From ‘unofficial militants’ to de facto joint workplace control: the development of the shop steward system at the port of Liverpool, 1967–1972

Economic development, cargo handling methods and labour process change: the place of the Vietnamese dock worker in the ‘global’ history of dock work

“…Those who were not selected for employment went without a wage for that particular day and, dependent on port traffic, might struggle to earn for considerably longer. Dockers often did not work for the shipping lines directly and were instead usually employed by a plethora of small stevedoring contractors, exacerbating the temporaneous nature of engagement in the industry (Taylor, 2017;Davies, 2000). These were inherent traits of the industry and generations of dockers across the world faced the same relentless challenges 'most notably poverty, unemployment, underemployment, unequal job opportunities, low average earnings, favouritism… and demoralisation' (Turnbull et al, 1992: 7).…”

“…9 Some European ports such as Antwerp and Rotterdam witnessed major disputes in the aftermath of the introduction of containers (Weber, 2013;Vanfraechem, 2002;Kagen, 1990). More persistently, both the British and Antipodean dock industries endured sustained industrial action in the early seventies, while New York suffered the most tumultuous period of labour unrest in its history (Taylor, 2017;Turnbull, 2012;Lindop 1998;Turnbull, 1992b;Jensen, 1974). However, the introduction of containerisation did not always necessarily result in industrial strife.…”

“…Even more importantly, container groupage work, that is 'stuffing and stripping' of containers, is still mainly carried out on port complexes using dock workers in Vietnam. This was a principal, but largely unrealised, demand of many groups of dockers around the world during the proliferation period of containerisation, conceived with the intention of safeguarding jobs in the face of workforce rationalisation (Taylor 2017;Turnbull & Sapsford, 2001;Lindop 1998;Kagen, 1990). These two factors -the expansion strategy for Vietnamese ports and the preservation of 'stuffing and stripping' duties for dock workers inside the dock estate -meant that employment levels in Hai Phong and other large ports in Vietnam remained consistent, even after containerised cargo became dominant.…”

“…Several other countries such as the US, the Netherlands and Australia had already moved to regulate employment in the industry to improve labour relations even prior to containerisation (Turnbull & Sapsford, 2001). Increasingly, more permanent engagement and enhanced terms and conditions for workers were traded-off against the prospect of workforce downsizing, the standardisation of work practices and the formalisation of the employment relationship to facilitate the introduction of container traffic to ports, although this was often an uneven and volatile process (Taylor, 2017;Green, 2000;Lindop 1998;Oram, 1970).…”

Being a ‘Clydesider’ in the age of deindustrialisation: skilled male identity and economic restructuring in the West of Scotland since the 1960s

“…Class tensions were sharp in the coalfields, for instance, despite nationalisation in 1947, with miners fiercely protecting their independence from National Coal Board managers (Zahn, 2015). Dock workers likewise frequently asserted claims to workplace autonomy, notably from the late 1960s when confronting the innovation of cargo-containerisation (Taylor, 2017). The culture of Norwegian shipyard workers, moreover, demonstrates that in maritime engineering the values of skill and independence were not asserted on the Clyde alone (Økland and Croucher, 2017).…”