| From Unity, 31 March 2007 |
Doffers and dockersby Lynda WalkerA very successful event took place last Thursday night [22 March] in the Linen Hall Library, organised by the NI Committee of the ICTU. The event was commemorating the centenary of the strikes in Belfast of doffers in 1906 and dockers and carters in 1907.Theresa Moriarty spoke in depth about the conditions and the struggles that took place in 1906, when thousands of mill workers went on strike. Theresa spoke of the rebellious young women and how remarkable their actions were in 1906, not just because, in spite of the meagre wage, the families of the women would be relying upon their wages but also because of the position of women in society and in particular in the family, where they would be expected to “do as they are told” by fathers and husbands. She also gave a comprehensive analysis of the 1907 dockers’ and carters’ strike, which began in April 1907, drawing the attention of the thousand women from Gallagher’s tobacco factory who went out on a one-day strike on the 16th of May in support of a large pay increase. The meeting was chaired by Dawn Purvis (ATGWU), who drew attention to the role that the Belfast Telegraph played when it claimed, incorrectly, that Catholic strikers had received 10 shillings per week strike pay and Protestants only 4 or 5 shillings. The trades council investigated this and found the allegation to be untrue. The event was attended by a very respectable number of people. In the audience were women activists such as Clare Hacket, the historians Margaret Ward, John Gray, and Freda Heatley, and mature students from further education colleges, as well as trade unionists such as Ann Hope, Angela Ley, and Peter Bunting, and a whole host of other people who enjoyed the evening. A photograph display of women’s political activity was on show at the back of the room. The ICTU Women’s Committee, who were having their biannual conference, sent greetings to the meeting, along with Unison, who are to publish the lecture in pamphlet form. The lecture was part of a series of events to mark International Women’s Day, 2007. |
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