The Fourth General Assembly of the IDC Meets in Charleston

(For more about this meeting, read this article by journalist JoAnn Wypijewski. This report was published in the March 1-15, 2010 issue (vol. 7, no. 5) of CounterPunch. JoAnn can be reached at jwyp@earthlink.net.)

Longshore representatives from twenty different countries met in Charleston, South Carolina on February 23 and 24 to attend the 4th General Assembly of the International Dockworkers Council. They came from Europe, North and South America, Australia, Senegal and South Africa.

As longshore workers from all over the world gave reports about the challenges they faced, a number of common problems emerged: the global economic downturn, privatization, and automation.

The picture of automation they painted was grim-many ports now have semi-automated terminals and this has translated into significant job losses-but delegates also described opportunities to fight for new union jobs.

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY
A representative from the South African dockers union spoke about the advances longshore workers have made since apartheid-the system of legal racial segregation-ended in 1994.

Despite the difficult economic times facing South African longshore workers, a ship loaded with Chinese weapons bound for Zimbabwe was turned away by Durban dockers. Zimbabwe has been cited by many international organizations for its repressive government. (See p. 5 for another example of international solidarity efforts by ILA Local 273 members in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.)

AROUND THE WORLD
Among those addressing the assembly was Paddy Crumlin, National Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia and chair of the Dockers Section of the International Transport Workers’ Federation. John Bowers, former ILA President, was chair of the Dockers Section of the ITF before Crumlin.

One of the resolutions unanimously passed at the IDC meeting called for the ITF and the IDC to explore ways of working together. The resolution specified that the autonomy of both organizations would be respected.

At the meeting, new affiliates representing longshore workers in Nicaragua, Argentina, Uruguay, Senegal and Denmark joined the IDC. With the affiliation of Senegalese dockworkers to the IDC in Charleston, and the future affiliation of dockworkers from Ghana, Togo and Benin announced after the IDC meeting, Africa will now have 14,000 dockworker members in the IDC.

The next meeting of the IDC is scheduled for 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.