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Winter of Discontent: Scanaton
February 22, 2023 @ 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm GMT
With the recent unprecedented wave of strike action, we want to bring out and collectively scan material from “The Winter of Discontent” period. We think this material can invigorate some of the demands and conversations taking place amongst present generations of trade unionists. Expect Big Flame newspapers, trade union pamphlets, Ford factory bulletins and more!
The cost of living crisis has accelerated and reignited many of the industrial disputes happening around the country. A great number of walk-outs of unionized personnel – from nurses and civil servants to bus drivers, rail workers, and university staff – is directly challenging the austerity measures imposed by the government in recent months. Because of the massive scale of the current mobilisations, they are often compared to the wave of strikes that happened in Britain between November 1978 and February 1979, dubbed “The Winter of Discontent”. Massive industrial actions led by lorry drivers, gravediggers, factory workers, and waste collectors, organised during one of the harshest winters of the 20th century, brought partial victories to the strikers after almost 4 months of struggle. Despite the complicated legacy of the “Winter of Discontent”, it is still one of the best examples of a display of workers’ power that seriously challenged the organisation and structure of society.
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