1913 Great Strike  The Great Strike refers to a near general strike that took place in New Zealand from October 1913 to mid-January 1914. It was the largest and most disruptive strike in New Zealand's history. At its height, it brought the economy of New Zealand almost to a halt. Between 14,000 and 16,000 workers went on strike, out of a population of just over one million. The dispute began with a coal miners' strike in Huntly and on the Wellington waterfront, and quickly spread to other industries around the country. In 1909 militant trade unionists had formed the New Zealand Federation of Labour (the "Red Feds") an organisation opposed to the Liberal government's Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act, which meant labour disputes had to be settled though conciliation boards and arbitration courts. Unions at first generally regarded the arbitration system as beneficial, while many employers saw it as limiting their powers. With no significant stoppages between 1894 and 1906, New Zealand became known internationally as ‘the country without strikes’. However, unionists had several complaints about the arbitration system; it failed to increase wages in line with the cost of living, didn't compel employers to pay for all hours of work, and the provisions for employers hiring workers at less than agreed rates were considered too loose. The growth in the number of unions in the early 1900s increased the arbitration courts' workload to the point that unions could wait up to a year before getting a hearing. In 1905 an amendment to the act made strike action and lockouts illegal where there was an award covering employers and workers and another amendment in 1907 increased the penalties for striking illegally. Only unions registered under the Trade Union Act passed the following year could legally strike. With the forming of the federation, affiliated unions withdrew from the IC&A Act and registered under the Trade Union Act. By 1911 the organisations' membership had doubled to nearly 14,000 workers. In March 1913 a dispute began between Wellington shipwrights and the Union Steam Ship Company; the workers wanted the company to either pay them for travelling time or provide them with transport to new workshops at Evans Bay. In May the shipwrights cancelled their registration under the IC&A Act and joined the Federation-affiliated Wellington Waterside Workers' Union (WWWU). On October 6 Allison's Taupiri Coal Company sacked sixteen miners at Huntly, three of whom had recently been elected to the arbitration union's executive. The company refused another ballot and the directors declared that there was nothing to discuss with the union.