Back to index of Nerve 11 - Winter 2007 | Merseyside Resistance Calendar January

9th January 1996: Women of the Waterfront petition Downing Street in support of the 500 sacked dockers

Women Of The Waterfront handed in a petition at 10 Downing Street, calling on Prime Minister John Major to order "the immediate reinstatement of the 500 sacked Liverpool dockers'', and describing the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company as "a callous, uncaring and bad employer''. The strike (or more precisely ‘lockout’) began when the five hundred refused to cross a picket line.

The Women Of The Waterfront played an important role in the dispute, which lasted two and a half years. Since the vast majority of the striking dockers were male, their female relatives formed a group so they could coordinate their activities. As well as organising petitions, they attended pickets, went on an international tour, and helped generate funds and publicity for the striking workers and their families. Their struggle was portrayed in Jimmy McGovern and Irvine Welsh’s television film ‘Dockers’.

Labournet report and photo on the petition: www.labournet.net/docks2/9601/petit.htm
‘Historic Struggle - Ten Years Since the Liverpool Docks Dispute’, Interview with Sue Mitchell: www.catalystmedia.org.uk/issues/nerve7/docks_dispute.htm
Labournet links page for Women Of The Waterfront: www.labournet.net/docks2/other/wow.htm
Wikipedia article on the dispute en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_Dockers'_Strike
Extensive LibCom account of the dispute: libcom.org/library/mersey-docks-dispute-dave-graham
Internet Movie Database page for ‘Dockers’: www.imdb.com/title/tt0206691