 |
 Tom Mann, one of the leaders of the 1889 Dock Strike. © NMM |
The Great Dock Strike of 1889 ended in victory for the dockers. It also inspired many more workers to pursue their claims. However, the hated ‘call-on’ still remained.
Neither did the strike give Ben Tillett and Tom Mann what they wanted most. This was the exclusion of non-union labour from the port.
The employers, however, believed that the union's 'closed shop' took away their control over discipline and the pace of work. They claimed this reduced productivity.
 |
| Mounted police during the 1912 dock strike. © NMM | Employers were determined to stamp out unionism on the waterfront. With trade declining and dock unemployment rising in the 1890s, they made attempts to re-assert their authority.
The result was that industrial relations remained tense following the 1889 strike and for many years afterwards. | 
