In 1936 a Spanish ship arrived in Aberdeen, Scotland carrying grain. Upon arrival, the ship’s captain informed the crew the owners were not going to pay out their bonus, as was required by Spanish law. In protest at this, working conditions, and bad food, the crew went on strike. Shutting down all machinery to ensure the ship couldn’t be unloaded.

The ship was stuck in dock, with a crew who had limited money and food. The dockers and people of Aberdeen, in an act of solidarity, provided food for them and collected money around the city on their behalf. Becoming friends with the sailors.

After four months, the owners eventually gave in and provided what was owed to the sailors.

Upon their arrival home, they found Spain had changed. The Fascists had begun their attack against the Republicans.

19 Aberdonians who had become friendly with the striking sailors, and heard about the fascists in Spain, volunteered to help fight fascism.

Unfortunately, 5 of them never returned home.

John Londragan, a political activist, trade unionist, and member of the Communist Party, was one of those who enlisted. He was wounded in both arm and leg during the Battle of Brunete and entered a shop in a nearby village in an attempt to find medical help.

By a stroke of luck and coincidence, the shop he walked into was owned by the father of one of the sailors he’d made friends with, all the way back in Aberdeen. Having heard of the generosity of the Aberdonians the father ensured John was cared for and led back to safety.

In 2019 a Portuguese artist created this mural; it depicts John Londragan, Peter Frye (an American), and two of the shop owner’s children.

The story says to me that when we get together we can fight for a better future.

  • Alexandre Farto aka Vhils
  • A_norny_mousse@piefed.zipEnglish
    5·
    10 hours ago

    After four months, the owners eventually gave in and provided what was owed to the sailors.

    It took them four fucking months to see reason? Story as old as capitalism.

    • punksnotdead@slrpnk.netOPEnglish
      3·
      9 hours ago

      Unfortunately it’s not the last time this happened.

      In line with the resolution passed at the 2018 Maritime BGM, I am writing to update you on the outcome of the modern slavery case involving the Malaviya 7 and its crew of Indian seafarers who were abandoned with the vessel in Aberdeen port for over a year.

      The offshore supply vessel (OSV) Malaviya 7 was twice detained by Maritime and Coastguard Agency surveyors in 2016 for unpaid wages and safety breaches. On the first occasion, the vessel was on charter to BP who took absolutely no interest in the welfare of the crew, other than to deny any liability. On the second occasion, in October 2016, the owner GOL Offshore abandoned the ship and its twenty-four crew members, leaving them on the vessel without pay or provisions for over a year.

      Throughout their ordeal the crew received provisions, advice and assistance from Aberdeen port authorities, the ITF, RMT, Nautilus and members of the public.

      In October 2017, the first effort was made to auction the Malaviya 7 in order to pay £672,000 in wages owed to the crew. This collapsed after the only bid received was a derisory £300,000. The vessel was sold the following month for nearly £700,000, with seventeen crew members safely returning home to their families. The remaining seven crew members stayed with the vessel in order to hand the Malaviya 7 over to its new owners.

      In January 2018, the Malaviya 7 sailed from Aberdeen port after eighteen months detained in port. All the crew were paid the wages they were owed in March 2018. Even when the employer was honouring its basic obligations to the Malaviya 7 crew, the contracted rate of pay was well below the National Minimum Wage.

      We believe that this case constitutes modern slavery and exposes the continued failure to tackle unscrupulous shipowners who continue to exploit and even abandon seafarers, despite the introduction of the Maritime Labour Convention. Your union continues to highlight the Malaviya 7 and its sister ship the Malaviya 20 as examples of modern slavery in the UK shipping industry.

      Seafarer abandonment is a major problem in the international shipping industry, with over 1,300 seafarers abandoned in foreign ports by their employer in the five years to 2017. Just last December, a case came to light involving forty mainly Indian seafarers who were abandoned on three ships in ports in the United Arab Emirates by the shipowner Elite Way Marine Services. Some of the seafarers have been abandoned confined to the ship without pay for nearly two years.

      https://www.rmt.org.uk/about/policies/political-circulars-and-submissions/update-on-the-malaviya-7/