12.12.1996

As union bureaucrats run away ... Dockers rally to international strike

Bill Morris will not be attending the Liverpool dockers’ demonstration in London this Saturday. Throughout the dispute he has failed to lead any action in support of the dockers, purely on the grounds that it might threaten union funds and therefore the bureaucracy’s wages. The only role he has played is in encouraging the dockers to accept blatantly unpalatable deals. This week he is speculating that a meeting with Acas on Monday will produce an “acceptable” settlement. We can only hope it is not like the last one he recommended.

Bureaucracy at the top and timidity below rules throughout the trade union movement in Britain today, leaving the dockers struggling bravely in isolation. International support from other dockers has in contrast been inspirational. The rank and file international links that the dockers have made must be developed, consolidated and built upon in the process of rebuilding the combativity of the class in this country and worldwide.

But no one is more aware of the need to put the class in Britain back onto the offensive than the Liverpool dockers, who have been at the sharp end of a movement suffering from defeat and demoralisation.

As Jimmy Nolan, chair of the Merseyside dockers’ shop stewards committee and SLP member, told the Weekly Worker (September 26), “The problem at the moment is that we have a lot of organisations but no Party. This has been one of the reasons why we have been so isolated in our struggle ...

“There is potential now to overcome our past divisions and join in one party ... The splits in our movement have only been demoralising. We need a strong, fighting alternative to Labour. Now is certainly the time to try and bring our forces together”

Linda Addison