Australia

500 Liverpool Dockworkers who were sacked from the Port of Liverpool for honoring the number one principle of the trade union movement in refusing to cross a picket line.
Published on 2 Oct 2015
Liverpool Dockers Strike - Maritime Union of Australia (MUA).
 
This September marks the 20th Anniversary of one of the longest and most united industrial disputes ever seen in the history of the labour and trade union movement.
 
It was a dispute that originally involved 500 Liverpool Dockworkers who were sacked from the Port of Liverpool for honouring the number one principle of the trade union movement in refusing to cross a picket line. When the dispute ended in January 1998 more than 80,000 national and international trade unionists and supporters had either pledged or taken part in solidarity action on behalf of the Liverpool Dockworkers and their families.
KASBI was formed in 2004 with 3,000 members. Today it has more than 200,000 members
By Minh Lam
Journalist
 
Working conditions within the borders of Australia’s nearest neighbours were under the microscope when SSTUWA member Wendy Perriam attended an Indonesian trade union conference.
 
Ms Perriam accepted an invitation to attend the fourth congress of the Indonesian Worker’s Unions (KASBI) held near Jakarta. She joined Lian Sinclair from the Community and Public Sector Union. Both women are part of the Unions WA International Committee.