Worker narratives of blame and responsibility during the 2018 crisis: the case of the Uljanik Shipyard, Croatia

Abstract

This article describes worker narratives of discontent in relation to a series of crises that occurred at the Uljanik shipyard over the course of 2018. It draws on five months of fieldwork conducted in the period between two worker protests at the shipyard surrounding the late payment of wages, the second of which transformed into a large-scale strike. Emphasis is placed on the oft-repeated trope of "systematic" or "all-encompassing destruction" (sustavno uništavanje). This trope was often used to describe the perceived non-transparent, destructive activities of agents positioned at the top of a hierarchy (the firm management, the local authorities, the national government), acting with the hidden agenda of deliberately running the shipyard into the ground for their own personal gain. The article begins with a vignette highlighting several of the key actors and narratives present. The context of worker organizing and of the shipyard crisis are then elucidated. Following this, workers’ self-organizing during the crisis is examined. The affective landscape during this liminal period is described, with a focus on fear, anxiety, blame, rumours and a (sometimes reasonable) suspicion or paranoia. The trope of "systematic destruction" is discussed in relation to the affective landscape. It is then placed in the context of the importance of personalized relations in the regional political economy, and the implications of this political economy on patterns of blame and responsibility are analysed. Finally, the history of the trope of systematic destruction is discussed and the political power inherent in its ambiguities are explored.