Les dockers à Marseille de 1864 à 1941 : de leur apparition au statut de 1941
Institution:
Aix-Marseille 1Disciplines:
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Abstract EN:
Since the 19th century dockers working on the marseilles docks have been troublesome. They started competing with the porters and consequently traditions were turned upside town. They were quickly negatively perceived by the town society and the various communities made it even worse. Instability, precarity and the lack of definite status were the characteristics of the people working on the marseilles docks. The history of dockers comes along with that of a fairly deprived lower class that was gradually settling in the twenties. Unsupervised without any guarantee they started fighting for their rights very early. In marseilles they soon became a social political and economical stake : an economical one when strikes entailed a decrease in the port traffic, a social one because of their possible influence on the other town workers and the dockers of other harbours. And most of all their political role prevailed on the period spanning between the two world wars. In those days marseilles had a rather agitated political life and this unrest pervaded the docks : through the dockers it is the struggle between the left wing forces and the sabianists which took place. From 1935 the communists succeeded in ruling over the docks and their trade-union became most powerful. This strength allowed the dockers to gain advantages from 1936 to 1939 and the idea of a status became apparent. The dockers had a strategic role to play in the economy and the government decided to grant them a status during world war ii so that the port activities should start again as soon as the conflict was over. The law, passed on the 28 june 1941, gave the dockers a status but at the same time it confined them in a corporation : it is a return to the 19th century porter's society.
Abstract FR:
Des le xixe siecle, la presence du docker derange sur les quais marseillais ; il concurrence le protefaix et bouleverse les traditions. Tres vite son image est negative dans la societe marseillaise et la diversite ethnique accentue encore ce processus. L'instabilite, la precarite et l'absence de statut sont les specificites des ouvriers des quais de la cite phoceenne. L'histoire du docker est celle d'un milieu populaire plutot defavorise et en voie d'enracinement dans les annees 1920. Non encadres, sans garantie, ils se lancent tres tot dans la combativite. Ils representent a marseille un enjeu economique, social et politique. Economique quand les arrets de travail ont pour corollaire la baisse du trafic portuaire, social en raison du role du syndicat et de l'influence qu'ils peuvent avoir sur les ouvriers de la ville et sur les dockers des autres ports. Et enfin l'enjeu politique est l'aspect dominant des dockers marseillais dans l'entre-deux-guerres. Marseille a une vie politique mouvementee et cette agitation envahit les quais : c'est l'affrontement entre les forces de gauche et les sabianistes a travers les dockers. Puis les communistes parviennent a dominer les quais a partir de 1935 et le syndicat des dockers devient puissant. Cette force leur permet d'obtenir des acquis de 1935 a 1939 et la voie vers le statut se dessine. Le docker a un role strategique dans l'economie et le gouvernement decide de lui accorder un statut pendant la seconde guerre mondiale pour que le trafic reprenne des la fin des hostilites. La loi du 28 juin 1941 donne au docker un statut mais l'enferme dans une corporation : c'est un retour au xixe siecle avec la societe des portefaix.