The water-siders faced challenges from two groups of people, government and the strike-breakers. Strike breakers were the group of people who left the dispute and went back to work. Strike-breakers were seen as one of the most influential group during the dispute. Water-siders made their daily decisions based on the actions strike-breakers made in order to return back to work. This made other water-siders weary of losing their jobs after the end of the dispute. Workers could not withstand the thought of hardships that losing their jobs permanently would have on them. “New Plymouth workers based their decisions not just on short term difficulties, but on the long term threat to their ability to work on wharf” (New Zealand Journal of History,
