06.12.2001

Typical Loach

Ken Loach - The Navigators - 110mins, limited release

The Navigators, written by the late union activist and Alliance for Workers' Liberty member Rob Dawber, was broadcast on Channel Four on Sunday December 2. This followed on from acclamation at the Venice film festival and a limited release in cinemas.

Comrade Dawber, who was an activist in the Rail Maritime and Transport union for over two decades and a committed fighter for his class, lost his battle against mesothelioma - a rare form of lung cancer - in February. He contracted mesothelioma - caused by exposure to asbestos dust - while working on the railways. His successful bid for compensation exposed the fact that those who employed him were perfectly aware of the dangers of working with asbestos without adequate protection.

The Navigators follows a track workers gang during the privatisation of British Railways and tells the story of how their lives are radically altered.

Ken Loach has a well deserved reputation for directing films that are realistic portrayals of working class life and day-to-day struggles. His direction, married with Dawber's script, produces a successful combination. The banter and the camaraderie in the workplace mess room and how this is changed in the period when a new - private - management comes in and begins to systematically attack the working practices and hard won agreements - all are portrayed accurately.

The effect of these changes on other aspects of the gang's lives is skilfully integrated into the narrative. As illustrated by the dilemma of one of the main characters in the film, Paul, who finds it very difficult to adapt. He is rejected by the hiring agency because he endeavours to continue old - safe - working practices.

He is under pressure from his wife to earn more money. He goes back to the agency cap in hand and promises to adopt their working practices, this obviously is against the grain because he desperately needs the money.

High profile accidents like those at Ladbroke Grove and Hatfield played a part in discrediting rail privatisation. Stories of corner-cutting and penny-pinching are well known. However the strain that this puts on rail workers to compromise safety against their better judgement and the dilemmas for such workers are unsurprisingly not well documented in the bourgeois press. Dawber applies his first-hand knowledge to bring this to life.

Whilst the gang is working trackside, they take the risk of not having a lookout in order to complete the job on time. One of the gang is hit by a passing train and seriously injured. Which leaves them caught in a telling dilemma. If they report the incident and leave him by the trackside it will result in an inquiry that could mean that they would not be used by the agency again. They resolve things by deciding to move their colleague to a nearby bridge, placing him by the roadside - and then fabricating a hit and run incident with a car and no witnesses to explain the injuries. The man dies but they get away with their deceptions and here the film ends - somewhat abruptly.

This film, typical of Loach and based on comrade Dawber's own experiences, is a moving production. Though it does not offer any alternatives (or claim to), it stands as an excellent indictment, not just of privatisation, but in the more general sense of the entire capitalist system.

Derek Goodliffe