shipping
News and articles about work, policy and workers' struggles in transport and distribution around the world.
Greece: general strike by public service workers
Public service workers in Greece have gone on strike, for the second time in two months, to defend their pensions.
The strikes have virtually paralysed the country as workers nation-wide seek to defend their pensions and protest against a government that has broken its promises.
1911: Liverpool general transport strike
A short history of the strike movement that took hold of Liverpool during the summer of 1911. Culminating in a massive general strike of all transport workers, the movement displayed some of the most extraordinary scenes of class solidarity seen in Britain.
The strike movement of Liverpool occurred during the great period of industrial unrest that was to grip Britain between 1910 and the outbreak of the First World War. Beginning with a walk-out of seamen, the strike soon snowballed and went on to reach epic proportions, involving up to 70,000 people.
Transport strikes across Italy
Italy's biggest transport strike in 25 years forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, idled trains, anchored ships, and stalled buses across the country on Friday.
Aero-news.net reported that Italian carrier Alitalia canceled 217 domestic and international flights before a four-hour walkout by pilots, flight crew and ground staff beginning at 11 am. Air One, Italy's number two carrier, only guaranteed nine flights there.
Strike Across The Empire, 1925 - Baruch Hirson and Lorraine Vivian
A fascinating and detailed account of a little known international seamens' strike in 1925, lasting over 100 days and spreading from Britain to Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
The strikers confronted the shared hostility of governments, employers and union leaders alike. The text also deals with how the racism prevalent in the labour movement affected the conduct and outcome of the strike.
"THIS IS A STRIKE that has vanished from history. In August 1925, the seamen of Britain, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand walked off their ships in protest against a ten per cent wage cut. It was one of the few genuinely international strikes, directed against a powerful international cartel. One would have expected it to be widely debated. Yet, newspaper coverage apart, history has largely been silent.
The Many Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, and the Atlantic Working Class in the Eighteenth Century
Article on class struggle and compositon in the period leading up to and during the American revolution, showing how the struggles of sailors and slaves drove the movement to national liberation.
Introduction
Pirate utopias: Under the banner of death, 1640-1820
An interesting look at the life and times of pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries. This article explores the somewhat libertarian and communalist values which guided the life of a pirate during those years.
"In an honest Service, there is thin Commons, low Wages, and hard Labour; in this, Plenty and Satiety, Pleasure and Ease, Liberty and Power; and who would not ballance Creditor on this Side, when all the Hazard that is run for it, at worst, is only a sower Look or two at choaking. No, a merry Life and a short one shall be my Motto" - Pirate Captain Bartholomew Roberts.(1)
Belfast: Ship's crew stands down
Three quarters of the Naxos' crew are refusing to leave Belfast harbour after claiming the ship is unsafe.
The Naxos, owned by Korean company Jinyang Shipping and registered in Panama has been called unsafe by its Filipino crew. The crew claims that the ship brings in salt water whilst at sea, leaks, and has only had a single safety drill out of the statutory four. They are also striking over pay arrears, with some being paid only $180 per month for 300 hours work.
Strikes in Poland, early 2005
Information about various workers' struggles in and around Poland, including strikes by seamen, railworkers, car and telecoms workers in 2005.
Here is an update on recent struggles in and around Poland. More information in English can be found on a website run by the base-unionist ‘workers’ initiative’ from Poland: http://paspartoo.w.interia.pl/index.htm
Polish seamen on strike for eleven days in the docklands of Travemünde/Germany
Sailors end strike and win back pay
Eighteen Filipino sailors striking over $360,000 in unpaid back pay ended their strike yesterday in Long Beach, California.
An inspection by union officials on Labor Day showed that the sailors had only been paid half what they were owed. Longshoremen at the port refused to load the Endless, a 760-foot cargo ship with petroleum coke during the period of the strike, refusing to cross the picket line.
1680-1730: Pirates and Anglo-American piracy in the Atlantic
A short history of the Golden Age of Piracy and the origins and role of the pirates in the class struggle on the high seas at the time.
On the afternoon of the 26 July 1726, William Fly walked the steps of the Boston gallows. Unlike his fellow condemned, Fly had shown no fear at his fate. The great and the good who had gathered to see the pirate die were uncomfortable: he was not playing his agreed part in the moral drama. But, as Fly neared the rope, their fears it seemed were unfounded.
