I have just finished reading the MDHC offer and the secret ballot forms. What a nerve, the TGWU should be ashamed of themselves. Just what does Bill Morris think he is doing? This offer was rejected months ago by the men at their meeting. They have consistently made the point that this was no improvement on the original offer which was so overwhelmingly rejected.
The dockers should never have been sacked they should be reinstated! Nothing less will do. How strange that the ballot forms arrived on a Saturday morning. A day earlier and it could have been discussed at the weekly meeting. Why the limited time to reply? Assuming that first class post takes two days, then the early postal time on Monday morning must be caught. Whose strategy was it? As both the T&G and the MDHC have worked hand in hand to destroy the dockers from day one then you must forgive me for being so suspicious. Why now? What is happening to make MDHC suddenly decide that their offer will be withdrawn at the end of the week? Could it be that that they are making their final push to make the men go away. Maybe they are realising that ITF support, with their avowed position to fight against casualisation will hit them hard. It could be that the international action by the dockworkers world wide in support of the men is affecting the shipowners. They would be certainly be blaming MDHC for the trouble that they having in ports around the world. What other reasons could there be?
They may think that after two years of hardship, of swallowing our pride and accepting help from many quarters that we would be well softened up. They may think that we will snatch the money and run. Well, the debts are there but so is the pride. We have been through too much together to let it all slip away now. We can't live on fresh air but if we betray our principles and our heritage then what do we have left? Nobody that I talk to is looking forward to another winter on the picket line, (except the children who build snowpickets and play snowballs) but if it has to be - then so be it! Our coats may be thinner but our skins are thicker! Daily abuse from scabs and police alike run off like raindrops now. Nothing can be said to us, or of us, that hasn't been said before. In sacking the Liverpool dockers the MDHC have opened up a can of worms. They cannot put the lid back on and are living the consequences of their actions. They live in a fantasy world pretending that the port is operating normally. We realise why they have to keep up the pretence but anyone who knows the business will know the truth.
Questions are being asked about how taxpayers money and European Objective One money has been spent. I was under the impression that Objective One funding was aimed at securing employment in unemployment blackspots - maybe I am wrong. The council taxpayers are concerned about the estimated two million pounds spent by the police in policing the dispute. People are asking why such a heavy police presence is required. We are told that the uniformed officers, the motorcycle police, the horses and the OSD are there to ensure our safety. Well I suppose I should thank the police force as I've never been so well protected in my life. I don't have to worry about my house being burgled while I'm on the picket line as there is nothing left worth stealing.
The Liverpool dockers have ruffled many feathers during the last two years, not least the TGWU leader, Mr Bill Morris. He has hidden behind Tory anti-union legislation and refused to act on their behalf. It has been shown that not only has he refused to act, he has prevented others others from acting. It may be time for him to reflect on why trade unions were formed and if he is to salvage anything then he should mobilise himself and his organisation and do a U- turn and give his support. He is not held in great esteem by the dockers at the moment but even at this late stage he could escape the inevitable decline and fall of the Morris empire, he could express his solidarity and support - it would be a start.
If anything good can be said to have come out of this two year struggle, it must be the fact that the dockers have shown that the working class can still stand straight and tall and fight back against tyrannical employers. After 18 years of Tory rule we were all rather downtrodden, constant attacks on workers rights had whittled away at confidence and self image. Legislation decreased union power, wages and conditions of work, health and safety were not always implemented. At last people are beginning to stand up and say "enough is enough". The fight against casualisation, low pay and bad employers has started. Many workers in health, education, airlines, post and factories up and down the land are demanding a better deal. They see the struggle by the dockers and see that though hard times must be endured, they can be overcome.
The dockers must not lose this fight, there is more to this dispute. They are a spearhead of a movement of resistance growing through the land which will force employers to consider their workers as human beings - not a commodity to be hired, used and discarded on a whim as happened to the Torside men from which stems this mammoth battle of wills. Working people have always looked to the Labour Party as their political representatives. Hopes were high in May, at last we had a Labour prime minister with a huge majority. The country had given Tony Blair the power to help those who needed it. Well the honeymoon period is over and hopes have been dashed. It seems obvious that New Labour is hardly distinguishable from the previous government. Well we know that there are some MPs who support our cause and we thank them but we must rely on ordinary people who understand our fight because they are living with the realities of life as it is today.
If wishes could come true then this dispute would have been won long ago. The support and solidarity shown to the Liverpool dockers has been tremendous. If globalisation of industry is a fact of life then global workers organisations must follow. The Liverpool dockers have laid a solid foundation which will undoubtedly be built upon. That may come in the near future but at present we have to win. What may happen should this fight be lost does not bear thinking about. I fear for the future of my children and all who will have to live with the insecurity of casual labour, low pay and poor working conditions to make ever greater profits for companies and their shareholders. I am confident that this dispute will be won. the rats, weasels and snakes will find a damp, dark place to hide, (may I suggest the hold of an ACL ship) the dockers will go back to work and the employers and the government will have to re-think their attitudes towards their workforce.
Onward to victory Dont quit. Remember your heritage. Keep the Faith. May the Force be with you.
Jean Fox (member of Women of the Waterfront)
