Liverpool dockers and their supporters met Gianni Dozza in February 1996, at the first international conference. He spoke passionately of the problems faced by all dockworkers and their common need to confront an international ruling class with concrete solidarity action.
Gianni began by outlining the recent history of Italian ports after deregulation from 1984 onwards led to a four-fold loss in employment nationally. In 1990, private operators were licensed within the port of Genoa, where workers later formed the CULMV cooperative.
“In the absence of a coordinated national strategy from the various trade union organisations, our strategy became that of forming a kind of self organised company, organised on the part of the portworkers, and through that company we have our relationship with all of the operators in the port of Genoa.
“And even if we weren’t in agreement with the restructuring process, our aim in the long term was to unite all of the workers of the various companies into one contract, all of the various companies in the port of Genoa into one holding company. We know that today it is impossible to defend our conditions if we don’t develop a strategy which unites all of the dockworkers.
“The restructuring that’s now been going on for many years, and is not yet finished, has not solved any problems apart from arriving at conclusions and situations that are against the workers, and work only to the benefit of the bosses in the port.
“Listening to dockworkers from around the world, I’ve discovered that the problems that we face are common problems.
“Portworkers don’t have any particular problems that aren’t the same problems as are faced in other ports, whether they be problems of safety, problems of conditions, of organisation, problems of professionalism at work, all the same problems are faced by everybody.
“And it’s only with material, concrete solidarity, with solidarity of action, that we can actually begin to confront the problems posed by our ruling class which is international.
“This conference is an occasion which can’t be wasted in any way by any of us, because it gives us the possibility of building a response to international attacks on our conditions, and maybe it’s the first time that we’ve been able to do this, so I’d like to thank everybody.”
