File spoon-archives/marxism-news.archive/marxism-news_1998/marxism-news.9804, message 57


Date: Sun, 19 Apr 1998 09:56:10 +0100
From: Hugh Rodwell <m-14970-AT-mailbox.swipnet.se>
Subject: M-NEWS: A night on the East Swanston picket line


Forwarded from Tony Hartin on the front line in Melbourne.

Cheers,

Hugh

____________________________

7pm - We turn off Footscray Road at the road to Appleton Dock (which is
next to East Swanston Dock), and find a park amidst 100's of other cars.
The entrance to Patricks is at the end of a 200-300 metre side street.
The scene, as we turn into the side street, is dimly lit by sodium lamps
and the glare of the odd fire. The ports themselves, full to the brim
with 4000-5000 blockaded containers, are full of massives structure -
massive cranes, massive sheds. Thousands of seagulls wheel overhead,
periodically disturbed by the goings on below, adding their cries to the
weird sort of dreamscape - its like a huge spaceport in Bladerunner
commented a comrade.

This is not like any other event I have been involved in. The
blue-collar working class are in charge and are organising defences. The
head of the side-street is the advance post, a half-container has been
converted into an office - railway sleepers, bits of debris, a car and a
truck block the road here. 50 metres further down a fork-list is
manoevring a container into place. The whole ground shakes as it falls
over with a thud to block half the road. Another 50 metres or so further
down, gangs are lumping sections of railway line to build two formidable
looking barricades.

In the last 100 metres or so the road widens out to accomodate the
gatehouse. In this space many 100's of unionists are milling, discussing
the days events, preparing for what feels like an historic night. The
Left are there, but have been absorbed into the mass - in that we are
not running the show. It is easy to proclaim yourself a socialist and to
sell socialist literature - this is one night where working people are going to
stand together and put differences aside. White collar workers, blue
collar workers, students, a few punks. "Did you see that sheila - that
one with her hair all spiked up?" said one wharfie to his mates in
wonderment.

11pm The first of the drills. We hear an update on the situation in
general  - How the Supreme court in London has thrown out the injunction
against the ITF - now international action against Patricks can
proceed....How the courts have thrown out Patricks attempts to serve
injunctions against the "community assemblies - "I can't serve an
injunction against the world in general", said the judge.....How the
picket line has held in the rest of the country - Melbourne can't let
the side down, we are *always* the most militant. We practice
interlocking arms in lines, holding on to the belts of those in front.
Our spirits are high

1am - 4am. A waiting game. Our numbers are growing - ther must be at
least 3,000 picketers by now. The rumors spread through the crowd like
ripples "Did you hear that country police have been mobilised?" ..."Did
you hear that they have emptied all the detention centres in
Melbourne?"... "Did you hear that 1000 police are massing in Flinders
Street?". We walk up and down the street, surveying our barricades,
talking to various groups of workers. People are watching along the road
to Melbourne, from where the bosses troops will come. Its getting colder
now, there are many fires up and down the street around which workers
are standing. It feels like an encampment before some mediaeval battle

4am - 5am The police have been filmed filing into buses in the city.
They are on the way. We rouse those of us who have been sleeping off the
wait in their cars. We form up in tight ranks in front of Patricks
gates. We buttress ourselves with chants, we share our anger. The last
bits of the barricades are constructed. A line of metal plates with
steel spikes, from the old railway line beside the road, are spread out
on the bitumen like some tank trap. We form up a row of cars imediately
in front of our first lines, which are all wharfies. The police will
never get through them even to the rest of the thousands of picketers
behind them. We now number 4,000 - 5,000 and are packed solid up to 50
metres in front of the gates.

5am - Suddenly a police helicopter is upon us. Circling, menacing,
directing its spotlight onto our defences, trying to calculate,
intimidate. We shake our fists in defiance, our chants grow louder. We
throw dirt onto the fires in order to create a smoke screen.

The first police come into view, moving in phalanxes up the road. We
shout our abuse. We in the Left know what this is like, we prepare for
the police to attack us. But they hesitate, they don't seem to be able
to get around the logistics of the exercise. We grow confident, it is
6.05 am now and dawn is breaking. The day shift starts at 7am, and they
are being mobilised by unionsts with mobile phones.

Our side keeps a spirited commentary on megaphones.."strengthen the line
on this side......hold tight.....MUA! here to stay!". The eeriest moment
for me was when a unionist talked about workplace deaths and called for
a minutes silence. A deathly calm came over the scene, 5000 unionists
fell silent and solemn in an amazing show of discipline. If I was a cop
at that moment I would have shat myself.

7am  The ABC news is played over the loudspeaker to the assembled
stand-off. It of course all about the tense stand-off at East Swanston
Dock. History being played back to us as we create it. Ann announcement
is made about how 200 police have attacked a smaller gate defended only
by a few dozen picketers. One women unionist is hospitalised. This gate
is to P&O, access is possible to Patricks this way..."Right, that's
it... ConAust workers (P&O wharfies) have pulled the pin and have gone
to take that gate" announced our unionst with the megaphone to cheers.

8am 2,000 building workers have walked off their sites and have
assembled in a demonstration at the head of our side street. They march
down the street behind the police lines, arms locked. Police are now
surrounded. They ask for permission to leave and we clear a space for
them to do so. We have won a famous victory here

Throughout the day picketers thwarted every attempt police made to break
the picket line.
The stand-ff continues


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