Community spirit will never be defeated

Liverpool is my home city.  I was delighted to be back home this weekend for many reasons but primarily so that I can honour one of the most heroic struggles in the history of our movement, the dock strike of 1995.

 

This city and its docks, its spirit and its people – they embody our shared history of class struggle, a struggle that lives on today.

 

For me the city and the docks are not just a memory, they’re part of my DNA.  They mean as much, if not more, to me today as when I was a boy of 17 starting work on the docks.

 

That dock strike of two decades ago was  a turning point in British industrial relations.

 

Its legacy is as relevant today as it was in 1995. And it is one that – believe me when I say – has special meaning to me.

 

The first thing that must be recognised is the effect this struggle had on the men and women (and their families) who lived through it.

 

Beyond that image of strength when we join in solidarity action – and the dockers’ families exuded that strength remarkably over 28 long months – we must also recognise the hardship that came with it and the sacrifices that were made.

 

Families lost their homes; some men, and many were my friends, were left broken. Some died in the struggle, and I will always pay tribute to them.

 

The reason I say this was turning point in British industrial relations is because the dockers fought a unique battle. They were sacked and were fighting a campaign to be reinstated.

 

Their mobilisation of the people of Liverpool, the support the garnered from direct action groups and campaign organisations was inspiring.

 

The creativity of the Women of the Waterfront, their use of art (those Dockers’ ‘CK’ T-shirts) the music, literature and film – it all ran alongside an international worldwide solidarity movement that saw action taken in ports as far flung as San Francisco.

 

Many travelled from far and wide to Liverpool to remember that struggle of 20 years ago; to each and every one of them, thank you for your support and friendship.

 

When the trade unions of the day sought to hide behind anti-trade union legislation as a reason not to act, the Liverpool dockers responded with the most impressive campaign imaginable, gaining support from every corner of the globe.

 

The Liverpool dockers rejected the Thatcher anti-democratic, anti- worker creed.

 

They rejected the onward march of casualisation and by doing so, they showed the way forward for fighting back trade unionism.

 

Same spirit needed now

The same spirit now is needed to reject the scourge of zero hours. The dockers were without doubt ahead of their time. They were certainly way ahead of the leadership of the trade union movement of that time.

 

This is why I say that the leadership of the T&G betrayed the Liverpool dock workers – they themselves did not have the courage or the conviction of the dockers.  Had they had that conviction we would have won that struggle.

 

And it is why, as general secretary of Unite, I stood before the dockers to apologise for that betrayal. I only wish I’d have been general secretary then.

 

I say that the Liverpool dockers’ legacy is as relevant today as it was in 1995 for this reason: once again we have a Tory government and once again our movement is facing up to new attacks.

 

Draconian laws

New punishing and draconian laws are on their way through parliament – and how our movement and the leadership of our trade unions respond is now imperative.

 

The cowardice of the Labour Party leadership of the time was that they were unwilling to challenge Thatcherite anti-trade union laws.

 

Since I have been general secretary, the executive council of Unite has not repudiated strike action, not once. On Liverpool docks today, our union flourishes.  Since 2010, Unite union membership on the docks has increased from around 50 per cent to almost 100 per cent.

 

Unite has been recognised by Peel, Norec (EON), Blue Arrow from Drakes, SGS, Stanlow Oil Refinery and P/O Logistics over the last four years. There is agreement for Unite recognition on Liverpool 2 when it opens in 2016.

 

And once again we now have shop stewards on all lay committees in the union and members on the ITF and IDC.

 

For all the power and wealth of the ruling elite, they will never defeat the ideals and community spirit of workers.

 

Liverpool Dockers were supposed to disappear. Instead they defiantly and with dignity created the CASA which has helped literally thousands of ordinary people.

 

The boss class doesn’t understand that solidarity courses through our veins.

 

And it was that solidarity displayed by the brave 500.  I salute them.  And I am eternally proud and humble to be counted as one of their friends.