6,786
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 10:
Line 10: + + +
no edit summary
In April 1976, Wilson had been replaced as Prime Minister by Labour's [[James Callaghan]], and it was widely expected that he would call for a general election and the removal of the wage caps in September 1978 following the Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference. Instead, he announced that there would be no general election and that the cap would remain for at least another year to allow the economy to stabilise. The same month, a pay increase for workers at [[Ford Motor Company]] was set by the company within the allotted 5% designated by the government but was rejected by the workers. A strike began when 15,000 Ford workers walked off the job on September 22 and by September 26 had been joined by 57,000 others, leaving 23 Ford factories unmanned.<ref>'''Aspden, Alex''' ''1978-1979: Winter of Discontent'' (2007) [http://libcom.org/history/1978-1979-winter-of-discontent Libcom.org]. Accessed 1 February 2008</ref>
In April 1976, Wilson had been replaced as Prime Minister by Labour's [[James Callaghan]], and it was widely expected that he would call for a general election and the removal of the wage caps in September 1978 following the Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference. Instead, he announced that there would be no general election and that the cap would remain for at least another year to allow the economy to stabilise. The same month, a pay increase for workers at [[Ford Motor Company]] was set by the company within the allotted 5% designated by the government but was rejected by the workers. A strike began when 15,000 Ford workers walked off the job on September 22 and by September 26 had been joined by 57,000 others, leaving 23 Ford factories unmanned.<ref>'''Aspden, Alex''' ''1978-1979: Winter of Discontent'' (2007) [http://libcom.org/history/1978-1979-winter-of-discontent Libcom.org]. Accessed 1 February 2008</ref>
==The Ford deal==
The strike by the Ford workers was unofficial, and had not been formally sanctioned by the workers' union, the '''Transport and General Workers Union''' (TGWU), however, given the determination of their members not to return to work, and the violence that had marked the previous year's firefighter's strike, the TGWU officially gave its support on 5 October. They demanded a 25% pay increase and a reduction to a 35 hour working week, and negotiations began with the management of Ford. On 22 November they accepted a 17% pay increase, with no reduction in working hours, and returned to work. The government were furious that Ford had breached the pay policy and attempted to impose sanctions on the company, but this was defeated in [[House of Commons (UK)|Parliament]], with Callaghan only narrowly surviving a motion of confidence. Humiliated and further weakened, the government was now powerless to enforce the 5% cap, which would now be challenged by strikes in both the public and private sectors.
==References==
==References==
<references/>
<references/>