Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung

Containerisation began in the 1960s and massively reshaped the global flow of goods since the 1980s. While there is a plethora of economically oriented research on containerisation, much less is known about the people who un/load, process and move containers. Containerisation was accompanied by intermodal transport, the globalised movement of standardized containers between different transport modules (trains, trucks, ships, planes). Moreover, containerisation had tremendous repercussions on port security. Dock work, security and intermodal transport were the three fields studied at the workshop, which geographically was focused on North America, Europe and Asia.

The international workshop "Containerisation and Dock Labour since the 1960s: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Work, Security, and Intermodal Transport in an Uncertain Setting" took place at ZiF from 12 - 14 September 2024 and was led by historian Klaus Weinhauer (Bielefeld University). It brought together earlier career and established scholars which came from social anthropology, sociology, industrial relations studies and labour history. As all papers had been distributed in advance and were only briefly summarized at the workshop there was much time for stimulating collective discussions.

The workshop participants. Photo: Universität Bielefeld

Three main questions and their changes over time were main foci of these debates organized in three panels. First, how has containerisation affected the three sectors (work, security, intermodal transport) of dock labour and vice versa? Second, what kind of (collective) actions were taken by dock workers in containerised settings, which self-perceptions of and public narratives about dock work(ers) can we find? Third, what can be gained analytically from seeing the multiple uncertainties of dock work and containerisation not only as threats but also as opportunities for change and innovation?

Dock labour research still is shaped by three master narratives focusing on militant trade unions (1), decasualization (2) and economic aspects of containerization (3). From the 19th century until the 1970s dock workers formed strong and often militant trade unions which with their collective actions strongly affected the global economy and with it also (early) containerisation. Due to ever changing weather conditions, unpredictable arrival time of ships and unstable economic conditions until the mid-20th century dock work was often performed by casual labourers. In order to stabilize employment conditions in many countries the state became involved in industrial relations at the docks. This process called ‘decasualization’ was contested between employers, state officials, dock workers and their unions. These three interpretations were critically discussed at the workshop. Three results of the workshop which took place in an intellectually fruitful and collegial atmosphere, should be mentioned: First. western-based narratives about the timing of containerisation and the positioning of dock workers towards decasualization must be more critically reflected. Second, the process of global containerisation did not homogenize dock work all over the world. Rather local traditions and micro-political as well as cultural settings massively influenced how such global issues were put into practice. Finally, participants realized what still is missing is a culturally sensitive social micro-history of working conditions and of work cultures of workers of the containerised supply chain.