The Cost of Living

‘A compelling narrative account of each stage of the story … This is high-quality historical journalism.’—Geoff Bertram

‘A timely reminder of the merits of understanding the past in its own terms.’—Malcolm McKinnon

How did organised labour, once a major force in national life, lose its position of strength and influence?

The Cost of Living is an authoritative account of the rise and fall of New Zealand’s largest union body, the Federation of Labour (FOL), during perhaps the most turbulent era in our modern history.

Opening with a charged televised confrontation between FOL President Tom Skinner and National Party leader Robert Muldoon, Ross Webb traces the organisation’s rise to the height of its power in the mid-1970s. What follows is the dramatic story of how the FOL wielded, defended and ultimately lost that power amid economic crisis, anti-union politics and radical economic reforms in the decade that followed.

Drawing on extensive archival research, media sources and oral histories, Webb paints a vivid picture of an era defined by inflation, rising unemployment, industrial conflict and economic crisis. He shows how these forces undermined the postwar commitment to full employment and weakened the place of organised labour in national life, while offering new insights into employer organisations, anti-union movements and the increasingly fractured relationship between unions and the Labour Party.

The Cost of Living examines power, conflict and the consequences of economic change, situating the FOL within the defining economic battles of its era – over wages, inflation and living standards. In doing so, it offers timely historical context for current discussions about workers’ rights, inequality and economic policy.