the Cork Transport Workers’ Union took possession of the Harbour Board’s offices and assumed complete control of the local port, forming a workers’ soviet until negotiations could be resolved.

The Cork Harbour Strike was a labor dispute that lasted from September 2nd to September 7th, 1921. It was the result of the refusal of the Cork Harbor Board to increase the wages of its workers to a minimum of 70s a week.

On September 6th, 1921, the Cork Transport Workers’ Union took possession of the Harbour Board’s offices and assumed complete control of the port.

According to the New York Times, “when the strikers took possession of the Harbour Board offices, they hoisted a red flag as a token of Soviet control and the strikers’ leaders announced their intention of collecting dues from shipping agents and using them to pay members of the union.”

The rebellion was short-lived, however, as negotiations between the Harbour Board and the strikers were reopened soon after, which came to a successful resolution. The revolt was not well-taken in the press.

The Irish Times wrote “To-day Irish Labour is permeated with a spirit of revolt against all the principles and conventions of ordered society. The country’s lawless state in recent months is partly responsible for this sinister development, and the wild teachings of the Russian Revolution have fallen on willing ears.”

The Cork harbour strike of 1921 libcom trouble

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