Agitators and the Dockers
October ath (Thursday) was the day fixed for the, renewal of national negotiations on the dockers' claim, and up to the last moment the leaders of the unofficial strike movement strained every nerve to keep the stoppage going. Their success was far from being complete. At some ports men continued or resumed work, and at others con- fused meetings led to,decisions to remain on strike ; but the agitators had considerably the best of it. They were playing for time against the economic pressure arising from the fact that the dockers were getting no strike pay and against the return of reason, which would have shown the folly of striking at the moment when the men's claims were under consideration, and when such action was bound to weaken the position of their constitutional representatives. As it was the union leaders were confronted with extraordinary diffi- culties. Their authority has been challenged, and there can be no certainty about their power to make terms which the men will tccept. The actual issue of hours and wages between them and the employers is dwarfed by the new issue raised by the conflict between the official union and the agitators, who appear to aim at supplanting them by creating a new organisation. The question concerns not the dockers alone but the whole trade union move- ment, and indeed the whole of industry. What is at stake is the system of collective bargaining, under which labour plays an orderly part in determining conditions of work. It is now threatened by repudiation of leaders and irresponsible resort to direct action. The Government, fortunately, is lending the dissidents no countenance, and soldiers will ensure the unloading of essential cargoes at the docks.
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