The article investigates the right to strike under the industrial relations legislation in New Zealand. New Zealand's system of industrial relations, considerably influenced by legislation, is based on conciliation and arbitration. Prior to the Industrial Relations Act of 1973 (IR Act) which came into force on March 8, 1974, the principle legislation in this field has, from 1894, been one of several Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Acts (ICA Acts) and numerous Amendment Acts. However, arbitration is not compulsory insofar as combinations of workers are not forced into registering under the IR Act or the previous ICA Acts. Advantages lost by not registering include the right to recourse to mediation, conciliation, and arbitration if so desired and the automatic application of general wage orders. But, in many cases, the real pressure on a society to register comes from the fact that it is possible for a small break-away group of workers to register as an industrial union. The views of academicians on the question as to whether strikes are now legal are varied.