GB. ENGLAND. Liverpool. Liverpool Docks. I wanted to try and meet the small number of remaining Liverpool dockers. These days they handle only containers, and there are no more than about 200 of them left. Many of their former colleagues were sacked for refusing to cross a picket line 1995-which led to the famous strike that lasted until 1998,one of the longest disputes in Bristish history.Their employer, the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company, replaced them with contracted- in dockers,some of whom are still employed here. Guardian Cities Project. 2008.