Richard Flint
Communications' Department Secretary
International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF)
Internet: flint_richard@itf.org.uk
As I have said in previous messages, I will try to avoid going into too much technical detail about this case. If there are people who think I do not tell the truth, there is not much I can do to change their minds. But perhaps I should say what I think is going on. It is interesting that the ITF is already being accused of betraying the Liverpool dockers. I did not realise the dispute was already over and as far as I can tell the ITF is still giving its support to the dispute and so are a number of ITF member unions. So where is the betrayal?
Our detractors would like you to believe that there is some kind of secretive conspiracy under way in the ITF whose aim is to undermined the strike. At the same time as secretly conspiring against the strikers, ITF unions and officers are pretending to support the strike. If you believe that, frankly, you believe anything and there is no point trying to convince you otherwise.
A couple of clarifications need to be made. First of all, Jack Heyman incorrectly states that the ITF resisted offering the dockers a forum (and yet relented). The point is they were invited to the meeting he refers to and they did address it. It is also important for the record to correct Jack Heyman's incorrect statement that the ITF is the richest International Trade Secretariat (ITS). In terms of affiliation revenue from members unions, we are by no means the richest ITS. We do have considerable revenue in the ITF Welfare Fund which is money that comes as a direct result of shipowners concluding ITF agreements on Flag of convenience (Foc) shipping. This money is given to the ITF specifically for seafarers' welfare and for the Foc campaign. There have been a large number of court cases in the UK about the use of the Welfare Fund and we have very strict rules that are very closely monitored by a number of shipowners. We have a moral and legal obligation to deploy the Welfare Fund for seafarers' welfare and this is what we do with it.
We do not use the Welfare Fund for donating funds to striking transport workers. We would not be able to do this and in any event, we do not believe that we ought to. The money contributed to the Liverpool strike fund came from the International Solidarity Fund which is a specific fund set up by the ITF Executive Board for specific support to striking transport workers. The money in this fund is donated by ITF-affiliated unions and there has been a special donation from the ITF General Fund. Please note that this money comes entirely from ITF affiliation revenue. If you really want to look at how much money ITF affiliates have given to the Liverpool dockers, you need to look at the many and substantial contributions that have been made by ITF affiliates to the Liverpool dockers. The ITF has been heavily involved in soliciting such donations and it one fact that everyone agrees on that the ITF has positively encouraged its members to support the Liverpool dockers. The two largest donations from this Fund have been to the Liverpool dockers and to striking bus workers in Zimbabwe.
The ITF finances are completely transparent. Our accounts are open to anyone who wants to see them (and that includes shipowners) and all our expenditure and salaries are a matter of public record. Our salaries are relatively low compared to other European or American trade unions and I do not think anyone into the ITF earns as much as a US dock worker. Economic comparisons are very strange matters.
I note the individual comment made to the Indian Verish Malik, he is accused of being "privileged" because he has access to e-mail. It is all relative and people should be aware of the fact that organised workers in the so-called Third World are, in fact, a privileged elite in terms of earnings and benefits. An Indian railway worker, for example, lives quite well compared to an agricultural worker. This causes problems for you Marxists who want the working class to lead a global revolution. I must admit that I get the impression that there is a political axe being ground by those people who claim to supporting the Liverpool dockers and actually seem to be spending their time criticising various organisations. In certain strands of chaotic Marxism, there are people who prefer the revolutionary defeat to the messy victory. Especially if the defeat of the workers in a particular dispute can be blamed on the betrayal of right-wing trade union bureaucrats. These people can then use their own self-fulfilling prophecy to recruit a few disillusioned people to their tiny little vanguard party. The workers get forgotten eventually and those of us who are genuinely interested in building solidarity end up being falsely categorised.
PS:
To: Alan Harrison
I hope you all note that we are supporting the Liverpool strike.
PPS: One example of Jack Heyman's strange logic is his citation of me saying "the ITF is the greatest organisation in the world", when in fact what I said was "I am not trying to convince anyone that the ITF is the greatest organisation in the world"!
