The march through Suva by thousands of demonstrators expressing support against foreign intervention in Fiji affairs has prompted a counter demonstration march organised by the dockworkers’ union in the 1970s.
This was reported in The Fiji Times on Thursday July 21, 1977. The industrial adviser to the Fiji Waterside Workers’ and Seamen’s Union, Taniela Veitata, said he planned a march by trade union members and their wives in a show of solidarity for overseas help for Fiji unions.
The march resulted from a letter to The Fiji Times by Suva housewife and mother Liebling Marlow attacking the dock strike which had the support of Australian and New Zealand dock unions.
Mr Veitata said he would apply for a permit to stage the march the following week.
The plan was to march through Suva and present a petition to the Governor General, Ratu Sir George Cakobau at Government House, setting out union views on help from overseas.
During the dock strike the overseas unions said they would blacklist any ship worked in Fiji by non-union labour.
The Fiji Government said it would keep the ports open and arranged non-union labour.
But shipowners did not allow their ships to be worked because of the threatened blacklist.
Mr Veitata said if there had been no overseas support for the dockworkers there would have been bloodshed in Fiji.
“The Government said it would use the army to keep the ports open he said. If that had happened there would have been Fijian fighting Fijian.”
