Dalfram Dispute Victory 75 years on
The 75th anniversary of the Dalfram function hosted by the MUA Sydney Branch and the CPA Maritime Branch was an incredible success. Around 110 people turned up to the function to pay tribute to the struggle on the Dalfram in Port Kembla and the movement surrounding it. A great time was had by all.
The nature of the class struggle was identified in the Dalfram dispute 75 years ago and the same class struggles and the battles that lie ahead were discussed. We must celebrate our historic victories but learn the lessons for future struggles. The historic victory on the Dalfram saw 200 Port Kembla wharfies stand up to a reactionary Lyons government and the biggest capitalist forces in BHP. It was in a time where Fascism was gaining an ascendency in the world and Australian capital and many reactionary politicians, Menzies included, flirted with Fascist ideas and saw merit in developments in Germany and Japan. The workers and their allies succeeded in stopping exports of pig iron to Japan in 1938 because they opposed Japanese militarism in China and they said the pig iron would come back in the form of bombs and bullets. They were right. It was the dispute where Bob Menzies, then Attorney General, was named "Pig Iron Bob", a name that would never leave him.
The application of united front work shone through in the Dalfram dispute and speakers highlighted the necessity to build a broad united front to take on the extreme anti-working class policies of the Abbott Government. Of particular concern going forward is the ABCC and a range of serious attacks on gains won by workers throughout many years. The stripping away of social services, privatisations and attacks on trade unions will be at the fore in this struggle.
We learn from the comrades on the Dalfram as we prepare and build our forces for the class struggles that lay ahead.
The nature of the class struggle was identified in the Dalfram dispute 75 years ago and the same class struggles and the battles that lie ahead were discussed. We must celebrate our historic victories but learn the lessons for future struggles. The historic victory on the Dalfram saw 200 Port Kembla wharfies stand up to a reactionary Lyons government and the biggest capitalist forces in BHP. It was in a time where Fascism was gaining an ascendency in the world and Australian capital and many reactionary politicians, Menzies included, flirted with Fascist ideas and saw merit in developments in Germany and Japan. The workers and their allies succeeded in stopping exports of pig iron to Japan in 1938 because they opposed Japanese militarism in China and they said the pig iron would come back in the form of bombs and bullets. They were right. It was the dispute where Bob Menzies, then Attorney General, was named "Pig Iron Bob", a name that would never leave him.
The application of united front work shone through in the Dalfram dispute and speakers highlighted the necessity to build a broad united front to take on the extreme anti-working class policies of the Abbott Government. Of particular concern going forward is the ABCC and a range of serious attacks on gains won by workers throughout many years. The stripping away of social services, privatisations and attacks on trade unions will be at the fore in this struggle.
We learn from the comrades on the Dalfram as we prepare and build our forces for the class struggles that lay ahead.
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_The Maritime Branch of the
Communist Party of Australia and the Sydney Branch of the Maritime Union of Australia invite you to: Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Dalfram dispute. When: Wednesday 4th December 2013 Where: Gaelic Club Sydney, 1st Floor, 64 Devonshire St, Surry Hills Time: 6pm – 8:30pm |