Dear brothers and sisters,
In the first place I want to bring you the warmest greetings and solidarity from the Rotterdam and Amsterdam dockers Action committees of the labour pool, and from the Harbour Women's committee.
The Liverpool dockers and the Women of the Waterfront have given union work and international solidarity a new meaning. You are a great inspiration and an excellent example for us.
It is with some shame that we report - in contrast to the action-day in the beginning of this year, when dockers in Rotterdam went on strike - on the 8th of September no strike actions took place in Rotterdam or Amsterdam.
Not that the militant union cadres in both towns have been idle - they have promoted support for the Liverpool struggle. They fought for substantial support in the Dutch Transport Union.
And here we come to the problem. Privatisation and deregulation have been going on for more then ten years, during which time the position of the dockworkers has worsened dramatically. In '93 the labour pools in Rotterdam and Amsterdam were privatised and the continuous attacks could only occur because the dockers didn't succeed in building the strength to effectively oppose the union leadership's policy of class cooperation. In the course of this process both the dockers and the shop stewards of the labour pool were marginalised.
It was this year ('97), as the port employers prepared to deal the final blow, that the dockers of the labour pool in Rotterdam were able to reverse the process. When the managers announced in January that they were going to sack 500 dockers of the labour pool and when they announced casualisation of labour, the shop stewards - bypassing the union bureaucracy - were able to raise the rank and file dockers. Through their actions - which were wildcat strikes, though we prefer to call them self-organised, independent strikes - they forced the union leadership to adopt demands. I'll mention some of them.
Where the employers wanted redundancies and casualisation, the dockers of the labour pool demanded:
Early retirement for everyone from the age of 55.
Voluntary retirement for the older dockers must go hand in hand with the employment of young people.
The trained young workers must be employed by the labour pool or the regular companies - with normal dockers' wages.
No redundancies but a four day working week with a regular schedule and full pay.
Dockers who have been made redundant, are on waiting lists, or do casual labour must be hired by the labour pool.
Equal pay for equal work!
In short steady jobs, a decent income and a future for the working youth. These demands were unanimously adopted at a union meeting in May.
That was and is the position of the dockers of the labour pools. It was no surprise for us that just recently the union leadership betrayed their earlier commitment and announced that they had - secretly - entered into negotiations with the harbour companies. Together they came forward with plans to step up casualisation and irregular working hours.
Now the situation is more complicated. The bankruptcy of the Amsterdam labour pool is used by the port employers and the union officials to force the dockers to accept their dirty deals.
But the Rotterdam and Amsterdam shop stewards are fully confident that the dockers of the labour pool and their fellow dockworkers of the regular companies will stay solid in their fight for the future of dockworkers!
The magnificent example, fighting spirit and perseverance of our brothers and sisters in Liverpool will help us in this - to fight to the end!
In this fight and by freeing themselves from constraints imposed by the union bureaucracy by regaining their position as dockworkers, they and we also will be able to give our brothers and sisters in Liverpool the full support they deserve.
Halinka Augustin
Secretary
Harbour Women's Committee, Rotterdam
