Irene Campbell (Women of the Waterfront) and Brian Dooley (Sacked Docker) visited Gothenburg, Sweden, at the invitation of the Gothernburg dockworkers who have been supporting Liverpool both financially and by blockading ACL
The fantastic support and show of solidarity from the Swedish people is something that puts some people to shame. We were greeted at the airport by Inga Johannson and Kenny Karlsson who then took us to a cafe where we were pictured and interviewed by Curt Carlsson, a journalist from the local press. He was interested in the docks dispute and how things were affecting the families after 14 months of struggle, also the support we were getting internationally. It made a full page scoop in the paper "Nyheterna".
On the Saturday Inga and her husband Bosse who is a dockworkerin Gothenburg had organised a special fundraising event at the Music House and I do not know how they managed to get so many famous artists together at one time. They included: Sven Wollter (famous film and stage star), Margareta Abrahamsson (TV star and comedienne), Bernt Andersson, Sam Vesterberg, Matso 'SPingo', Gunnar Danielsson, Per Umaertus, Henrik Wallgren, all famous musicians who gave their time free in support of Liverpool Dockers. Also in attendance were dockworkers and their families and people and supporters of 'Proletarian', a political paper which has also featured the struggle of the Liverpool Dockers and also the W.O.W.
The women in Gothenburg are interested in getting together themselves, so as to be prepared for changes and cuts that are taking place in Sweden as many of the changes the government are making against the working class in the UK also seem to be happening in Sweden. The working class must be prepared to fight these cuts and unity is strength, so if we share our thoughts and solidarity internationally we will win. We are a democracy and we must work together.
The Swedish people have shown us their support, their solidarity and their hearts. We were treated like stars ourselves by everyone we came in contact with.
At the fundraising event we met Sixto Iturra (President of the STO union, Metro), a railway worker from Stockholm. He had met Doreen McNally and Sue Mitchell in France at the "One World Conference" and heard of our dispute. When he returned to Stockholm and told his colleagues they all agreed they should support the Liverpool Dockers as they feel we are all fighting the same struggles and we must win. They sent 5,000 Swedish crowns (£456.20) and their solidarity wishes.
Two of the Gothenburg Dockers also gave their pools win to the Liverpool Dockers.
The surprise of the weekend was that Inga had secretly asked the musicians to play "Big River" and sing it in English.
Thank you Inga, Bosse, and all our Swedish colleagues and friends.
"The River Will Rise Again, and We Will Rebuild"
I had only been in Sweden for a few hours, but I soon found that the same attacks were being carried out on the people of Sweden as are being carried out here. The unemployed are being taken off benefits by a similar scheme to the JSA, simply to make the unemployment figures look good. They have a sickness insurance scheme, benefits on this are being reduced and being made harder to claim. The Health Service is also under attack.
The people are disillusioned with the Social Democrat Party who are similar to our Labour Party. They too have abandoned socialist principles in order to bring the country in line with E.U. financial targets - most of the people want Sweden out of Europe. The people we met were dedicated socialists and trade unionists. Some employers are trying to introduce personal contracts into their workplaces, but knowing the calibre of the people, these attempts will meet fierce resistance!
The solidarity Gala which was being held to support the Liverpool dockers was a sell-out even though the tickets cost 100 Kroner (about £10). The artistes gave their services free and on the day of the Gala, the musicians rehearsed all day. An actor called Sven Wollter, a great socialist who was very highly respected, attended an anti-racist rally in Stockholm and then took a taxi to Gothenburg at his own expense (about £200) in order to appear at this Gala. During an interview for a national newspaper he was asked what his hopes for the future were. He replied "that the outcry against the politics in Sweden will grow, also globally. Right now I am going to a Solidarity Gala in Gothenburg, in support of the striking-Locked Out Dockers in Liverpool who have been put on the streets (sacked). It is easy to forget that this is still going on, even after 12 months but we must give honour to the word Solidarity".
The people wanted to know how the dispute was going and had a genuine desire to see us win a victory. Irene and I were treated with kindness and respect by everyone we met.
The highlight of the trip for me was being shown round the docks, particularly the amenities for the workforce. These were housed in a bright modern building, on three floors, and included a spotlessly clean canteen complete with tablecloths, two lounges with modern furniture, TV and stereos, microwave ovens, clean showers and changing areas, a sauna, sunbeds, a free telephone for outside calls, coffee machines (free), two washing machines and a drying room, a fully equipped gym, a hall for playing basketball etc., computer room and library. There was also a physiotherapist and a counsellor for people with alcohol problems. In comparison, the facilities provided by MDHC belong to The Dark Ages.
On the Monday we went to the Union house and said our farewells. We were given the proceeds of the weekend's fundraising, £2,900.
The trip to Sweden will leave a lasting impression on me.
