James Vassilopoulos
The struggle by the Liverpool dockers — now in its second year — is gaining momentum. A 24-hour international solidarity strike has been set, and last month the dockers stopped an attempt by the Transport and General Workers Union executive to push through negotiations on a redundancy package.
The dispute began after Torside, a company set up by the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company to fill labour shortages on the docks, sacked 20 dockers and replaced them with casual staff. Dockers set up a picket line and were eventually locked out by MDHC, which contracted the strike-breakers Drake International.
At the Montreal international dockers' conference in late May, a two-pronged strategy was adopted. A worldwide stoppage of 24 hours will be followed by a "movement organised in series and relays, in accordance with the itineraries and destinations of the vessels of the shipping companies Cast, ACL, Canmar", which continue to use the Liverpool port. The boycott is aimed at forcing MDHC to resolve the dispute in favour of the dockers.
Fifty-four delegates from five continents, 17 countries and 27 ports met at the Montreal conference, which was hosted by the local dockers union, Syndicat des Debardeuns. Participants included Marvin Mfundisi, first vice-president of the South African TGWU; Vladimir Vasiliev, president of the Dockers Union of Russia; Yoshi Nakamura, general secretary of the National Council of Dock Workers Unions of Japan, and Ron Wiechels, secretary general of the FNV labour pool in Amsterdam.
The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) declined to attend. With dock workers around the world under attack, including in Amsterdam, Australia, Brazil and Los Angeles, there is a strong basis for a solidarity campaign. A win for the Liverpool dockers is also key to preventing job cuts, casualisation of the work force and privatisation.
According to Jimmy Nolan, chairperson of the Mersey Port Shop Stewards Committee, the dockers are on the verge of something big, not just for the reinstatement of the Liverpool dockers but for dockers worldwide. A real rank and file movement is in place, he believes, to challenge shipowners and port authorities.
An ITF conference in Miami on June 9-10 refused to support the Montreal conference's strike and bans proposals.
On June 20, docker workers from France, Spain and Ireland agreed to take part in the international day of action and ongoing action against ship companies CAST, Canmar and ACL.
The dockers defeated the TGWU executive at the TGWU biennial delegates' conference in Brighton in early July. Nine motions supporting the dockers were submitted by delegates. The executive wanted to replace these with a motion to endorse its attempt to negotiate a redundancy package.
Delegate after delegate condemned the executive. Belfast dockers, lorry drivers, the convener of the Rover Cowley plant and the leader of the Civil Aviation Transport section at London's Heaththrow airport rallied to the dockers' cause.
When the vote was taken and the chair declared the executive motion carried, there was uproar. Forced into another vote the following morning, the executive motion was lost by 283 votes to 182.
A motion by the Liverpool dockers' branch agreed to "call upon the government to intervene in order to return the sacked dock workers to their rightful place of work" and to "commend the sacked dock workers for their heroic and inspirational struggle".
Other motions demanded a government inquiry into the Mersey Docks and that the TGWU work with the ITF to impose a trade boycott on the port of Liverpool.
A national solidarity conference, convened by the Liverpool dockers on July 26, also decided on plans to: lobby the Trade Union Congress on September 8; set a national day of action; campaign to get the Labour Party conference on September 28 to repeal all anti-union laws.
Meanwhile, the Merseyside police have stepped up their attacks on the picketers. On July 2, Steve Stanton was battered unconscious by a police officer.
A total of 13 dockers, including three stewards, two of whom were delegated for police liaison, have been arrested in recent weeks. On June 25, four more sacked dockers were arrested near the docks. Bail conditions prohibit them from being within 25 feet of Mersey Docks property.
Donations can be sent to Jimmy Davies, secretary of the Port Shops Stewards Committee, 19 Scorton Street, Liverpool L6 4AS, UK. Cheques should be made payable to Merseyside Dockers Shop Stewards appeal fund.