instance of a political strike

in New Zealand. Eleven years later, in 1941, war came to the Pacific when Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbour. The New Zealand government sent troops to Fiji, as well as a Civilian Construction Unit to build an airfield and other military installations. The workers — there were about a thousand of them, including carpenters, drivers and labourers — found conditions atrocious at Nadi. There was general muddle and inefficiency, food was poor, sanitary arrangements utterly inadequate, while the men were required to work extended hours in a tropical climate on seven days a week. When they held a stopwork meeting to press for improvements, their leader was deported to New Zealand, but the agitation continued. A strike was called and it took a hurried visit by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Labour to settle the dispute. New Zealanders had been instructed not to have any social’ contact with Fijians. The military authorities issued orders which expressly forbade soldiers to consort with native women, enter kava saloons, converse with natives in public places, ride in the same vehicle as natives, or play games with natives. These orders were largely ignored; New Zealand (and later American) soldiers brought new radical ideas to Fiji, while the industrial action by New Zealand workers in December 1941 helped to inspire similar action by local workers. The first manual workers’ union in Fiji, the Chini Mazdur Sangh (Sugar Workers’ Union), was formed during the war; a nationwide sugar workers’ strike took place in June-July 1943.

The Pacific War was still raging in June 1945 when a delegation of Cook Islanders called at the office of Pat Potter, the secretary of the Auckland Labourers’ Union. Sent by Princess Te Puea Herangi, they came to complain about working conditions for Cook Islanders in the French phosphate concessions at Makatea. Their leader was a man by name of Albert

Henry. Potter, who was the Auckland Trades Council’s liaison officer with the Maori people, had assisted Princess Te Puea two years earlier to preserve the Orakei marae for the Ngati-Whatua people (a forerunner of the Trades Council’s current involvement in the Bastion Point dispute). Potter laid Henry’s complaint before the Trades Council, the Council wrote to the Government, and the Government sent a Commissioner to Makatea to put things right. Potter also took an interest in labour conditions on Rarotonga. In January 1946 the local watersiders went on strike and gained their first wage increase in 45 years. InJune Henry went with Potter to Wellington where he was given permission to address the annual conference of the Federation of Labour — the first time an island leader was able to put the grievances of his people before a representative trade union gathering. The Federation resolved to send a delegation to the Cook Islands to investigate conditions. Thereafter unfortunately the Cook Islands issue became entangled in the Cold War which divided the union movement in the later forties. The first union in the Islands, the Cook Islands Workers’ Union which affiliated to the Federation of Labour, was formed by stooges of the Administration who were opposed to Henry’s Cook Islands Progressive Association (CIPA). The Auckland Trades Council however stood firmly on the side of the CIPA. Rarotonga was the centre of the struggle, and there were occasions when CIPA watersiders occupied the wharves to prevent ships unloading while New Zealand seamen cut off steam in support. Fiji, with New Caledonia the most industrialised island in the South Pacific, developed a number of unions after the war but the movement remained weak and divided, often on racial lines.

Since 1960 there has been much closer contact between Pacific and New Zealand unions. In December 1965 the first South

Pacific Trade Union Cu ference met in Sydney, chaired by Sir Tom Skinner, which passed a resolution opposing French nuclear testing in the Pacific. In 1971, on the occasion of a national dock strike in Fiji, Bill Martin, the president of the New Zealand Seamen’s Union, flew to Suva to assist, as did Australian union leaders. Several New Zealand unions sent messages of support, and Wellington watersiders refused to handle the British ship “Irisbank” which had left Suva during the strike.

The value of such solidarity actions can be seen from a report by Bob Smith, an official of the Wellington Waterside Workers’ Union, who visited Suva after the strike. “After identifying myself,” he wrote, “I was welcomed with open arms and shown a file of cablegrams from New Zealand and Australian maritime unions which gave encouragement during the recent strike. Local secretary Lelea Sesifio gave pride of place to the cablegram from the Wellington Waterside Workers’ Union, citing the ‘lrisbank’ incident and giving guarantees of support. This unsolicited action gave impetus to the dockers’ argument that if troops and police were put on the docks to work the ships, their New Zealand and Australian comrades would leave the cargo till it rotted. So here was an evidence that their threats were real and this cablegram was a most significant weapon at the critical hour. The presence of Mr Bill Martin, speaking both for the New Zealand F.O.L. and the New Zealand Seamen’s Union, was another evidence of Pacific solidarity and weighed heavily in the arrival at an interim settlement (10 cent an hour) pending the arbitration just concluded.”

This solidarity was again expressed in practical terms during the 1977 dock strike, when the crew of the New Zealand ship “Ngahere” was gaoled at Lautoka for refusing to move the ship from her berth. This is the statement issued by the crew on 6 July: “We wish to

proclaim our full and determined intent to remain staunch and true during the present strike in Fiji. No amount of threats, no cunning or dishonest manoeuvre can possibly prevent us from fully honouring the sacred workers’ principles of international solidarity and unity in struggle against the employers or any employers’ government. To all workers who recognise and accept their working class responsibilities we extend the hand for friendship, common cause and self respect in class struggle.”

I have made no mention in this talk of actions taken by unions to help Pacific Islands workers here in New Zealand: the Federation of Labour efforts to get proper standards for Fijian scrub cutters in the South Island, the Auckland Tanners’ Union’s work for Tongan and Cook Islands workers, or union support in the overstayers controversy. These actions too are expressions of international solidarity, of fraternal assistance to workers from other countries.

Some Island politicians have seen fit to complain of foreign trade union interference in their countries’ internal affairs. The Fijian delegate even raised this issue at the United Nations last October, where he presented it as some new form of colonialism. As long as New Zealand unions act at the request of local unions, they should not worry too much about these propaganda blasts. Solidarity is the very basis of trade union activity, whether it is at the local, national, or even the international level. The alternative is usually defeat or, to put it in Pacific Islands terms, “the banana that leaves the bunch gets skinned.”