by Daphne Liddle
THE SACKED Liverpool dockers last Monday voted by four to one at a mass meeting to accept the dispute settlement payments of £28,000 each from the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, their former employer. The historic 28 month dispute is now over.
Dockers' leader Jimmy Nolan issued a very brief statement saying that due to difficulties they found it impossible to go on.
No doubt the dockers are feeling disappointed they did not achieve their main aim of the reinstatement of their jobs.
But when they look at what they did achieve they have every reason to hold their heads high.
They took a stand against a growing tide of casualisation both in Britain and around the world.
And they united that struggle globally. They set up international conferences and they turned the internet into a weapon of worldwide working class solidarity.
They made trade union history with the first global dockers strike that involved solidarity action in the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Japan, India and throughout Europe.
Many of the unions giving support are themselves involved in similar struggles against casualisation.
By using the internet, dockers around the world were able to organise effective boycotts of scab ships and shipping lines using the Liverpool docks -- tactics which will surely show the way for other disputes.
Dock workers in both Belfast and Dublin were united in solidarity with their cause.
Only in Britain were there no solidarity actions in the docks --partly because of anti-union laws and partly because of a total media blackout that meant hardly anyone in Britain was aware of the global strike.
The dockers gave inspiration to thousands and they lifted the profile of trade union struggle at a time when it was sorely needed.
Unfortunately the leadership of the mainstream trade union movement was too cowed by Tory anti-union laws to give them the backing that would have secured a swift victory.
But the courage and determination of the dockers and their families were strong enough to keep the struggle going through 28 months of severe hardship and a virtual media black out on the dispute.
Twice they rejected the settlement payments they have now accepted. The £28,000 payments may seem generous. But the dockers, who have not been in work or paying National Insurance contributions during the dispute, will not be eligible for Job Seekers' Allowance until that money is all but spent.
The dockers have gained very little for themselves in material terms by their heroic stand but they have advanced the cause of international working class solidarity dramatically and future generations of workers will benefit from their action.
Now we urge all trade unionists to step up the fight against the anti-union laws.
The Labour government clearly does not want to repeal these unjust laws but also clearly the Labour leadership does not necessarily have the last say.
Currently the Labour Party is looking to the unions to bail it out from a £4.5 million debt.
Some unions are already considering refusing the cash unless Prime Minister Blair fulfils his promises to legislate on workers' rights and are seeking private meetings the Trade and Industry Minister, Ian McCartney.
Now is the time to exert all possible pressure on union leaders to insist the anti-union laws are repealed.
On hearing the news of the settlement, one active member of the public sector union Unison in Liverpool said: "The movement did not do enough to support them or to fight the anti-trade union legislation. I keep thinking to myself, could I have done more?"
This was from a comrade who actually did a lot. But it is a question for every trade union member and branch to ask themselves. It is not too late to pay tribute to the Liverpool dockers by stepping up the fight against the anti-union laws. http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/2853/
