DOCKERS' STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE.

NZ Truth, Issue 115, 31 August 1907, Page 8

DOCKERS' STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE.

CITY IN A STATE OF/'SIEGE(By H: R. Stockman.) The newly-formed branches of, the ( National Union of Dock Laborers m Belfast are at present engaged m a fierce struggle for existence. The '-Belfast dockers, who are miserably underpaid and shamefully overworked, 'placed 'before their employers a demand, through their union, for a slight improvement m their conditions of Labor- Of the ten companies approached, seven met the' men m- a reasonable spirit, and offered an increase of wages andi other minor concessions, which the men accepted. The remaining three companies — the Lancashire and Yorkshire, London and North- Western, and Midland Railway, companiesfollowing the course adopted by ■the railway servants, declared their to treat with the men individually, but flatly declined to RECOGNISE THEIR UNION m any shape' or form. The men accordingly tendered the customary notice through their officials, - and at the expiration of the notices came out on . strike. .The three railway companies who control the Liverpool),. Barrow, Heysbam, and Fleetwood steamers were evidently well prepared for this move. A r few hours after the men left work a motley crew of !Free Labor men, who had been held 5n readiness by the companies, was landed m Belfast to take the place of the strikers. The. railway companies thought they ,had the best of it, and openly boasted of their 'intention to smash the Dockers' Union. They declared! that having refused to recognise a powerful Union like <the. Railway Servants' Society,, they, were not going to make an exception dn favor of a comparatively iweak one like the dockers'. Thoso m authority at Belfast (were warned that none of the men <who had struck work were to . 'be taken back on any terms. .This was ito be a fight to a finish, • and 1 the jdock laborers were to be TAUGHT THEIR PLACES, ' . The military were thereupon called out to protect the imported laborers, and for the last few days (that part of Belfast which' lies close to the docks has all the ap■pearance of a besieged city.; Along stretch of ground on the County 'Antrim side of the -quays is held by a battalion of infantry armed with (rifle, and bayonet, and supplied >with ball ammunition, transport •..waggons, signalling apparatus, ■ stretchers,- and all the parapherna- '■ lia to be found with troops on ac- ! stive service. Having made these elaborate ar- , . irangements, the three great railway companies thought they had only to •lie low and wait for. the end. In this they were mistaken ; they had reckoned without the canters., Most

of the Belfast carters axe members of some trade union. Their conditions of labor are not quite ideal, and it occurred to them that the present was an opportune moment for demanding improvement thereof, and so they decided to join their feiWoworkers, the dockers, j on strike. This move completely i upset :< the calculations of the railway companies. For a day or two they j tried to carry on work with the assistance of a few imported carters hut m the end they had to give up. Even the freest of FREE LABOR MEN soon tires ; o£-: driving a van through a strange city escorted by 20 or 30 policemen, and pursued by a crowd of several thousands, who try to enliven the' proceedings by ejecting more or less complimentary remarks. Men from 'Glasgow and Dublin were found willing to attempt the delivery of goods under^ these circumstances once, but no one bold enough, to essay a second attempt lias as yet been discovered. Meanwhile, the sheds at the : 'quays are full to overflowinp; with perishable and other goods, which it is absolutely impossible to deliver. At the moment of writing it is started I'hat a strong force of cavalry is to be drafted into the city for the purpose of 'patrolling the streets and providing escorts for blackleg carters sent out to deliver goods. To-night (Tuesday) I had an interview with Larkin, the dockers' organiser. He tells me that the dispute is practically at an end. The English railway companies ' have accepted defeat, and will tomorrow submit to arbitration. He MAKES STRONG PROTEST against the action of members of •the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, who, he states have been brought over by the companies to' take the places of the men on strike. All the blacklegs are, he declares', members of the A.S.R.S., one being a branch -secretary. But for this blackleggang it is asserted that the men would have won long ago. The Parliamentary correspondent of the "Labor Leader" deals thus with the attitude of the Labor Party m the British House of Commons with regard to the matter of the employment of military, m Belfast :— What is now takins place m Belfast shows that the commercial classes are using every means m their power to advance their own interests. It was on Thursday that MacDohald first rose up after question time, a look of determination on His face, to make inquiries about the strike m tha/t city. Mr Birrell admitted that soldiers had been brought m to help the civil power when there was no riot m •Belfast, and . that ROUNDS OF, BALL' CARTRIDGE had been served to them. He promised to make inquiries, and pleaded that you could not draft police from Nationalist parts of Ireland to Orange Belfast. On Monday Shackleton again raised the question, and just after he received an assurance 'that pickets had not been interfered with, a telegram came from Belfast to say that the soldiers were asking every, man his business who attempted to pass throuighi them. I should have liked to see the adjournment moved on Thursday, and I understand it would have been movedi on Monday but for the absence of so many men at Jarrow. Certainly, as the course of events m France during the last six months have shown usi the action of the military on strikes is a matter which deserves to be attentively watched. I have just heard that a fresh .request has now cpme to Mr Birrell FOR CAVALRY ? but I hardly think that the Chief Secretary will allow the • crisis to become more acute. The following report is als 0 given of the questions asked by Mr Shackleton. who, owing to the illness of Keir Hardie, was acting as leader of the Labor Party. :— Mr Shackleton (Clitheroe) 'having put a 'question to the Chief Secretary for Ireland with reference to the police and the calling out of the . military, during -the Belfast strike, Mr Birrell said that no attack on

the police had been made by the' , strikers m Belfast. The military were not oalled out to,-, overawe the trade unionists; but to assist the civil power m preserving the peace. The police had not taken sides m the dispute. He was informed 'that the pickets had not ibeen, interfered with 'by the police or military, persons describing themselves as pickets having been allowed to pass 'through THE MILITARY CORDON. He Was m communication with the -• authorities on the subject of the necessity of continuing the use of the military. Mr Shackleton asked whether seven out of ten companies had come to terms with the men. Did not ■that suggest a peaceful attitude of the men, and could not the right honorable gentleman now see his way 'to urge the removal, of the military ? •Mr 'Birrell replied that he had to support the civil authority, tout he was making himself acquainted with the nature of the dispute. The sooner it was ended the better. Jn its leading columns the "Labor Leader" makes the following comments en the use of the military :— TROOPS AND BALL CARTRIDGE The state of matters m Belfast during the past itwo weeks calls for the attention of the whole nation, and' we are glad Mr Ramsay MacDonaldhas raised the subject m Parliament. As will be seen from our special correspondent's account m another column, .the- city has been virtually m a state of siege owing to the employment of the military m connection with the local dock strike, which, it is now stated, is on the eve of settlement.. The <troops have been supplied with ball cartridge, and have been used to clear trade union pickets from the streets. There are prima facie •grounds for believing that thci troops are, intentionally or otherwise, being used to INTIMIDATE THE STRIKERS, and to prevent the Dockers' Union from acting m the dispute. . \ We understand that it was Mr Macdonald's intention to move the adjournment, of the Hquse on the question, but some of his colleagues, m view of rumors of a settlement of the strike, feared that such a course might prejudice the negotiations. Negotiations or no negotiations, our feeling i? strongly with Mr MacDonaldi that subjects of this kind should be dealt with on the ifl.oor of the House. The invasion of the field of industrial dispute by the military power touches the core of civic freedom ; ths nation has no desire to see another Feathers-tone massacre enacted either under a Liberal or Tory Administration. The extraordinary statement made by our correspondent that members of the Railways' Society have ACTED AS BLACKLEGS m the dispute is scarcely credible, and we must await further information on the subject. As is now known, the "Labor Leader" was m error m regarding the strike, as "on the eve of settlement," and the presence' of the military m Belfast has resulted m the shedding of the blood or women and children.