Page 152 - Mellinato, Giulio, and Aleksander Panjek. Eds. 2022. Complex Gateways. Labour and Urban History of Maritime Port Cities: The Northern Adriaticin a Comparative Perspective. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
P. 152
plex Gateways
ing, while republic-based banks providing commercial credit grew in im-
portance. These political and economic processes reached a peak in 1965,
when economic reforms encouraged the introduction of even more radi-
cal market elements into socialist society (Prinčič 1999, 169–74).
The aim of the following article is to investigate these turbulent pro-
cesses in the 1965-1970 period, using the example of the Port of Koper
and its labour force. For the Port, these were crucial years in many re-
spects. The main challenge was the construction of a railway from Koper
to Prešnica which would connect the port with the Slovene interior and
with customers in western and eastern Europe. The Port had to acquire
financial resources, win over Slovenian public and political support, and
face uneasy competition with other Adriatic ports. Working conditions
were harsh. As a consequence, workers often responded with strikes or
‘work stoppages’, as strikes were officially known in socialist Yugoslavia.
In the first part of the article, I will present the historical sources and
research efforts already conducted on the topic. The second part discuss-
es the meaning of the 1965 economic reform for the Slovenian coastal re-
gion and the Port of Koper, and the third part investigates the strike at
the Port of Koper in 1970. Key points and takeaways are presented in the
conclusion.
Historical sources and research of the Port of Koper
The main primary source about the topic in my investigation is the archive
fond of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Slovenia
(AS 1589/III, 1589/IV). The League of Communists of Slovenia (LCS),
known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Slovenia – but afterwards
still often referred to simply as the Party, being a part of the League of
the Communists of Yugoslavia, was the ruling and leading political force
in post-war Slovenia. Virtually all relevant social, cultural, political, and
economic issues took place under its auspices. The Port of Koper, as the
only relevant Slovenian port, received considerable attention from the
LCS. The archive fond in question contains reports, minutes from local
Party assemblies and conventions, analyses of crisis events such as the
‘work stoppage of 1970’ at the Port of Koper, and also information about
local public opinion. Daily newspapers, such as Delo (Labour), represent
another important historical source. The 1960s in Slovenia were a peri-
od of liberalisation in all levels of society. The press was not an exception.
By the end of decade, the press was openly reporting on ‘work stoppag-
152
ing, while republic-based banks providing commercial credit grew in im-
portance. These political and economic processes reached a peak in 1965,
when economic reforms encouraged the introduction of even more radi-
cal market elements into socialist society (Prinčič 1999, 169–74).
The aim of the following article is to investigate these turbulent pro-
cesses in the 1965-1970 period, using the example of the Port of Koper
and its labour force. For the Port, these were crucial years in many re-
spects. The main challenge was the construction of a railway from Koper
to Prešnica which would connect the port with the Slovene interior and
with customers in western and eastern Europe. The Port had to acquire
financial resources, win over Slovenian public and political support, and
face uneasy competition with other Adriatic ports. Working conditions
were harsh. As a consequence, workers often responded with strikes or
‘work stoppages’, as strikes were officially known in socialist Yugoslavia.
In the first part of the article, I will present the historical sources and
research efforts already conducted on the topic. The second part discuss-
es the meaning of the 1965 economic reform for the Slovenian coastal re-
gion and the Port of Koper, and the third part investigates the strike at
the Port of Koper in 1970. Key points and takeaways are presented in the
conclusion.
Historical sources and research of the Port of Koper
The main primary source about the topic in my investigation is the archive
fond of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Slovenia
(AS 1589/III, 1589/IV). The League of Communists of Slovenia (LCS),
known until 1952 as the Communist Party of Slovenia – but afterwards
still often referred to simply as the Party, being a part of the League of
the Communists of Yugoslavia, was the ruling and leading political force
in post-war Slovenia. Virtually all relevant social, cultural, political, and
economic issues took place under its auspices. The Port of Koper, as the
only relevant Slovenian port, received considerable attention from the
LCS. The archive fond in question contains reports, minutes from local
Party assemblies and conventions, analyses of crisis events such as the
‘work stoppage of 1970’ at the Port of Koper, and also information about
local public opinion. Daily newspapers, such as Delo (Labour), represent
another important historical source. The 1960s in Slovenia were a peri-
od of liberalisation in all levels of society. The press was not an exception.
By the end of decade, the press was openly reporting on ‘work stoppag-
152
