Maritime Men of the Asia-Pacific: True-Blue Internationals Navigating Labour Rights 1906-2006 [Paperback]

This history of maritime unions' long activism for labour rights is a study of internationalism in action. It tells of connections forged and divided, regionally and globally. This is a story of vision and grit, of maritime men defiant in their organised opposition to slave-like conditions and committed to achieving enduring gains.Winner of the Australia and New Zealand Law and History Society (ANZLHS) Prize for 2023

Maritime workers occupy a central place in global labour history. This new and compelling account from Australia, shows seafaring and waterside unions engaged in a shared history of activism for legally regulated wages and safe liveable conditions for all who go to sea.Maritime Men of the Asia-Pacificprovides a corrective to studies which overlook this region's significance as a provider of the world's maritime labour force and where unions have a rich history of reaching across their differences to forge connections in solidarity. From the 'militant young Australian' Harry Bridges whose progressive unionism transformed the San Francisco waterfront, to Australia's successful implementation of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, this is a story of vision and leadership on the international stage. Unionists who saw themselves as internationalists were also operating within a national and imperial framework where conflicting interests and differences of race and ideology had to be overcome. Union activists in India, China and Japan struggled against indentured labour and 'coolie' standards. They linked with their fellow-unionists in pursuing an ideal of international labour rights against the power of shipowners and anti-union governments. This is a complex story of endurance, cooperation and conflict and its empowering legacy.Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: 'By the nature of their calling' Themes of region, race and militancy
Chapter 2: 'Navigation as it affects the Empire': Australasian Labour Standards and British Merl*