Author of the recently published book The Rise and Fall of the Dock Labour Scheme, John Dempster, takes a moment to tell you a bit more about the book:
I was a civil servant for 34 years and worked in several different Departments. The most exciting period in my career was when I was head of the Department of Transport’s Marine Department in the late 80s when the Thatcher government eventually decided to abolish the National Dock Labour Scheme.
The Scheme was introduced by the post-war Attlee Government as a way of ensuring some order and some security for the workforce in an industry which at that time relied very largely on the use of casual labour. At the time it was an enlightened piece of social legislation, although industrial relations in the docks remained very bad. By the 1980s the Scheme had become an anachronism, and was imposing a huge burden on our ports. For the trade unions however it was a treasured relic of the past and they had repeatedly made clear that any attempt to interfere with it would lead to a national dock strike.
In the Thatcher Government no-one much liked the Scheme, but there were great debates about whether it was worth getting rid of it, given the likelihood of serious trouble in the docks. The Department of Transport were keen to see it go, but the Department of Employment were nervous of the potential for industrial unrest. Eventually Ministers decided to grasp the nettle but it was an anxious time. If there had been a prolonged strike in the docks, with shortages of food and other essentials, there would have been great pressure to compromise. In the event the repeal was achieved more smoothly than anyone had dared to hope.
I was privileged to witness these events at first hand, and 20 years later I decided that this was a story worth writing up. The book starts with a history of the Scheme, supplemented with personal recollections of people who were involved with it at the time. It then describes the port employers’ very effective lobbying campaign (in which Iain Dale was a key player) which helped to persuade Ministers to act. It goes on to cover the planning for the repeal, which was undertaken with great secrecy, and how the repeal was achieved with minimal industrial action. It then considers the effect of the repeal on the ports industry, and concludes with a section which looks at how other Continental countries, and the European Commission, have attempted to tackle similar problems in their ports.
I was fortunate to be given access to the official papers relating to the repeal which I hope allowed me to produce an authentic account of a memorable period in the history of British ports.
The Rise and Fall of the Dock Labour Scheme is available now in hardback, priced £45.