Liverpool dockers enter third year of struggle
Our correspondent Glen Voris spoke to Jimmy Nolan (Chair of Merseyside Port Shop Stewards Committee), shop stewards Billy Jenkins, Herbie Holyhead and to Terry Tighe, shop steward and international solidarity co-ordinator. • The second anniversary of the dispute is approaching. How are the dockers? Nolan: We have the same resilience as two years ago even though it has been very difficult. All 500 dockers have stayed with the dispute, except two who died, one of them from a heart attack on the picket line. This shows the tremendous determination that we have to win our full reinstatement. We have been living on £50 (US$80) per week through donations to the strike fund and this has put an enormous strain on us and our families. Jenkins: The men and women have developed politically especially about international politics. We get the strength to continue because of the international solidarity. We must repay the commitment of workers who have supported us by continuing the dispute until we win. • What support has your Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) given? Nolan: To put it bluntly, zero. However, at the TGWU Biennial Conference in July, nine motions were put forward to support us. The Executive issued their own statement on the need "to preserve the fabric of the union and operate within the constraints of the law" and put this to the vote without debating the nine motions. There was a clear show of hands voting it down. Many delegates refused to sit down and demanded a card vote. The chair lost control of the conference for several minutes and then decided to call for a card vote the next morning
The next day the Executive lost the vote by 283 to 182. The nine motions were then debated and all adopted The TGWU leadership are now committed to support our dispute. It was a tremendous victory. We are now waiting for the Executive to meet with us and to discuss the swift conclusion of the dispute. Jenkins: The TGWU leadership have been a disgrace to trade unionism. They haven't even set up a strike fund for us in the union. They haven't even helped us to build the international support, we've had to do it all ourselves. What we need is concrete support. The TGWU should be using its sponsored Labour MPs to raise the issue of our dispute in parliament to resolve it.
• Has the election of a Labour government in Britain helped in any way? Nolan: No. In fact they have probably hindered us with false promises. The North West Regional Labour Party said they would organise a meeting of all the local Labour MPs to meet us "some time in the new year" - so they're not really serious. There were rumours that [Labour's Deputy Labour Leader and Transport Minister] John Prescott was going to meet us over a month ago but, we have heard nothing since. • What type of demands should the labour movement put on the Labour government? Holyhead: It's very difficult. Tony Blair made it quite clear at the recent Trade Union Congress that "we need a flexible workforce". Nevertheless, we Liverpool Dockers are calling upon the government to use its major share holding (14%) in the Mersey Docks to reinstate the dockers. We are also demanding a call for a public enquiry into the millions of pounds worth of government and European money that has been ploughed into the Mersey Docks over the last 30 years. Three decades of public finance and private abuse
The most important issue for trade unions in Britain is to demand the repeal of all the anti-union laws that shackle the unions. We have the most repressive and restrictive anti-union laws in the western world - this is why we ve had great difficulty in gaining solidarity action in this country. • The Liverpool Dockers brought about the formation of the first international dockers shop stewards movement. How has this progressed and why is internationalism so important? Holyhead: The finance given to us by touring various countries has been a big boost - without that, it would have been very difficult to continue the dispute for so long. In all the ports we have visited we've found similar problems of casualisation and privatisation.
Our dispute has brought dockers together internationally. We can now discuss the problems we face and how we can fight together against the multinational companies. There are six major port companies, and they need to be confronted internationally. No one country can win alone. • What level of support have you gained and is it having an effect?
Tighe: The 3rd International Dockers
Day of Action on September 8th exceeded all expectations. It proved that
Liverpool has become a symbol of all dockers who are determined to resist the threats of casual labour, mass sackings, and the deregulation of our industry.
The port of Liverpool is stagnating: there are now 24% less ships sailing into the port than there were two years ago.
The international support has been tremendous. Ports in over 30 countries took part in actions ranging from 24 hour strikes to boycotting ships who deal with the Port of Liverpool. In countries where there are no sea ports, our supporters held demonstrations outside British Consuls and demanded that the Labour government resolve the dispute. Workers in ports round the world are continuing to boycott shipping lines who use the Port of Liverpool on a regular basis. • Women on the Waterfront have been an important development. What role have they played and how have they helped the dispute? Holyhead: Women on the Waterfront (WOW) form an integral element of our struggle. They take an active role in picketing the port. They send out delegations to raise funds. And their moral support has strengthened the resolve of their sacked husbands. This has greatly eased tensions in the families. After two years of pickets and poverty, not one family has broken up. Colonel Gadaffi recently presented WOW with Libya's Humane Merit Award - presented to Nelson Mandela five years ago. WOW received $50,000 which has been put into the strike fund. • After two years in struggle, are you any closer to full reinstatement?
No. We are continuing the pressure and hope there will be more talks. We have rejected offers of reinstatement of 60 dockers and bigger payoffs for the rest.
What we want is a full reinstatement of all the sacked dockers on the same pay and conditions as before, with trade union recognition. We have fought for decades for these conditions and we won't accept anything less. It is up to us to fight for future generations and for our dignity as human beings. * Messages of support/correspondence/financial donations should be sent to: Brother Jim Davies, 19 Scorton Road, Liverpool L6 4AS. Please make cheques payable to
"Merseyside Shop Stewards Appeal Fund"
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Polarisation continues