{"id":5980,"date":"2015-09-28T16:44:03","date_gmt":"2015-09-28T15:44:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=5980"},"modified":"2015-09-28T16:45:40","modified_gmt":"2015-09-28T15:45:40","slug":"a-reminder-of-courage-and-determination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=5980","title":{"rendered":"A reminder of courage and determination"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Trade unionists\u00c2\u00a0from across the globe gathered in Liverpool yesterday (September 26), to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s historic 1995 dock workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 dispute.<\/p>\n

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Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey, at a rally commemorating the valiant and innovative efforts of the 500 dockers, thanked them for instigating a resurgence of affective trade unionism and, for the first time, apologised for the previous T&G union leadership\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u015bbetrayal\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 of their cause.<\/p>\n

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The dispute started in September 1995, after dockers refused to cross picket lines set up by 80 men sacked by the Torside company. That act of solidarity led the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC) to fire 329 of its employees. It was the beginning of a two and a half year battle that would see the Liverpool Dockers mobilise a worldwide fightback, despite being abandoned by their union\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s leaders.<\/p>\n

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Ports throughout America were shut down in support of the dockers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 cause, Liverpool star striker Robbie Fowler was fined \u00c2\u0141900 for wearing the iconic \u00e2\u20ac\u015bCK\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 T-shirt during a UEFA game, while the stalwart Women of the Waterfront group took the campaign right to the front door of Number 10.<\/p>\n

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Across the globe unions and campaign groups pledged solidarity and gave assistance. Many dockworkers and campaigners – from Australia, American, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Denmark and Turkey – who backed the Liverpool dockers during the dispute, were in attendance yesterday.<\/p>\n

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Although the dockers never got their jobs back, their struggle for justice changed trade unionism for the better. It led to the establishment of Liverpool\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s famous Casa bar and community centre and the International Dockworkers Council (IDC). The campaign also resulted in a Channel 4 film written by the dockworkers themselves with the help of novelist Irvine Welsh and screenwriter Jimmy McGovern.<\/p>\n

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Mr McCluskey, himself an ex-Liverpool docker, spoke about toll the campaign took on those involved.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFamilies 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 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,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

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With the present Tory government intent on forcing through new draconian anti-trade union laws, the strikers’ stand is a model for today, explained Mr McCluskey.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is why I say that the leadership of the T&G betrayed the Liverpool dock workers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they themselves did not have the courage or the conviction of the dockers. Had they had that conviction we would have won that struggle.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd it is why, as general secretary of Unite, I stood before the dockers to apologise for that betrayal. I only wish I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have been general secretary then,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 
\nRelentless determination\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nThe dispute came to an end in January 1998 when the exhausted dockers accepted compensation from MDHC. But the dockers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 story was far from over. In 1999 Channel 4 released a film written by dockers involved in the dispute, who where assisted with the script by Jimmy McGovern and Irvine Welsh. The film, starring Ricky Tomlinson, Katy Lamont, Chrissy Rock and Ken Stott, netted them \u00c2\u0141127,000. The money was used to purchase the Casa bar in Liverpool city centre.<\/p>\n

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Known locally as \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthe Dockers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Pub\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 the Casa has helped thousands of people over the years, as Unite Regional Officer Terry Teague, who was a shop steward at the time of the dispute, explained.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe Casa has become an open house to groups and individuals from across the Merseyside community who are fighting for a cause or have been hurt and victimised by the political structures that govern today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s society. We pride ourselves on never turning anyone away; if we can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help then we will find somebody who can,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

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The relentless determination of the dockers to fight for fair working rights and decent treatment also helped established the IDC, which today boasts 80,000 members worldwide.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWho would have thought that the ad-hoc international gathering that met in Liverpool Town Hall in January 1996 would go on to become the International Dockworkers Council, which now has a membership of 80,000 and proudly works alongside the ITF and other Maritime Unions in protecting dockers the world over?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Mr Teague.<\/p>\n

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Rebuilding our movement<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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After 17 years Teague, along with Tony Nelson, returned to Liverpool Docks to organise workers and bring the port back into the trade union fold. It was a difficult decision to engage with companies that had made names for themselves as strikebreakers, he said, but they \u00e2\u20ac\u015bfound a group of determined individuals who had already started the fightback.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Through their hard work Unite now has recognition agreements in all parts of the port.<\/p>\n

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The Liverpool dockworkers have been central to a renewed resistance from an established agenda, that looks to strengthen the international business elites hold over the global economy, explained International Transport Workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Federation (ITF) president Paddy Crumlin. The move against the dockworkers was just the first of many similar attacks against unionised workers throughout the world – attacks that are continuing today.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realise it at the time, but this great struggle on the Liverpool Docks was really a struggle for working men and women and their rights. If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to send a signal to the international working class then the best place to start is in Liverpool. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re discriminating against organised labour because they know we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re central to the future economy of the world and they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want that,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Mr Crumlin said.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt was in the face of this enormous struggle, in the face of this storm that was coming and is still coming today, that they helped us reclaim our institutions. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the spirit that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to rebuild our communities and rebuild our movement. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what the Liverpool Dockers strike is about today. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what it was about 20 years ago and what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be about in 20 years time. A reminder of courage and determination. A reminder that if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re prepared to go and fight for your rights you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re an inspiration to others.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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The Liverpool Dockers hard fought struggle had a profound effect on how resistance campaigns are waged, strengthened international collaboration and solidarity and pioneered initiatives that help protect local communities. The dispute remains a pivotal moment in the progress of modern trade unionism.<\/p>\n

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Trade unionists\u00c2\u00a0from across the globe gathered in Liverpool yesterday (September 26), to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the city\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s historic 1995 dock workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 dispute.       Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey, at a rally commemorating the valiant and innovative efforts of the 500 dockers, thanked them for instigating a resurgence of affective trade unionism […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5986,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[397],"wps_subtitle":"1995 Liverpool dock workers' dispute commemorated","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5980"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5980"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5990,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5980\/revisions\/5990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}