Remembering the Grunwick dispute
Thirty years ago this month, there was the start of the Grunwick dispute, one of the bitterest industrial conflicts of my time. The location of the dispute was Willesden in north-west London, close to where I now live, and my local Trade Union Council will be holding an anniversary event next month.
I visted the picket line during the most violent part of the dispute when the police mobilised to stop the picketers from preventing scab labour from being bussed into the plant. I would like to think that new legislation by the Labour Government would not permit an employer to behave in this outrageous manner today, but I’m not so sure.