| AdminHistory | The Wapping Dispute was a 54-week long industrial dispute between printworkers and News International, owned by Rupert Murdoch. The printers were seeking to preserve existing terms and conditions which many observers considered indefensible. However the employer wanted to introduce far-reaching technological changes which would mean many 100s of people losing their jobs. The strike began on 24 January 1986, and dismissal notices were immediately served on all those taking part. 6,000 workers were effectively sacked at a stroke. The company replaced the workforce with members of the electricians union and transferred its four main newspapers ('The Times', 'The Sunday Times', 'The Sun' and the 'News of the World') to the new Wapping plant.
In support of the sacked workers, the print unions organised regular demonstrations outside News International's premises in Pennington Street. Pickets were posted on Virginia Street with marches of large numbers of people usually converging nearby on The Highway in Wapping. The demonstrations often turned violent, although the trade unions maintained that they were committed to a peaceful resolution of the dispute. A large-scale police operation was mounted throughout London to ensure the Wapping plant could operate effectively, and more than a 1000 arrests were made during the course of the dispute. The strike dragged on for a year, with heavy restrictions imposed on local Wapping residents. The dispute finally collapsed on 5 February 1987, spelling complete defeat for the unions.
For further details see 'Bad news : the Wapping dispute' / by John Lang and Graham Dodkins ; foreword by Tony Benn. 2011. Library reference: LC8299, 333 LAN |
| CustodialHistory | The file was gifted to the Local History Library in January 1988 but the source was not recorded. |