Strike by Mersey pilots averted

A threatened strike by pilots employed by the Mersey Docks & Harbour Company has been averted following last minute intervention by the TGWU Regional Secretary. The pilots were in dispute over wages, but had also raised the issue of ships being brought through the Mersey without pilot boats. Lloyd's List (1 March) reported concerns that this included the movement of hazardous cargo.

The pilots sought the involvement of their Regional Secretary following dissatisfaction with their full time official Mr. Jack Dempsey, whose role in the Liverpool Lockout was highlighted in the Ken Loach TV documentary "The Flickering Flame". Dempsey has denied allegations that in Sept '95 he failed to inform dock stewards that Torside were prepared to reinstate the young dockers whose dismissal precipitated the picket line and subsequent lockout, as stated by former Torside director Bernard Bradley in evidence to a House of Commons Select Committee investigation. The TGWU accepted a report by the Regional Secretary into the affair, and Dempsey remains in post.

Now the pilots, in accepting the resolution of their dispute by the Regional Secretary, have overwhelmingly adopted a motion of no confidence in Mr. Dempsey.

T&GWU