> Date: Sun, 19 Jan 1997 22:52:09 +0000 > Reply-To: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sender: Forum on Labor in the Global Economy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Comments: Authenticated sender is <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > From: LabourNet <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Mersey Bubble Set to Burst > Comments: To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], > [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED], > [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII > Content-Length: 5323 > > The Mersey Bubble Set to Burst > > Around 80 ports in 15 countries are now expected to take part in this > week's industrial action targetting Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, > shipping lines calling in Liverpool, and the threats of casual labour, > privatisation, and deregulation affecting port industries world-wide. > > Pledges arriving in the sacked Liverpool dockers' office spell trouble > for Mersey Docks' customers ACL, Cast, CanMar, and Zim Line while > other major shipping consortia face delays on both sides of the > Pacific. > > International coordinator Terry Teague sees this week as the climax of > 14 months work involving every man and woman in the dispute, since the > decision to seek a global blockade was taken in November 1995, two > months after nearly 500 men were sacked for honouring a picket line. > Liverpool dockers have flown to stand at dock gates, occupy cranes and > address rank and file dockers and union officials in 62 ports while > over 100 international delegates have attended mass meetings and > conferences or joined the picket line in Liverpool. Their direct > contact with sacked dockers and Women of the Waterfront has unlocked > the coordinated industrial action now backed by the International > Transportworkers Federation. > > Currently, action is imminent in 15 countries. Faxes and phone calls > will deluge Mersey Docks and assorted shipping lines, and work will > stop in around 80 ports. > > Australia: although the new Liberal Government has singled out the > Maritime Union of Australia which also has its own battle against > privatisation by shipping line P&O, the MUA intends to hit the "Zim > Australia" in Sydney this week in view of Zim Line's continuing use of > Liverpool. > > New Zealand: Seafarers will target Zim Line while wharfies > (longshoremen) in Auckland have designated Monday 20/1 as their > "picnic day" despite legal threats from the employers. > > Japan: The 40,000 strong National Council of Dockworkers Unions > (Zenkoku Kowan) will hold workshop meetings on 20/1 at all 50 ports it > organises. In 6 ports the meetings are expected to last all morning. > Major shipping consortia including OOCL, Evergreen NYK, and P&O will > be affected. > > US West Coast: A demonstration outside the British Consulate in San > Francisco was held on Friday 17/1 including the Labour Council, Union > Pacific railroad workers, International Longshoremen's and > Warehousemen's Union, and GCIU. The Consul General Mr. Malcom Dougal > apparently claimed the UK Government had "no ownership" of Mersey > Docks and Harbour Company, despite the Government's 14% shareholding. > 10 ports organised by the ILWU will act, with 24 hour stoppages due in > the key ports of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland on > 20/1. The "American President" line is threatening legal action, > claiming damages of $3,000--4,000 per hour's delay on each vessel. > > Quebec: A mass meeting of 1,000 longshoremen is planned to begin 8am > Monday, organised by the Syndicat des Debardeurs. > > Canada: In St. John, New Brunswick, members of the International > Longshoremen's Association local 273 will shut the port for 24 hours > on Monday. > > US East coast: The International Longshoremen's Association is > organising a major demo at the British Embassy in Washington. Rank and > file longshoremen may honour Martin Luther King's birthday by staying > off work Monday. > > Sweden: All ACL and CAST cargo will be stopped for 24 hours on Tuesday > 21/1 in Gothenburg, Helsingborg, Malmo, and Stockholm. > > Denmark: Mass meetings will be held in Arhus, Copenhagen, and Odense > on 20/1.by the Danish General Workers Union > > Belgium: The "Atlantic Compass" (ACL) was delayed 7 hours on 16/1 as > the entire night shift, including ancillary workers, boycotted the > ship which calls in Liverpool on a regular run. Dockers from the BTB > and CVD unions will demonstrate at the British Embassy in Brussels on > 20/1, and industrial action is anticipated in Zeebrugge and Ghent. > > Netherlands: Stop work meetings will be held by the FNV in Rotterdam > and Amsterdam, while industrial action by the OVB in Rotterdam is > expected later this week. > > Germany: Stop work meetings will be held by the OTV in Hamburg and > Bremerhaven, where the rank and file are said to be ready to act > against any CanMar or ACL vessels. > > France: A OOCL vessel involved in a slot-share arrangement with > Liverpool is to be delayed 8 hours in Le Havre by the CGT from 11pm > Sunday 19/1. Liverpool dockers Jim Nolan and Bobby Morton are > travelling to Paris and the south of France 20/1 and will meet both > CGT and FO dockers. > > Portugal: Mass meetings were due to be held 19/1 in Lisbon and Leixoes > with a view to action later in the week. > > Spain: The Coordinadora is currently constrained by the unfinished > renegotiation of their national agreement, but will seek industrial > action in future. > > Italy: The workers' cooperative in Genoa will hold a mass meeting 20/1 > with a view to action later this week. Approaches are also being made > to the private terminal servicing CAST/CanMar. Both FILT and CGIL > unions are involved. > > Cyprus: Zim Line will be targetted in Limassol later this week by the > Federation of Transport, Petrol and Agricultural Workers. > > It is hard to see how shipping lines facing this scale of disruption > can fail to call an end to Mersey Docks' great gamble. > > LabourNet Report by Greg Dropkin > > http://www.labournet.org.uk >
