F: Ben Tillett, Union Organiser Secretary of the
Tea Operatives Union, formed 1887.
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The Great Dock Strike of 1889
The Great Dock Strike of 1889
The Strike
The Match-Girls' Strike in 1888 and the success of the newly formed Gas Workers' Union in winning an eight-hour day early in 1889, marked the arrival of a new era of trade unionism.
Both disputes had taken place in the East End of London and encouraged the dock workers to organise to put their demands for increased pay and improved working conditions.
Ben Tillett emerged as their leader with the support of Tom Mann, John Burns and Will Thorne, leading figures in the labour and union movements.
Although an incident over the unloading of the Lady Armstrong in the West India Docks, a dispute over 'plus' money, has been seen as the spark which started the strike, it is clear that this simply provided the opportunity for long-held grievances to come to the fore.
The men in the West India Dock led by Tillett struck on 14 August and immediately set about persuading other dockers to join them. The Dockers' Union had no funds and desperately needed support.
The boost they needed came when the stevedores, already organised in an established union under Tom McCarthy, joined the strike; not only did they carry high status in the port but their work was essential to the running of the docks.
Other groups of workers followed their lead and by 22 August the docks were paralysed. The dockers' demands were clear. They wanted a wage of 6d., 'the docker's tanner', in place of 5d. an hour and an overtime rate of 2d. an hour instead of 1d.
They wanted the contract and 'plus' systems to be abolished and 'call-ons' to be reduced to two a day. They also demanded that they be taken on for minimum periods of four hours.
G: 'After the first couple of days of the strike, the dock workers and their leaders could look back with some pride on what they had achieved. The mass of the dockers were now out on strike with them, up to 20,000 men.
They had also been joined by the seamen and firemen, the lightermen and watermen.'
Smith and Nash, The Story of the Dockers' Strike, 1889.
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F: Ben Tillett, Union Organiser Secretary of the
Tea Operatives Union, formed 1887.
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Port Cities London
The Great Dock Strike of 1889
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Contact
Nigel Sagar
Design and Technology
London Borough of Barking
and Dagenham
Email: nigel.sagar@lbbd.gov.uk
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