View our online Press Pack. After the withdrawal of SNP support for the government, the Conservatives put down a vote of no confidence, which was held and passed on March 28, 1979, forcing a General Election. With many collectors having remained out since January 22, local councils were running out of space for storing waste. There are calls for an extension to be built at the school with "fantastic teachers" in the Robroyston area. Penny Hibbins, a single mother to four children, working as a domestic at Starcross Hospital in Devon, told The Guardian of her poverty wages of just 39.50 a week, almost half the median weekly wage for men and less even than the median wage for women manual workers. We used Artic candles and camping lanterns. The spontaneous unity produced by this decision empowered the workers. The strikes, from the perspective of the TUC and the government, ended on February 14 after weeks of negotiation. I will always remember watching my mother pulling a shapeless lump of half cooked dough out of the oven, made to look even more obscene by candle light because the power was off. British Airways has started disciplinary proceedings against three shop stewards following August's unofficial strike at Heathrow Airport. But the industrial unrest had a huge impact. His socialist blueprint for power harks back to 1970s Labour governments who were plagued by high inflation, low growth and irresponsible trade union power. Download content on demand when you need it. The union-management GM strike, 1970 - Jeremy Brecher GM strikers in Detroit, September 14, 1970 A brief history of the interesting national strike of the United Auto Workers union at General Motors, organised in conjunction with management to allow workers to blow off steam. Dozens of bin collectors from the GMB Union . The weeks during and after the lorry drivers strike were marked largely by strike action being taken by public sector workers, determined to keep up with the wage increases of their counterparts in the private sector. The acclaimed MasterChef Australia judge Jock Zonfrillo unexpectedly passed away on Saturday, April 29 at the age of 46 his family has confirmed in a statement. My own school had to close and only those taking exams that summer were educated. In Williams and Fryers history of NUPE they detail how the union continued to organise selective strike actions, starting in South Tees, Cardiff, Yorkshire and Glasgow, timed to affect different regions at different times. It is important that we continue to promote these adverts as our local businesses need as much support as possible during these challenging times. A man wearing a gas mask, among huge piles of rubbish, during a strike by dustcart drivers in Glasgow, 5th March 1975. Learn more about how you can collaborate with us. The strike lasted 13 weeks in total. By Josh Morris (Living Rent) and Martin Monaghan (Dennistoun Information Page). Apart from that my abiding memories is of dreariness, decay and depression apart from the summer of 76 of course. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. The direct action help stem the tide of effective pay cuts by inflation eating up the value of their wages and won significant improvements for many tens of thousands of workers. At the time, dustcart drivers were being paid a basic wage of 32.50 compared to Heavy Goods Vehicle drivers who were paid 37 in the private sector. Striking photographs show the effects of the colossal strike action as huge bags of rubbish fill Londons Leicester Square, young men desperately seek employment at local job centres and dozens of police hold back feuding workers. Christopher Jullien's two word Celtic response as Jota strike dumps Rangers out Scottish Cup. This set the precedent for other industry sectors, including firemen, lorry drivers, railway staff and hospital workers who walked out in their droves, causing significant disruption to everyday life. Rubbish was piled high in Central London's Leicester Square after Westminster Council had allocated rubbish to be dumped there. inaccuracy or intrusion, then please Army Soldiers clearing refuse during dustmen strike, March 1975, Fusilier Robert Brown with dead rats found in rubbish at Hotspur Street, Maryhill, Children playing in rubbish dumps as Army lorries parked on road during dustmen strike. Every day a new challenge. Strike activity measured in working days lost was higher in the UK in the 1970s than in any other decade in the period after the Second World War (Office for National Statistics, ONS. Submitted by Alex. The 'Winter of Discontent' marked the largest stoppage of labour since the 1926 General Strike. Police say the expect the closure to be in place for several hours. Data returned from the Piano 'meterActive/meterExpired' callback event. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. Lets get that debate started! West Dunbartonshire aiming to become dementia friendly community. Nearly 60,000 workers at Ford of Britain car plant, a major government contractor, had goneon strike in October of that year. Pictures of the 1970s cleansing crisis sent in by Living Rent. As the bin strikes began in Glasgow on Wednesday 24 August - we look back at the Glasgow Dustcart Worker's strike of 1975, where rubbish piled high in the streets of Glasgow. I am sure that hurt many people. The U.S. postal strike of 1970 was an eight-day strike by federal postal workers in March 1970. It caused the Bank of England to withdraw temporarily from the foreign exchange market. We would have candles and mum made us all Bovril to drink. They also show the diversity of participants and reveal how in the NHS (and elsewhere) the Winter of Discontent was one moment in British history where women, and women of colour in particular, took a leading role in workers struggle, fighting to establish better pay and conditions in the often exploitative National Health Service. That crowd was 70 percent of the entire sanitation workforce. The piles of rotten waste became our playground, well it always was our playground so we continued to play on the soccer pitch, rather than kicking a ball but investigating all the crap spilling out of the bags! A man wearing a gas mask, among huge piles of rubbish, during a strike by dustcart . I was 7 and all I remember the bins were not emptied , the NHS picketing and other unions going on strike, in fact strikes all over. Behind the scenes, Rockefeller schemed up a way for the state to take over the sanitation department, or rather his counsel did- he was hospitalized for exhaustion after staying up all weekend to write the legislation. Egg shells, coffee grounds, milk cartons, orange rinds, and empty beer cans littered the sidewalk. Bowery Boogie tracked down a great newsreel from 1968 interviewing New Yorkers about the strike. Police have appealed for help after the 68-year-old man was seriously injured on Victoria Road at its junction with Allison Street on Friday evening and taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. In 1970 there had been a decision made by the National Joint Council for Local Authorities that local government should automatically pay the rate set by the Scottish Joint Industry Board (SJIB). That kept me entertained for hours. The interior of this property is every bit as stunning as its canary yellow outside. The butcher had to come round the counter with a spade as it wasnt the first time it had happened. The government attempted to impose sanctions on Ford for breach of the pay policy soon after the deal had been struck with the union. What Crisis?". Rubbish piles up in the streets of the west end London. Disputes in the 1970s. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. This period of collective mobilisation has generally been remembered negatively in the stories Britain tells about itself, as a crisis precipitated by over-powerful unions. No one wants to relive the smelly dirty streets and the loss of pride in where we live and work! What books did you use to write this? I just hope I can get her a grant because I wont be able to help.. During the ambulance drivers strike in mid-January it was also reported that staff in 1,100 NHS hospitals were refusing to treat anything but emergencies. When these workers were offered another below inflation pay rise, it was the final straw for many. See production, box office & company info. Stephen Williams and R.H. Fryers account of the dispute describes how cleaners at Westminster Hospital took action by refusing to clean rooms designated for private patients. Find the right content for your market. On March 16, 1976 Britain was stunned by Wilsons shock resignation with him succeeded by former Foreign Secretary James Callaghan. For eight days in March 1970, over 200,000 postal workers staged an illegal "wildcat" strike--the largest in United States history--for better wages . That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with. Baby girl carried over Glasgow Kiltwalk finish line months after surviving open heart surgery. Glasgow doctor finds car covered in crude messages as he prepares for night shift at Royal Infirmary, Conno Tugulu was horrified when he returned to his car on Thursday in Partick and found it covered in yellow paint and swear words scrawled all over the vehicle, Missing Cumbernauld schoolgirl with long auburn hair not seen for two days. Wishing to avoid a "free-for-all" rush for pay increases by the unions, the government allowed the return of collective bargaining to happen only with the agreement of the unions to continue with wage increase limits agreed in 1976 and a promise not to reopen any increase agreements made from previous policy, which the TUC agreed to. Learn more about how you can collaborate with us. This image could have imperfections as its either historical or reportage. 12th March 1975. This continued until the end of March but the government became increasingly intransigent as it neared collapse in Spring 1979. 27 kwietnia. Discover the citys most unique and surprising places and events for the curious mind. 3. We were taught in the science block using Bunsen burners as heaters, which kept us warm, but incredibly drowsy! Yet, the actual events of 1978-79 undermine that story. She calculated that after loan payments, utilities and food, she had just 5 a month left for clothes for her and the kids, as well as any other expenses. Many NHS staff were shocked at the vitriol they received even where trade union members were careful to mitigate any adverse effects from their actions. By February 10, Rockefeller had had enough, using the premise of a health emergency to seize state control of the Sanitation Department. on January 24, 2007 "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. The stench of the overflowing bins was awful and I was warned by my mother to avoid playing anywhere near the rubbish. In all, 29.5million working days were lost to strikes in 1979. We would sit around the coal fire and my dad told me fairies lived in it. Two men aged 42 and 27, were arrested in connection with the drug recovery at a Glasgow property and they will appear at Glasgow Sheriff Court today (Monday, May 1). He has attacked ambulancemen and called them names and he has victimised others., All this disruption to the operation of Britains hospitals inevitably brought negative press. Family 'shattered' as Glasgow-born MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo dies at 46. 70s England HOMER SYKES RM BP63CF - Winter of Discontent, London. 08:47, 6 DEC 2021. JD Constantine, now, Fairfax, VA, USA; then, London NW2, England. Comments have been closed on this article. RM DWJDM2 - Vulcan bomber at start of take-off run at RIAT air-show in UK The union's grip was total, and the atmosphere was poisonous. NUPE, isolated from the other unions, eventually decided to accept a slightly modified version of their early March pay offer. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. After rejecting the governments low wage offer, NHS and local authority staff resolved to take action to win better pay. Join Untapped New Yorks First Trivia Night with The Gotham Center! I got married in 1974 and when I went to rent a TV from the local Co-op was not allowed to in my own name as I was a woman. The sign reads, 'No bus cuts! The Glasgow corporation refused to do this, citing budget cuts and the social contract (a government policy that was aimed at restraining wages to decrease inflation) as the reason why they couldnt accept the SJIBs pay rate. An event that is often recalled clearly from memories of the period, the strike prompted one local health official to confide in a journalist that burials at sea were being considered by the local authority if the strike became prolonged. In the 1970s rats were freely running all through the community and some rats were as big as small cats. And Leeds were in the 1st division where they are now.Rodney Thornton, Leeds UK, In January and February of 1974, because of a strike by Britain's miners, the government imposed a three-day working week and rationed electricity supplies. Copyright 01/05/2023 Alamy Ltd. All rights reserved. Ironically, while mapping out what to post about for today in New York City history, one of the contenders was re-capping a New York Times Sunday Magazine article from 1911 called The 1911 Way to Clean the Streets of a Big Town, which called on New York City to get with the program and start using large vehicles to flood the streets with water. Candles could not be found in hardware stores, but were plentiful in Harrods. ~Red Road Flats.Various . Two binmen filmed brawling with the public in a fight which led to one of the workers being knocked unconscious have been sacked. Their duties were carried out temporarily by members of the army, An unemployed person makes his protest by wheeling a coffin through the streets on London 1975, Harold Wilson is seen heading to the polls in 1974. On many an evening shift I would have to switch off the power to my own home before going back for a candle-lit supper! Striking workers at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in East London pointedly displayed placards at their pickets declaring that no kids suffer here, its the staff who suffer. I can't really recall what we did with them, but did tell me mum later what we had found and she rang the council office to complain, not that it did any good. A 37-year-old man has been taken to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital after hit by a car driver on Balshagray Avenue in the early hours of Monday morning. Bin men strike 1970s UK HOMER SYKES Stock Photo - Alamy Winter of Discontent London 1979. Bin men strike 1979 1970s UK HOMER SYKES RF M725WA - 1974 Mk1 Ford Escort classic British family saloon car RM A1TBRP - Train strike 1970s UK Paddington main line railways station May 14th 1972 The first ever national strike. GLASGOW cleansing workers are becoming more militant as direct result of Susan Aitkens poor leadership regarding the councils refuse policy. I spent 30 minutes with a bucket and sponge and the damage magically disappeared.Bill Huggins, Birmingham, As a trainee engineer in 1976, I remember changing a toilet roll when on secondment to our Sheffield factory and being seriously worried that someone might find out and accuse me of doing somebody else's job. The public feared what would happen if strike action continued with speculation burials at sea would be considered. Postal Service, an independent establishment of the executive branch. The first strikes The 'Winter of Discontent' began on 24 August 1978, when Ford car workers put in a claim for a 20 per week rise and a 35-hour week, which amounted to a rise of 25 per cent in annual pay.