Tales of London's Docklands (22 page)

donkey-man
an oiler or greaser in a ship's engine room

down-holder
a member of a ship's gang working in a ship's hold

fall-back money
a guaranteed payment based on the number of ‘attendances' proved for each signing-on period in any one week

free call
the gathering of dockers hoping to be picked up for a day's work

full-back guarantee
monies paid by the Dock Labour Board to registered dock workers who had attended the ‘call on' but had been unable to obtain work.

job and finish
a payment made by an employer for the men to complete a work operation as quickly as was possible

Lascar
an Indian seaman

LDLB
London Dock Labour Board

luff
a term used when cranes' jibs are moved in or out

measurement rate
each item of cargo being exported was measured for piecework purposes and gangs were paid by the measurement ton (although, if the weight of the cargo was greater then the measurement tonnage, then the gang (should have) received the greater weight of the two); Port Authority quay gangs were always paid either ‘dead weight' tonnage or two-fifths the measurement rate

NDLB
National Dock Labour Board

non-continuity
jobs that either were or could be discontinued at the employer's or a dock worker's convenience

OST clerk
an overseas tally clerk responsible for checking and recording all freight loaded on to or discharged from working vessels

out-of-sector allocations
each dock system within the Port of London was categorized as a sector; men transferred to another dock or port were said to be ‘out of sector'

paid off
on the completion of a work operation, attendance books were given back to the dock workers, who then returned to the Dock Labour Compound to look for another job

perm
registered dock workers who were permanently employed, rather than those who sought work twice a day on the ‘free call'

pitch
the spot on the quay where the cargo was discharged to or loaded from before being transferred to a transit shed or warehouse

pitch hand
men who were members of a ship's gang but worked on the quay, or in barges or Thames lighters

PLA
Port of London Authority

pressed men
men allocated to work an operation by the Dock Labour Board manager

pro-rata men
men, extra to a ship's or quay gang, employed on specific work operations

quay receiving
cargo discharged from ships to quay gangs for storing in transit sheds or warehouses

registered dock worker
a docker or stevedore registered with the National Dock Labour Board under the Dock Workers (Regulation of Employment) Act 1946

serang
Indian seaman equivalent to a ship's bosun

ship worker
an employers' representative (always a previous docker or stevedore) responsible for all registered men employed on a ship

ship's gang
twelve men (plus 1 pro-rata man if working under ship's winches) who worked together to load or discharge a ship

tick note
a chit issued daily to each gang showing the tonnage handled, the piecework rate per ton for each commodity, and any day-work time lost

told off
allocated to a work operation

top hand
the crane driver's eyes and ears on a ship's deck, signalling instructions to him in the crane cabin above

a turn
a 4–6-hour work period

under plumb
a point directly under a derrick's head or crane's jib

 

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