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Waterfront – Episode 2 (1984)

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Desperate times

Original classification rating: PG. This clip chosen to be PG

Clip description

The wharfies have been locked out and replaced by scabs. Their union boss Sam (Ray Barrett) has been jailed under a Federal government emergency powers act and his place taken by the union secretary (Chris Haywood) who doesn’t have the same control of the men as Sam.

Curator’s notes

by Janet Bell

It’s interesting to compare this miniseries with one that the ABC broadcast in 2007, Bastard Boys, about the waterfront dispute of the late 1990s, with Patrick’s CEO Chris Corrigan pitted against the new generation of union bosses personified by the secretary of the ACTU Greg Combet. A common thread through both series is the need to prevent the working class wharfies resorting to violence against the scabs. In the earlier series, it’s vital for the wharfies to understand the plight of the immigrant Italians and work with them against the ship owners, while in the later series, it’s important that the wharfies update their tactics by using the courts instead of their fists.

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