A delegation of 20 dockers and WOW activists from Liverpool were among 200 supporters who attended the national dockers' conference on Saturday February 28 at Conway Hall London.
The tremendous solidarity of the dockers, which had carried them through 28 months of bitter dispute, was there in full force. They had been defeated not by the port employers but by their own union.
They made it clear that they do not intend to fade away after the defeat of the strike but to continue the struggle in support of those still in dispute.
The conference adopted a resolution which called on the support groups to continue and for a second Social justice demonstration to be held in London on May 30.
The resolution also called for increased support for the strikes which are continuing: Magnet, Hillingdon Hospital and Critchley Labels.
The issue which was inadequately addressed was that of the situation inside the TGWU itself. One of the docks speakers rightly stressed that it was time for the rank-and-file of the TGWU to reclaim their union, but there was no attempt to address the issue in any systematic way or to begin the organisation of a fightback within the union.
A carworker shop steward from Rover's Cowley plant called on the dock stewards to use their authority to help reorganise the left in the union and build a challenge to General Secretary Bill Morris.
THE CRITCHLEY Labels Such a fight-back is urgently needed within the TGWU. Morris has not only ensured the defeat of the docks strike but has used it to strengthen the hold of the right and of the full-time officials within the This has been strongly reflected in the recent elections for the TGWU executive committee, where a number of those who have supported the dockers most strongly have been voted out after campaigns by the right-wing.
The steps taken by the conference, however, were extremely important and provide the basis for the lessons of the docks dispute to be used to strengthen all those currently in struggle.
Architect of defeat: Bill Morris Gloucestershire.