Introduction

Seaborne trade is the backbone of the world economy. About 90 per cent of world trade is transported by ships. Good reasons for studying shipbuilding and ship repairing labour include the importance of the industry for transport and world trade, its linkages to domestic heavy industries, the military apparatus, myriad suppliers of finished goods and services in domestic economies, local and regional employment, and its productive character. For the labour historian, shipbuilding and ship repair workers are of great interest for at least three reasons. Their worksites are an important part of heavy industry, while labour processes at shipyards are much more diverse than labour processes in factories with their assembly lines and standardised production – shipyards combine many different segments of the working class in ever changing configurations. In addition, shipyards bring together large numbers – often thousands – of labourers in one place, thus shaping the culture and social life of the regions in which they are located. And, finally, these huge working-class conglomerations have often played a key role in industrial relations and politics, for example during the years of upheaval at the end of the First World War (Petrograd, Hamburg, Bremen, Kiel, Belfast, Glasgow, Seattle, Tokyo, Kobe, etc.), or in anti-dictatorial struggles, such as the Portuguese Revolution of 1974-1975, or the struggles of Solidarność in Poland, 1980-1981.