Jack Jones' strugale to sabotage the figfit against redundancies is nothing new for portworkers.
Their proud history of struggle has given dockers a healthy distrust of "left" trade union leaders, 'humanitarian' employers. 'honest brokers" from the TUC and "neutral' Employment Ministers.
Many times the dockers have fought the employers, they have faced the challenges of Tory and Labour governments which have not hesitated to use troops for strike breaking. When their leaders have openly collaborated with governments and employers, dockers have created their own democratic rank and file organisations to conduct their struggles.
THE DOCKERS IN 1945 No sooner had Germany surrendered on 7 May 1945 than the Tory Caretaker government and its National Dock Labour Corporation were negotiating with the unions on how to replace the "western agreement'. This had given the dockers higher piece work earnings in return for changes in working conditions. From mid-May 1945 until 22 August, Britain's ports were gripped by a series of unofficial strikes and go-slows, Troops were moved into Clydeside on 14 July, into London's Surrey Docks on 25 July and again into the Surrey docks on 1 August. Every port in Britain was affected by the dispute. Meanwhile, the government, employers. trade unions and the TUC maintained a solid united front against the men's demand for 25/- per day basic plus increases tied to the cost of living. 1945 was the prelude to a whole number of major battles on the docks. Strikes took place over the new Dock Labour scheme and in solidarity with the Canadian Scamen's Union.
Without exception the strikes were opposed hy the TAGWU and the Labour government, which, like its Tory predecessor, brought in troops to unload cargo.
WORKERS' DEMOCRACY In most of the major ports the men elected their own rank and file committees. In London these committees invariably included representatives from both the T&GWU and the NAS&D. It was such a committee which led the 'Zine Oxide Strike in 1948 when the National Dock Labour Board disciplined 11 dockers for refusing to load zinc oxide for less than 5/- a ton as opposed to the official rate of 3/4d. In defence of their victimised mates the dockers closed the entire port of London, Speakers from the London Committee went to Liverpool and 60 per cent of the Merseyside portworkers came out in support of the London men.
On February 2 1951 Merseyside dockers began an unofficial strike against an agreement on (OUSE Unity against the dockers: police mose in to protect union bureauraly from their members Magistrates Court with having conspired to induce dockworkers to take part in strikes in connexion with trade disputes in contravention of the Conditions of Employment and National Arbitration Order'. This was the infamous Order 1305. The Minister of Labour who had used his special powers under Order 1305 was the left" social democrat Nye Bevan, patron Saint of Labour's contemporary left wing' That day 6,700 London men demonstrated their confidence in British justice by joining the strike. Merseyside voted unanimously to stay out until their leaders were released and Order 1305 was rescinded By February 23 over 16,000 men were on strike in Glasgow, Birkenhead, Liverpool, Greenock, Manchester and London, Finally Sir Hartley Shawcross, Labour's Attorney General, agreed to drop the charges on the grounds of the jury's illogical findings'. This no doubt disappointed Lord Chief Justice Goddard, the presiding judge, who had not bothered to conceal his delight at being able to denounce the worker.
Dickens and Constable were later expelled BURY