Smart Port Community Lunch Meeting, Tuesday 18 March at 12.00 hours in T03-42

On Tuesday, March 18, 12:00 in Room T03-42, Evert Smit will present the results of his PhD research on strikes in the port of Rotterdam: “The syndicalist undercurrent’ Strikes in the port of Rotterdam 1889-2010”

“In the relatively stable and strongly regulated system of industrial relations in the Netherlands, the Rotterdam port is, of old, a notable exception. The port has endured far more strikes than any other industry. Moreover, a great many of these industrial conflicts concerned wildcat strikes. This ‘syndicalist undercurrent’ has a long history – from the first start of the port’s development at the beginning of the 20th century until the end of that century. The employment relations in the Rotterdam port also played an important role as a counterpoint at key moments in the development of the industrial relations in the Netherlands as a whole. The objective of this study is to find the cause of the strike pattern that was so very characteristic of the Rotterdam port. How did this pattern emerge, how did it develop, and why was it so ineradicable?” (First paragraph summary of “The syndicalist undercurrent. Strikes in the port of Rotterdam 1889-2010”)

Evert Smit studied for a few years anthropology at the University of Amsterdam, worked as welder in shipbuilding and graduated in Sociology at the same university. He worked for several years at the Port of Rotterdam Authority and was university docent of sociology and business relations at Erasmus University and the University of Tilburg.  Het published on the French social philosopher Sorel and on labor relations, trade unions, collective agreements and participation. He is a researcher and consultant since 1994 employed by Basis & Beleid Organisatieadviseurs BV (Utrecht).

A very promising lecture for all interested in the port of Rotterdam and industrial relations in the port, presented by a real insider!

Dissertation http://dare.uva.nl/record/446539