Fighting Back: What Lessons Can Be Learned From the Union Struggles of the 1980s?

The 1980s was a time of mass closure of manufacturing and mining industries in Britain.

Transport House, Cathedral Road, Cardiff (Map)

The 1980s was a time of mass closure of manufacturing and mining industries in Britain.

During that period, however, there was considerable resistance, of which the miners strike of 1984-85 was the most significant.

In these union struggles, teachers, academics, union officials and others worked together to develop collective worker education, worker planning, and strategic responses to corporate attacks.  There were many mistakes made.  But now is a good time to look back and learn lessons for what can be done to carry forward new union struggles over the coming decade.

This session was part of the Education and Social Change Lecture Series and was delivered by Professor Huw Beynon, WISERD, Cardiff School of Social Sciences and Steve Davies, Cardiff School of Social Sciences.