New Zealand: Trades Unions Material

Pamphlets, guides, addresses, reports and discussion papers, 1948 onwards, issued by the Coachworkers Union (N.Z.), the Combined Motor Industry Unions (N.Z.), the Combined State Unions (N.Z.), the Labour Women's Council (N.Z.), the N.Z. Carpenters' and Related Trades' Union, the New Zealand Dairy Factories and Related Trades Employees' Industrial Union of Workers, the New Zealand Federation of Labour, the New Zealand Public Service Association, the New Zealand Waterside Workers' Union, the Northern Drivers Union and the Wellington Trades Council.

The collection held here stretches back to the 1940s and includes accounts of industrial disputes from that period from the likes of the New Zealand Waterside Workers' Union and the N.Z. Carpenters' and Related Trades' Union. Many of the later items originate from the Public Service Association, a white-collar union, and the umbrella organisation the New Zealand Federation of Labour, often consisting of critiques of government economic policy that reflect the increasing difficult circumstances the unions found themselves in in the late 1970s and early 1980s. As well as these materials and those of other unions representing specific industries there are also productions issued by the Labour Women's Council concentrating on the issues facing female union members.

Alphabetically by union, and then in rough chronological order.

Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.

Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)

Description compiled by Daniel Millum, Political Archives Project Officer at the Institutes of Commonwealth and Latin American Studies.

Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.

The Commonwealth Political Parties Materials collection was begun in 1960-61, with special emphasis being placed then, as now, on "primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos." (ICS, Twelfth Annual Report 1960-1961). Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant.

Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.

See also New Zealand: Political Parties Material (PP.NZ) and New Zealand: Pressure Groups Material (PG.NZ) as well as Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.