Confrontation on the docks?
Labour Briefing1980sTranscribed by hand from the printed page.
The present situation
The government and the port employers have been itching for the abolition of the Dock Labour Scheme for some time.
The protection it gives to dockers is clearly out of step with both government policy and the employers' plans to cut wages, hire and fire at will, and curb trade union strength on the docks.
Tory back-benchers, in conjunction with the far-right Aims of Industry, have been campaigning against the Scheme for some time.
The Centre for Policy Studies, a leading Tory think-tank, held a conference in January to discuss ending of the Scheme. Some of the port employers are now taking action clearly designed to provoke a confrontation on the issue.
In Glasgow, several employers have recently used casual non-registered labour in defiance of the Scheme. In Liverpool, the employers have begun using the temporary unemployed register (previously used for dockers moving between jobs) to sack dockers covered by the Scheme.
Under pressure from the National Port Shop Stewards Committee, which meets regularly and organises effectively, the TGWU (now the only union organising the dockers in both registered and un-registered ports) is balloting registered dockers for a a mandate for national strike action in defence of the Scheme.
A national meeting of dockers is to be held in London on January 28th to decide what action to take in light of the ballot result, to be announced shortly. A national dock strike is becoming a definite possibility.
Origins of the Scheme
Before the war, the dockers were employed on a casual piecework basis. They had to fight for work every day.
The National Dock Labour Board (NDLB), which controls the Dock Labour Scheme, was established in 1944 and was made a statutory body by Act of Parliament in 1947.
Under the Scheme, the dockers had to seek employment twice a day and the employers paid 3% of their wage bill into the NDLB. This was used to provide fall-back pay when there was no work — although it was substantially less than normal pay, in some cases less than state benefit.
It provided increased security of employment for the 80,000 dockers covered by the Scheme, in return for the creation of a regular pool of dockers available to the employers.
Militant action during the 50s and 60s improved pay and working conditions, but there were also challenges to the Scheme and a major rationalisation of the industry which remains a key problem today.
Devlin
After the 1964 election, Harold Wilson's Labour government faced an immediate confrontation with the dockers over pay. His solution was to set up a Commission of Inquiry under Lord Devlin, which recommeded a pay rise of 19/- (95p!) a week, tied to a further examination of the industry as a whole by the same commission.
This settlement was backed by T&G officials and accepted by a docks delegate conference.
At that time there were two unions on the docks — the "white union", the TGWU, and the "blue union", the National Amalgamated Stevadors and Dockers. The "blue union" was the most militant and had been expelled from the TUC for its militancy.
Devlin's first round of recommendations was introduced in 1966, completing the decasualisation process by ending the piecework system of payment and introducing Measured Day Work.
This was tied to changes in working practices, the introduction of shift-working, and the introduction of increased productivity. Devlin also proposed the de-recognition of the "blue union" in the northern ports.
The second part of the Devlin reforms, published in 1969, involved another major restructuring of the industry through the introduction of containerisation, the establishment of huge container ports, and a vast increase in the use of inland and unregistered ports where work traditionally carried out by dockers was carried out by unregistered labour.
There was great hostility to these proposals amongst dockers and they were immediately rejected by a mass meeting of "blue union" members in London.
The TGWU, however, represented by Jack Jones, continued to negotiate. Although most TGWU shop stewards were as opposed to Devlin as anyone, some of the leading stewards, including Communist Party members, participated in the controversial "modernisation committees".
The National Strike
After 1970 the introduction of the second phase of Devlin fell to Edward Heath, who coupled it with the Industrial Relations Act.
In April 1971, the National Port Stewards Committee declared "total war" on Devlin and began taking action against unregistered ports — ignoring advice from Jack Jones and other T&G officials. The stewards were not opposed to mechanisation — but they were opposed to accepting it on the employers terms.
In July, five dockers, the "Pentonville Five", were arrested under the Industrial Relations Act for picketing the gates of Midlands Cold Storage — a new unregistered port taking on work normally done by London dockers.
The arrests quickly led to a national dock strike, the threat of a general strike by the TUC, and the subsequent release of the Five.
The national dock strike continued. A joint committee of inquiry was established, headed by Jack Jones and one of the port employers, and known as the Jones/Aldington Inquiry.
In reality there were only two ways that dockers jobs could be protected: by nationalisation of the whole docks industry, or short of that, the inclusion of all dockers in the NDLS.
Jack Jones and the T&G leadership never pressed nationalisation with the Wilson government, although it was put forward by stewards and the "blue union". Jones did press for the inclusion of all dockers in the Scheme, but the employers refused.
Eventually, Jones recommended an end to the strike with a deal involving a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for registered dockers, enhanced voluntary redundancy payments, the completion of reorganisation, and creation of unregistered ports.
The dockers were bitterly opposed to this. There was a huge demonstration and battle with the police outside the T&G delegate conference, which voted by a narrow majority to call off the strike — in direct opposition to the National Port Stewards Committee.
Registered dockers were decimated and the "blue union" was submerged in the T&G. Devlin did to the docks in the 70s what Edwardes did to BL, McGregor to coal mining, and Murdoch to Fleet Street in the 80s.
Today there are less than 10,000 dockers covered by the Scheme, while 12,000 work in unregistered ports. About 70 ports (half of Britain's larger ports) are now part of the Scheme.
Nevertheless, registered dockers have remained an important part of the labour movement, retaining much of their trade union strength and rank and file organisation.
Building support for the Dockers now
If an all-out strike takes place it will be bitterly fought. Already T&G officials are saying that they will not involve unregistered ports in a strike in defence of the Scheme — although the workers there are also T&G members.
The divisions created in the early 70s will be a major factor in any strike. There are now hundreds of unregistered ports capable of dealing with work normally covered by registered ports.
If a strike takes place the registered parts are likely to be solid. The main battle will be around the unregistered ports.
The strike will not be effective unless the law is broken. Picketing unregistered ports will be illegal and would lead to police confrontations, court action, and possible sequestration of T&G assets.
The labour movement needs to get ready now for the possibility of this confrontation. Support Groups can be set up and arrangements made to swing into action as soon as it is needed.
Links can be forged now with nearby ports. Stewards from the docks can be invited to address trade union or Labour Party meetings. Public meetings with rank and file dockers can be organised.
Now is the time to stop the rot, develop unity in action, and mark up a long-awaited victory for the trade union movement.