Anne Marie, a young village girl, daughter of a docker, was knocked down and killed on the picket line.
'She became the symbol of our union,' he said. 'She ceased to be the daughter of a single docker. She became the daughter of all of us.'
Thousands from all the Canary Isles and throughout the union paid homage to Anne Marie at her funeral. 'She brought together everybody in the common struggle for justice,' said Francisco.
He offered the women of Liverpool the possibility of building links with the Spanish women who had taken up the fight during their struggles in the 1980s.
'The dockers' wives and partners accompanied by other women bombarded a ship where nine scabs were holding out. As these women boarded the ship, the scabs jumped overboard!'
The women have their own organisation and use all the union's facilities: telephones, fax etc. there is a vast wealth of experience from Tenerife to Barcelona,' he said. 'They would be very be happy to help and support this wonderful experience in Liverpool.'
He said that had the Spanish delegation been more conscious of developments in Liverpool they would certainly have ensured that the women attended the conference.
