Throughout the history of the
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
docks, known as
Mersey Docks and Harbour Company
The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB), owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England. These include the operation of the enclosed nort ...
, there have been numerous
strike action
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...
s by dock workers, although some have been part of larger industrial action affecting other trades and union workers. The most lengthy and best remembered of contemporary times was the
dispute during 1995-1998.
History of strikes
Some examples of industrial actions taken prior to the mid-20th century included the dock strike of 1890 and the
1911 Liverpool general transport strike.
A strike in late 1967 affected Liverpool and
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
, though docks in and around
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
were also affected. The strike involved around 16,000 workers and caused interference with trade exports, with pay systems a core factor.
Just two years later in July 1969, dockers again striked with colleagues from Birkenhead, involving 11,000 men over a dispute regarding handling goods at an
Aintree
Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England.
I ...
container base.
A few years later in 1972, Liverpool dockers joined in a national dock strike to safeguard jobs, protesting against redundancy plans from firms using cheaper casual labour.
The longest known dispute, which was technically not a strike as the workforce were all dismissed, was the
Liverpool dockers' dispute (1995–98)
Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
that ended with settlement pay and a few job reinstatements.
See also
*
Docks strike of 1970
The docks strike of 1970 was a major industrial action by dockers in the United Kingdom that raised fears of food shortages and led to a proclamation of a state of emergency by Queen Elizabeth II.
Dockers went on a national strike over a rejec ...
References
Further reading
The Liverpool Dock Strike of 1890
Labour disputes in the United Kingdom
History of Liverpool
Industrial history of the United Kingdom
Maritime strikes
Port of Liverpool
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