Dock Wharf Riverside And General Workers Union

Despite widespread interest in the trade union movement and its history, it has never been easy to trace the development of individual unions, especially those now defunct, or where name changes or mergers have confused the trail. In this respect the standard histories and industrial studies tend to stimulate curiosity rather than satisfy it. When was a union founded? When did it merge or dissolve itself, or simply disappear? What records survive and where can further details of its history be found? These are the kinds of question the Directory sets out to answer. Each entry is arranged according to a standard plan, as follows: 1. Name of union; 2. Foundation date: Name changes (if any) and relevant dates. Any amalgamation or transfer of engagements. Cessation, winding up or disappearance, with date and reasons where appropriate and available; 3. Characteristics of: membership, leadership, policy, outstanding events, membership (numbers). 4. Sources of information: books, articles, minutes etc; location of documentation.

This study provides the opportunity to compare the hiring and employment practices, within the context of local conditions, as they exist in five major ports. It tells how efforts at regulation are influenced by the various institutions and by market constraints and describes the impact of the differences emanating from the industrial relations systems of each of the countries in which the port is located. In all these ports, the basic problem, to a large extent, is still that of casual employment and the author describes the repeated attempts to achieve a solution and analyzes in detail the efforts that failed and those that succeeded.